Ingredients
Base
- 80 gdried longan, mata kucing
- 1monk fruit, luo han guo
- 100 gwinter melon sugar, tung kwa
- 2.5 litreswater
Sometimes added
- 20 gdried red dates, jujube
- a small piece of rock sugar
- a few dried chrysanthemum flowers
To serve
- ice
- tall glasses or plastic cups
Directions
- Rinse the dried fruit under cold water. Crack the hard shell with your hands or a knife. Break it into several pieces, shell and all. One fruit is enough for two litres of water.
- Rinse the dried longan in cold water. Drain it well and set it aside. Do not soak it, since it swells in the pot.
- Put the water into a large pot. Add the cracked monk fruit and its shell. Add the dried longan to the pot. Add the winter melon sugar as well. Add the red dates if you are using them.
- Bring it to a boil over a high heat. Let it cook for about forty minutes. Stir it occasionally as it cooks. If you use it, add it at the very end. Turn the heat off underneath it first. Let it steep for five minutes only.
- Taste the liquid after forty minutes. It should be clearly sweet without added sugar. Add a little rock sugar if it needs more. Add water if it is too strong.
- Strain out the monk fruit shell either way. The shell turns bitter if it sits too long. Let it cool to room temperature first. Then refrigerate it for several hours. Pour it into tall glasses filled with ice.
- Spoon a few softened longan into each glass. It keeps for four days refrigerated. Discard it if it starts to taste fizzy.
Technique
- Monk fruit, luo han guo, is used across southern China as a sweetener and in cooling drinks.
- In Chinese thinking these drinks are described as cooling, which refers to a traditional classification rather than to temperature.
Substitutions
- Rock sugar can replace winter melon sugar, though the flavour is plainer.
- The monk fruit can be left out and replaced with more sugar, giving a simpler longan drink.
Variations
- Some stalls add dried chrysanthemum for a more floral drink.
- A version with more red dates is darker and richer.
- Chrysanthemum tea alone is sold at the same stalls as a related drink.
History
Sold from a corner stall on Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown and drunk as a cooling tonic.
Frequently asked questions
What is Air Mata Kucing?
Air Mata Kucing is a drink from Malaysia: chilled brew of dried longan, monk fruit and winter melon sugar. Sold from a corner stall on Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown and drunk as a cooling tonic.
How long does Air Mata Kucing take to make?
Air Mata Kucing takes 10 minutes of preparation and 45 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 2 litres. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Air Mata Kucing?
Yes, within limits. Rock sugar can replace winter melon sugar, though the flavour is plainer. The monk fruit can be left out and replaced with more sugar, giving a simpler longan drink.
What is the most important thing to get right in Air Mata Kucing?
Rinse the dried longan in cold water. Drain it well and set it aside. Do not soak it, since it swells in the pot.
