Mixed Fruit Iced Rambutan Desserts With Young Coconut and Jelly

Enjoy the exotic fruit today. Yeep, call them Rambutan fruit. We can see there are parts on the outer skin of the Rambutan fruit that resemble red hair.

Rambutan fruit also refers to the term 'rambut' in English (hair). The hairs on the outer skin of this fruit will change along with the level of maturity of the fruit. Initially green for the condition of unripe fruit. Then it turns yellow, and then red, and turns black and dry when overripe.

HARVESTING RAMBUTAN FRUIT

I just harvested rambutan fruit from my family garden. The idea came up to make MIXED ICED FRUIT from this Rambutan fruit. Although, I have never seen a recipe like this. I was inspired by the traditional 'es campur (mixed iced fruit desserts' recipe, but this recipe does not use Rambutan fruit as one of the mixed ingredients. That's because usually rambutan fruit is only eaten raw directly without being processed.

Our family's harvest supplies this time are enough to give us ripe Rambutan fruit. So it's already too boring if we just eat the fruit raw.

So, this time I will combine Rambutan fruit with young coconut and jelly.

REMOVING RAMBUTAN FRUIT SEEDS

I remove the Rambutan fruit seeds before storing them in the refrigerator for longer shelf life. Initially, I divided the Rambutan fruit into two pieces. Then pick out the rambutan fruit, and remove the seeds carefully with a small knife.

If you want to maintain the shape of Rambutan fruit which is good for mixed iced fruit desserts servings, then we have to be extra patient to remove the seeds. In some conditions, Rambutan fruit flesh is sticky to the seeds. If the condition of the fruit flesh is sticky, then there is no other way than to damage the shape of the fruit to get a seedless pulp. But it doesn't matter. What matters is the final taste.

Here I am lucky enough to have a type of rambutan fruit whose flesh does not stick to the seeds. So I have no trouble separating the flesh and seeds.

After removing the seeds and getting the fruit flesh, I store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container so they don't rot quickly and so they don't increase in water content.

MAKING COLORED JELLY

The reason I use jelly for this Mixed Fruit Iced is to add a chewy texture that is fun while enjoying this dish. Also, to beautify the appearance.

Here I chose to make a green jelly which I can directly choose from the 'agar powder' product that I use. You can also make other colors with gelatin if you want to make a non-plant-based version.

I cooked 'green agar powder' with sugar according to the instructions on the package. Also, here I added pandan leaf to make the jelly more fragrant.

After the agar powder mixture boils, you can see bubbles on the surface, turn off the heat and continue to stir to remove the hot steam before transferring it to the jelly mold.

Transfer the agar mixture to the mold container. After cooling to room temperature, then store in the refrigerator before serving along with other ingredients for mixed ice.

After the jelly is set, cut the jelly into smaller pieces. Oh, this is quite satisfying chopping up jelly. The result, what a beautiful green jelly!

PREPARING SWEET SAUCE

For this Mixed Fruit Iced sauce, I used coconut milk and palm sugar.

For the palm sugar sauce, I mixed 100 grams of palm sugar (With sand texture) with 150 ml of water, as well as pandan leaf.

You can just bring it to a simmer, or bring it to a boil. It depends on the texture of the palm sugar. The finer the texture of the palm sugar, the easier it will be to dissolve in water and there is no need to bring it to a boil.

Set the sauce aside while preparing the other ingredients. Also, wait for the palm sugar to cool to room temperature.

PREPARING YOUNG COCONUT

It's time to switch to young coconut preparation for ready-to-serve young coconut flesh. My young coconut is slightly brown in color because I removed the outer shell a few days ago.

Young coconut will not be heard shaking the water inside when we try to shake the coconut. Then, the color of the outer skin is green. Meanwhile, for a mature coconut, it will be brown.

Since I have peeled some of the outer shells of the coconut, this will make it easier for me to get the coconut water out and take the young coconut flesh.

I have a machete that I always use to open the coconut shell. First, cut a bit of the top of the coconut with a machete.

Be careful not to spill coconut water in it. It takes a sideways hand movement to move a machete.

After removing the coconut water, then split the coconut into two parts. At this stage, it takes great and consistent effort to be able to split the coconut into two parts, because of the coconut fibers in the skin, as well as the hard texture of the coconut shell to protect the coconut flesh.

This is a young coconut that I managed to split into two parts. The coconut flesh is not thick enough, but it is enough to make several servings of mixed ice.

Then I removed the young coconut flesh with a spoon. I got a bowl of coconut water and also tender young meat.

SERVING MIXED FRUIT ICE

It's time to serve mixed ice when all the ingredients are ready to use. Also, prepare ice cubes. Here I use ice cubes that have a slightly crushed texture so that it is easy to make the dish cool when served.

Prepare a serving container. You can use a bowl or glass. Here I am using a bowl.

Add ice cubes to a bowl as the base for this Mixed Fruit Iced. Use the measure according to your taste and here there is no specific amount.

If later the mixed ice taste is not sweet because too much ice melts, you can add palm sugar sauce.

After adding ice cubes, add young coconut water, just a little. Then, add coconut milk too. I use coconut milk which is not thick in texture.

You can play with a thicker texture if you prefer a creamy texture. But in this version, I prefer a texture that is not creamy because it has a lot of mixed ingredients.

Then, add the other ingredients, jelly, rambutan, and young coconut flesh. SERVED!

We call this dish, not a dessert, but just “mixed iced” which we usually enjoy during the day when the weather is hot.

But this can also be called a dessert. Sweet and fun. You can even serve a warm version without using ice cubes. Also, for the sauce, you can use palm sugar sauce in warm conditions.

The result of my "Mixed Fruit Iced" doesn't look like palm sugar sauce. That's because the portion of coconut milk that I use is more. But most importantly the overall taste is sweet, as well as savory.

Thank you for reading my blog and reblog if you want my blog this time worthy of reading by others.

Best Regards,
Anggrek Lestari