Kyauk Kyaw

Ingredients

Agar layer

• 20 gagar agar strips
• or 10 g agar powder
• 1 litrewater
• 250 gsugar

Coconut layer

• 400 mlthick coconut milk
• 100 gsugar
• 1/2 teaspoonsalt
• 1 teaspoonvanilla, optional

Sometimes added

• pandan extract
• for a green layer
• a little rose essence
• food colouring

To serve

• cut into diamonds
• cool from the tray
• with tea

Directions

1. Rinse the agar strips in cold water. Cut them all into short pieces. Put them in a bowl of cold water. Let them soak for thirty minutes. Agar powder needs no soaking at all. Whisk it straight into the cold water. Drain all the soaked agar strips. Put them in a pot with the water. Bring the pot up to a full boil.
2. Stir it steadily as it heats up. Dissolving it properly takes time. Let it boil for about ten minutes. Stir it regularly right throughout. Every piece must dissolve completely. Hold it against the light to check. Pour it through a fine mesh sieve. Return it all to the clean pot. Stir the sugar into the hot liquid. Let it dissolve completely into it. Bring it back to a brief boil.
3. Divide the hot agar into two portions. Make one about a third of the total. A thin clear layer looks best. Adjust it to suit your own taste. Pour the smaller portion into a tray. Use a shallow tray with straight sides. A glass or plastic one takes longer.
4. Let it stand at room temperature. Give it about ten minutes to set. Keep the larger agar portion warm. Do not let it set in the pot itself. Keep it over a very low heat instead. Or set the pot in a bowl of hot water.
5. Add the coconut milk to the warm agar. Add the sugar and the salt to it. Stir it right through thoroughly. Bring it back to a gentle boil. Coconut milk can split if boiled hard.
6. Bring it just to a boil and no further. Stir it constantly as it heats. Pouring the second layer takes care. Pour it gently over the tacky first layer. Pour it over the back of a spoon. That keeps the boundary clean and level.
7. Let the tray stand at room temperature. Give it about one full hour there. Cut it into diamonds or squares. Use a sharp knife in one stroke. Lifting them out takes some care. Lift each piece out carefully. They are firm but they can crack. Set them out on a serving plate. Serve hot tea alongside them all. They keep three days at room temperature. Keep them covered somewhere cool.

Technique

• Agar sets at room temperature and holds firm up to about eighty degrees, where gelatine sets only when refrigerated and melts again in a warm room; that is why it is used across South East Asia, in kitchens that often had no refrigeration and where a gelatine dessert would simply melt. It also gives a firm brittle set that snaps rather than wobbling.
• Agar must be boiled for several minutes to activate it, since simply dissolving it is not enough and under-boiled agar will not set at all; that is the commonest failure with it, and every piece must dissolve completely or it leaves hard specks and a weak set.
• The second layer goes on while the first is set but still tacky to the fingertip, since fully set agar will not bond to a new layer and the two slide apart when cut; pour it over the back of a spoon so it does not dent the layer beneath.

Substitutions

• Agar powder needs no soaking and is considerably simpler than strips.
• Pandan extract in the clear layer gives the common green and white version.

Variations

• It is made in two layers, clear beneath and coconut above, or in a single layer.
• Pandan, rose or colouring are used for the lower layer in different versions.
• It sets at room temperature and does not need refrigerating at all.

History

A Burmese sweet set in trays and sold in slices; agar from seaweed replaced gelatine in the tropics.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kyauk Kyaw?

Kyauk Kyaw is a dessert from Myanmar: firm coconut-milk jelly set with agar and cut into cool white squares. A Burmese sweet set in trays and sold in slices; agar from seaweed replaced gelatine in the tropics.

How long does Kyauk Kyaw take to make?

Kyauk Kyaw takes 20 minutes plus setting of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes one tray, about 30 pieces. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Kyauk Kyaw?

Yes, within limits. Agar powder needs no soaking and is considerably simpler than strips. Pandan extract in the clear layer gives the common green and white version.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kyauk Kyaw?

Stir it steadily as it heats up. Dissolving it properly takes time. Let it boil for about ten minutes. Stir it regularly right throughout. Every piece must dissolve completely. Hold it against the light to check. Pour it through a fine mesh sieve. Return it all to the clean pot. Stir the sugar into the hot liquid. Let it dissolve completely into it. Bring it back to a brief boil.