About this recipe
Shwe yin aye — the name is often rendered 'golden cool heart' — is a cooling Myanmar dessert drink for hot weather: chilled coconut milk poured over crushed ice with an assortment of soft, chewy add-ins such as agar jelly, sago and tapioca pearls, and small cubes of bread or sticky rice, sweetened with dark palm-sugar syrup. It sits in the broad Southeast Asian family of iced coconut-and-jelly sweets but is distinct from the Filipino halo-halo, the ice kacang of the Malay world and the Indonesian es cendol; the differences are drawn out below. It is a prominent nationwide treat, and its exact components vary by shop and cook; those variations and the name's meaning are logged for verification.
Recipe facts
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Prep
- 30 minutes (plus chilling)
- Cook
- 15 minutes (syrup and jellies)
- Total
- 45 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- None
Allergens Contains coconut; may contain gluten if bread cubes are used. Naturally free of dairy, egg and nuts as written. Vegan if made without any dairy or honey. See the halal-status field.
Development draft. This is an untested development recipe from the cookbook project. It has not been kitchen-tested, and the quantities and timings are the author’s working draft rather than a verified result.
Ingredients
The syrup and jellies
- 3/4 cup (150 g) palm sugar (jaggery), chopped
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) water
- 1 tsp (2 g) agar-agar powder
- 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) water, for the jelly
- A few drops pandan or green colour (optional)
The chewy add-ins
- 1/3 cup (65 g) small sago or tapioca pearls
- 1/2 cup cubed white bread or cooked sticky rice
- 1/4 cup cooked tapioca strips or jelly noodles (optional)
To assemble
- 2 cups (480 ml) coconut milk, chilled
- Crushed or shaved ice
- A pinch of salt (to season the coconut milk)
Equipment
- Small saucepan for the palm-sugar syrup
- Small pan for the agar jelly
- Pan for cooking sago/tapioca
- Tall glasses or bowls
Method
- Make the syrup: simmer the palm sugar with 1/2 cup water until dissolved into a dark, pourable syrup; cool.
- Make the jelly: bring the 1 1/2 cups water to a boil, whisk in the agar powder (and optional colour) and simmer 2 minutes, then pour into a shallow tray and chill until set. Cut into small strips or cubes.
- Cook the sago/tapioca in plenty of boiling water until translucent, 10 to 15 minutes, then drain and rinse in cold water; keep in a little cold water so they do not clump.
- Chill the coconut milk with a pinch of salt.
- To assemble, put a spoonful each of agar jelly, sago, bread or sticky-rice cubes and any other add-ins into each glass. Add crushed ice.
- Pour over the cold coconut milk to nearly fill the glass, then drizzle with the palm-sugar syrup to taste.
- Serve immediately with a spoon and/or a wide straw, stirring before eating.
The Complete Edition
Shwe Yin Aye (Coconut Dessert Drink) sits in the Myanmar chapter
The book carries this recipe in full alongside the rest of the Myanmar chapter, the pastes and dips it is built on, and the twenty-seven pantry studies that open the collection.
In review with Amazon KDP
Both editions have been submitted to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and are currently in review. Submitted prices are $9.99 for the kindle edition and $49.99 for the paperback. Neither is on sale yet, and prices are as submitted rather than final.