{"id":14945,"date":"2011-09-29T07:54:41","date_gmt":"2011-09-28T23:54:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/?p=14945"},"modified":"2011-10-01T22:06:39","modified_gmt":"2011-10-01T14:06:39","slug":"yummy-toddler-foods-fresh-coconut-jellies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/2011\/09\/29\/yummy-toddler-foods-fresh-coconut-jellies\/","title":{"rendered":"Yummy Toddler Foods: Fresh Coconut Jellies :)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Coconut Konnyaku Jelly<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Coconut Agar-Agar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That’s right, I’m getting a kick out of making agar-agar and konnyaku jelly lately. :)<\/p>\n

Hannah has been down with influenza and her fever has been raging over the past few days. Apart from the usual symptoms of fever, cough and runny nose, we have another challenge. Our girl drinks little water.\u00a0As hydration is important in the case of overcoming fever, perhaps that explains why she is taking a longer time to recover.<\/p>\n

Besides feeding her meals and fruits high in fluids, I also make jellies for her. And Hannah is starting to\u00a0request for more agar-agar lately. I\u00a0like to use\u00a0fresh coconut water to make agar-agar and konnyaku jelly because: 1) Coconut water is cooling,\u00a0 2) it contains useful mineral salts and other beneficial substances, and 3) it is fragrant and mildly sweet.<\/p>\n

Preparation-wise is fairly straight forward if you have a cleaver\/chopper to hack open\u00a0a young coconut\u00a0at\u00a0its top to get to its water and flesh. Below is my preferred\u00a0proportions of ingredients for making\u00a0fresh coconut agar-agar and konnyaku jelly.<\/p>\n

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A young coconut after hacking the top with a cleaver. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Okay, before you plunge into the recipes, you need to know how to get through the thick husk of the coconut to get to its contents. There are a few ways to open a coconut. It could be daunting and even scary for the first-timer but once you got the hang of it, subsequent attempts should be just routine. BTW, I use young coconuts which come in their fibrous outer layer.<\/p>\n

Okay, this is how I open young coconuts. Use the heel of the cleaver knife to hack the top of the coconut (going in a circle) in as many times as necessary so that a circular opening is created. Use the blunt side of the cleaver to pry open and remove the top, pour out the coconut water into a big bowl first to catch any accidental drips before transferring it into a measuring cup, and spoon out the flesh into another bowl.<\/p>\n

Fresh Coconut Konnyaku Jelly Recipe<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Ingredients (for making 1 tray of 8 jellies)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n