How to Make Thach Rau Cau Pho Mai (Cheese Jelly Bites)
Sweets and drinksPuddingsVietnam20 minutes cooking, 2 to 3 hours chilling
Thach rau cau pho mai gives round, clear jelly bites with a salty little nugget of cheese in the middle of soft pandan scented jelly. It is a compact recipe with no oven needed, since one ice cube tray turns out a whole basket.
The hardest part is speed, because the jelly liquid cools very fast in the pot. The agar powder has to be dry mixed with the blend before the water goes in, since doing it the other way round leaves lumps that never dissolve. The liquid also needs to cool to just warm before it is poured over the cheese, as pouring it boiling hot melts the cheese away.
This batch weighs about 1.5kg, at roughly 24 calories per 100g.
Method
Cook the pandan jam: blend 176g of pandan leaves with a little water and strain out the thick juice. Dry mix 2g of NH pectin with part of 36g of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend. Warm the pandan juice to hand temperature, scatter in the pectin mixture, stir well, hold a gentle simmer for exactly 2 minutes, lower the heat and add the rest of the blend with a pinch of salt, take it off the heat to cool for 5 minutes and stir in 6ml of lime juice. This makes about 200g of jam, of which this recipe uses 30 to 50ml, and the rest goes into a sealed jar in the refrigerator to be used within 2 weeks.
Mix 12g of soft agar jelly powder evenly with 153g of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, then stir it into 1200ml of water until fully dissolved.
Let it stand for about 15 minutes, then bring it to the boil over medium heat and cook for 3 minutes more so the jelly sets properly, stirring constantly so it does not catch on the base or go lumpy.
Turn off the heat and stir in 30 to 50ml of pandan jam for colour and scent.
While the jelly cooks, dice 4 to 5 soft cheese wedges into small cubes and divide them between the moulds of the ice cube tray.
Pour the jelly liquid into the moulds already holding the cheese, about 200 to 210ml per tray.
Cover the mould and press gently with a spoon so the bites come out round and firm.
Let the jelly cool naturally, then refrigerate for about 2 to 3 hours.
Tips
Without NH pectin, a little xanthan gum works, and the jam thickens as it cools with stirring.
If the pandan jam runs thin, stir all of it into the pot of jelly, and the colour and scent still come through.
Have the moulds and the cheese ready before cooking, so the jelly can be poured the moment it is done.
Jelly that sets in the pot can go back over low heat to melt down, then be poured as normal.
Dice the cheese evenly so every bite has a filling in the middle.
Use within 2 to 3 days, as any longer and the bites weep and lose their bounce.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.