Ais Kacang Gula Melaka (Shaved Ice with Beans and Palm Sugar Syrup) – a Malaysian dessert with a medley of toppings. Very cool and refreshing on a warm day.
Ais Kacang Gula Melaka (Shaved Ice with Beans and Palm Sugar Syrup) is a fun and very popular Malaysian dessert. It is a well loved by the locals who also fondly call it “ABC”, an acronym for Air Batu Campur. Because of its many toppings, some even go so far as to name it “ABCD” for “ABC Deluxe” with extra toppings and “ABCDE” for “ABC Deluxe Extra” for the most toppings. 🙂
Most Ais Kacang found at the food courts come with red or green colored syrup which makes it look really fun and inviting. Higher end restaurants usually serve it with Gula Melaka (palm sugar) syrup which costs more. Though it may not look as pretty or festive, the fragrant Gula Melaka version is considered the superior version.
With just a small precious supply of Gula Melaka left in my pantry, I had to mix in some brown sugar to make enough syrup for this recipe. Definitely time for me to visit and replenish my stock of this wonderful ingredient soon.
Commercial ice shavers have a cast iron or steel body with a huge wheel for turning to shave the large block of ice. Fortunately, manufacturers have some up with small plastic versions for the home cook. The manual one on the right in the picture below was purchased in Malaysia a long time ago. It still works really well to this day. If you prefer an electric shaver, the snow cone shaver on the left works fairly well. Both can be purchased online. Here are my affiliate links for the manual snow cone maker and electric ice shaver. These two units should have no problems churning out 10 to 12 bowls of Ais Kacang.
Sweet red bean mash is one of the main toppings for Ais Kacang. I call it a “mash” because the consistency is different from that of sweet red bean paste used in Tau Sar Bao or Mooncakes. I will be posting my Sweet Red Bean Mash recipe soon. So, do check back for it.
Since there is still a lot of warm days left, I hope you will give this fun and tasty dessert a try. Except for the sweet red bean mash, the rest of the ingredients are a breeze to prepare. Three of them in my recipe only require you to open up a can. I was delighted to find attap palm seeds in heavy syrup at my local Asian market.It is a nice to have but can be omitted if not available.
Ais Kacang Gula Melaka
Ingredients
- 10 to 12 pieces molded ice
- 2 cups sweet red bean mash (550g)
- ½ cup blanched peanuts (80g)
- 1 can coconut cream (14 fl oz/400ml)
- A pinch of salt
- ¾ cup water (180ml)
- 4 oz gula melaka (palm sugar), shaved (113g)
- ¼ cup brown sugar (45g)
- 1 can grass jelly (cut into small cubes) (19 oz/540g)
- 1 can attap palm seeds (20 oz/565g)
- 1 can cream style corn (14.75 oz/418g)
Instructions
- You will need an ice shaver. Using the mold provided, freeze 10 to 12 pieces of molded ice.
- Prepare sweet red bean mash.
- Place peanuts on baking tray. Roast for 12 to 15 minutes in a 350˚F (180˚C) oven until lightly golden. Remove and set aside.
- Heat coconut cream with a pinch of salt in a small saucepan. Bring it to a gentle simmer. Transfer to a serving jar and chill in the refrigerator until needed.
- Combine water, gula Melaka, and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Bring it to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for about 10 minutes until thick and syrupy. Transfer to a serving jar and chill in the refrigerator until needed.
- Place grass jelly, attap palm seeds, and cream corn in separate serving bowls.
- When ready to serve, remove molded ice from the freezer. Place in ice shaver receptacle and shave ice as per machine instructions into individual bowls.
- Top shaved ice with sweet red bean mash, grass jelly, attap palm seeds, and cream corn. Pour some coconut sauce and gula Melaka syrup over shaved ice. Sprinkle with some roasted peanuts.
- Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Enjoy…..and have a wonderful day! 😎
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