Testing one two three: Cheng Tng Jelly
A fine day in August in Singapore.
joone and I started off at the supermarket intending to make
millefeuille but then we discovered that I actually had most of the ingredients at my place and since we were going to hers, we decided we had better make something else.
The result: Cheng tng or (really) Red Dates and Longan-tasting Jelly. I was very touched. June doesn't really have a sweet tooth, and is pretty anti-
tong shui so I was surprised when she said she was thinking of experimenting with this.
And it wasn't too bad. Though it did take something like 2 hours, between boiling red dates, longans, and the other herbie stuff in the picture above on the right (actually most of it came in a packet) and pouring the konnyaku and stock mix into the moulds (which is harder than it sounds i assure you - the mix sets so quickly you barely even have time to say "damn").
I love the texture of konnyaku and since I am a
tong shui fan, I think I'll be experimenting with converting lots of other types of
tong shui into jellies like these, and thanks to joone for coming up with this!
Recipe:1. Boil 8 red dates with 2 tbsps of dried longans and 30g of rock sugar for 20 minutes.
2. Cook 1 tbsp of barley separately, drain and set aside.
3. Add remainder of herbs (from 六味 packet - easily available at supermarkets) and barley and simmer for another half hour.
4. Pour mixture through sieve to separate the liquid from other ingredients.
5. From the cooked ingredients, cut up red dates, longans and snow fungus into small pieces, and place in small jelly moulds together with a few grains of barley.
6. Return strained liquid to pot and bring to boil quickly before turning of flame.
7. Add 120 g of konnyaku powder, and stir for 3 minutes.
8. Quickly pour liquid mixture into the moulds and chill for 30 minutes before serving.