Description
A refreshing and vibrant Thai dessert made with crunchy water chestnuts coated in tapioca starch, served in sweet pandan syrup and creamy coconut milk over crushed ice. Perfect for cooling off on a hot day.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 8oz-can whole water chestnuts (or fresh)
- Red food colouring or beet juice
- ¼ – ½ cup tapioca starch
- ½ cup sugar
- 1½ cup water (or fresh jasmine water)
- 1 pandan leaf
- Optional: a dash of rose water or orange blossom water
- ¾ cup coconut milk
- ¼ cup water
- 1 pandan leaf
- ⅛ tsp salt
- Crushed ice
- Ripe jackfruit (fresh or canned), optional
- Young coconut meat, optional
Instructions
- Cut water chestnuts into 1cm cubes.
- Cover chestnuts with water and add red food colouring (10-15 drops) until bright red.
- Prepare syrup: boil pandan leaves in 1½ cup water for 10 minutes, add sugar, stir to dissolve, and chill completely.
- Prepare coconut milk: boil coconut milk, ¼ cup water, pandan leaf, and salt for 5 minutes. Chill.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, drain chestnuts and place in a mixing bowl.
- Coat chestnuts with 2 tbsp tapioca starch, toss, then repeat with more starch until coated (¼ – ½ cup total).
- Place coated chestnuts in a strainer and shake off excess starch. Prepare an ice water bowl.
- Drop half of the chestnuts into boiling water, stir briefly, and cook for 2-3 minutes (boil an additional minute after they float).
- Scoop out chestnuts with a slotted skimmer, dunk in ice water briefly to set the coating. Check for uncooked white spots and reboil if necessary.
- Repeat cooking process for remaining chestnuts.
- Drain rubies and keep at room temperature until serving.
- To serve: place rubies in a bowl, add optional jackfruit or coconut meat, pour syrup to nearly cover rubies, top with coconut milk (about 2 parts syrup to 1 part coconut milk), add crushed ice, stir, and enjoy.
Notes
- Adjust red food colouring to achieve desired colour intensity.
- Rubies are best eaten fresh but can stay at room temperature for up to a day.
- For a floral note, add rose water or orange blossom water to the syrup.
- Optional toppings like jackfruit and coconut meat enhance flavour and texture.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 210
- Sugar: 28g
- Sodium: 75mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 38g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 1g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Keywords: Thai Red Rubies Dessert, Tub Tim Grob, Thai desserts, coconut milk dessert, vegan Thai dessert