Re-entering the Kitchen: Osmanthus Wolfberry Konnyaku Jelly

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We had a lovely Osmanthus-scented jelly-cum-aloe vera dessert at Imperial Treasure Restaurant some time ago and just recently I found those flowers sold at a local TCM store and bought them to try out some home-made dessert.

"...want jelly..." - Hannah

The recipe for this jelly was fuss-free until I realised an additional (& inconvenient) step was necessary during cooking. The package of Osmanthus dried flowers I got has other undesirable bits of blackened plant parts and fine grains. This would affect the smoothness of the jelly. I want to separate the actual flowers from these unwanted materials and hence came up with an additional step (in red) for the recipe.

Below is the original recipe taken from nookcook recipe blog with my own notes in red.

Ingredients (Makes 16 jellies)

  • Pre-sweetened konnyaku jelly powder (Red Man brand) – 125 g (1 pack contains 250 g powder, so I weigh out 125 g with my newly bought digital scale – hee hee)
  • Water (according to the konnyaku jelly powder package instructions; mine requires 625 ml)
  • Dried Osmanthus flowers 桂花 (2 tsp – place in a bowl of water to pick out the yellow flowers with the tip of a fork in order to separate them from unwanted plant debris. Use only the yellow flowers for cooking.)
  • Wolfberries – 2 tsp, soaked in water till puffy (about 20 minutes)

Method
1) In a pot, add water and bring to a boil. When water is boiling, lower heat and then add the Osmanthus flowers. Simmer for a short few minutes (roughly 2 minutes).
2) Add konnyaku jelly powder. Stir until the powder is fully dissolved. Turn off the flame.
3) Add 2-3 wolfberries to each jelly mould, then use a ladle to scoop the jelly solution prepared in step 2 to fill each mould. Let the jelly cool down for a while at room temperature and then chill in fridge till the jelly is set.

Flower-flavoured Jellies

The verdict? “…interesting taste…” says Yang. :) Hannah? She enjoyed the novelty of having a new dessert. (A word of caution when feeding young kids with Konnyaku jelly: do cut it into small portions for eating to avoid the danger of choking if the kid just swallow the whole thing.)