Recipes / Sweets and drinks / Drinks

Nha Dam La Dua Hat Chia (Aloe Vera Pandan Chia Cooler), No Added Refined Sugar

Sweets and drinksDrinksVietnam2 hours preparation, 15 minutes cooking

Nha dam la dua hat chia is a cooling drink built on crisp, springy cubes of aloe vera. What makes it good is the light pandan fragrance and the chia seeds swelling and floating through the glass. The hardest part is clearing every trace of slime and bitterness from the aloe.

Standing the aloe leaves upright so the yellow sap drains before peeling is the step that decides whether any bitterness remains. The common mistake is blanching the aloe too long, which leaves the cubes limp and takes away the snap.

This batch weighs about 1kg, at roughly 26 calories per 100g.

Method

  1. Trim a short piece off the base of 2 aloe vera leaves weighing about 800g, stand them upright for 20 to 30 minutes until the yellow sap has drained, then wash them, peel off the skin and take the flesh.
  2. Dice the aloe flesh and soak it for 40 minutes in water mixed with coarse salt and the juice of 1 lime.
  3. Rinse the aloe under running water until no slime is left, blanch it in boiling water for 5 minutes, soak it in ice water for 10 minutes, then drain it thoroughly.
  4. Toss the aloe with 45g of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and put it in the fridge.
  5. Heat 1.2 liters of water with 90g of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend until dissolved, then drop in 6 to 8 pandan leaves and simmer for 2 minutes to draw out the fragrance.
  6. Add the aloe, cook for another 2 minutes, turn off the heat, stir in 10g of chia seeds, then let it cool and serve over ice.

Tips

  • The yellow sap at the base of the leaf is what makes aloe bitter, so stand the leaves and let it drain fully before peeling.
  • A soak in salted lime water followed by several thorough rinses is the fastest way to clear the slime.
  • Blanch for exactly 5 minutes and drop the aloe straight into ice water, which is what keeps the snap.
  • kOBE Monk Fruit Blend is a powder, so it dissolves in hot water at once and needs no long simmering.
  • Add the chia seeds while the liquid is still warm so they swell evenly, since cold liquid makes them stick together.

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