After making the most delicious mango pudding, I knew I had to come for coconut pudding next. And I have to say, this one turned out just as good, if not better. It's very easy to make and you only need five ingredients.
I remember going to dim sum with my family on the weekends and always asking for the coconut pudding. It was my favorite dessert.
Some restaurants make their coconut pudding very fancy. At one place we went to, they shaped it like a bunny and added two black sesame seeds for its eyes. I have also seen it served in an actual coconut. Restaurants take their pudding game seriously.
Key Ingredients
Coconut Milk
Obviously, we will need some coconut milk. The fat percentage does not matter too much; it is mainly personal preference. I like it creamier, so I use regular, full-fat coconut milk. This has about 15g of fat per ⅓ cup on the nutrition label.
Gelatin
This is what solidifies the pudding when it is refrigerated. You can buy it at almost all Western grocery stores since it is a common ingredient for many home cooks. The important thing is that it needs to be dissolved in boiling water first. Here is the brand I'm using:
How to prevent separate layers from forming
One problem I encountered was that the pudding separated into two layers after refrigerating: one creamy layer on top and a translucent jelly layer underneath. After much research, I found that the reason was that the fat in the coconut milk melted.
In my first attempt, I just heated everything over the stove until it was hot, but apparently, this is what caused the issue.
In my second attempt, I dissolved the gelatin in boiling water first. Then, I mixed it with cold milk to bring the temperature down before adding the coconut milk. After refrigerating, it came out perfect! No layers- just one emulsified block of pudding.
Chinese Coconut Pudding
Ingredients
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons gelatin (this gives a firm pudding. if you want it softer, use 2 tablespoons)
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 cup milk
- 1 can coconut milk (14oz/400mL can; I'm using full-fat coconut milk, about 15g of fat per ⅓ cup)
- ½ teaspoon almond extract (optional)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk the sugar in 1 cup of boiling water until dissolved. Stir in the gelatin and mix well. Allow the mixture to sit for 2 another two minutes to make sure everything is dissolved properly.
- Stir in the milk first then stir in the coconut milk. Give it a good whisk to make sure the coconut's fat is evenly distributed. If you wish, you can add ½ teaspoon of almond extract. I personally LOVE the flavor of almond extract with coconut, but it's optional.
- Finally, pour the mixture into a rectangular container, silicone molds, or ramekins. If you want a perfect shape, I would recommend a silicone mold. If you use another container, you will have to use a knife to cut out the pudding, and there will be cut marks on it.
- To release the pudding from a silicone mold, submerge the mold in hot water for about 30 seconds.
Shirley
Easy. Simple. Thanks for the tips.