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A plate of coconut jelly and pandan jelly arranged as a flower.
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5 from 6 votes

Pandan Jelly (Agar Agar)

A delicious 4-ingredient Pandan Jelly recipe. Cooling and refreshing, it's the perfect summer dessert with a delicate flavor reminiscent of vanilla. When made with agar agar powder, the jellies can even be packed as lunch box or camping snacks, as they won't melt at room temperature!
Prep Time1 minute
Cook Time10 minutes
Cooling time3 hours
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Filipino, malaysian, Nyonya, singaporean, Southeast Asian
Servings: 5 people
Calories: 107kcal
Author: Zen

Equipment

  • Blender and sieve if making your own pandan juice
  • Pot and something to stir the mixture
  • Silicone mold/ heat-proof container To set the jellies

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup pandan juice Homemade pandan extract or shop bought work. If using homemade, remember to stir the jelly after pouring it into the mold, to ensure the green color is well-spread out and not clumping.
  • 3 Cups water You can use coconut water too as coconut goes very well with pandan. The 2 flavors are often used together in South East Asian cooking.
  • Tablespoon agar agar powder Using more powder will make the jelly harder, whilst using too little will thicken but not set it.
  • Cup white sugar Other sugars, such as brown sugar, work too but they will change the color of the jelly. If you don't mind that, lemongrass syrup actually complements pandan beautifully too!

Instructions

  • To prevent clumping: Mix the agar powder with the sugar and salt, if using.
  • Add the pandan juice and water to the pot. (If making pandan coconut jelly, substitute the water with coconut water, coconut milk or coconut cream.)
  • Whisk the agar-sugar mixture into the pot of liquid.
    Important: Do not mix into hot liquid or there will be lumps!
  • Switch on the fire and bring the pot to the boil whisking continuously.
  • Once boiling, switch off the heat, pour into the heat-proof moulds and allow to cool. It will take about 3 hours in the fridge, preferably longer.
  • To remove from the molds: pop out if using silicone baking ones. If not, cut into desired shapes. run a knife around the edges of the container to loose then jelly, turn gently turn the container over. You may need to give it a gentle tap to get it out. Remember to use a sharp knife so there won't be jagged edges. (I used a table knife and you can see the edge isn't quite straight.)

Notes

Storage: in an airtight container in the chiller for 3 days.
Troubleshooting agar agar that doesn't set: 
  1. Did the liquid get hot enough? (bring it to a boil as agar doesn't dissolve in cold water)
  2. Did you add enough agar powder/ agar flakes etc? (If not you get a thick jam not a jelly.)
  3. Are you using citrus flavors such as lime and pineapple? These can interfere with the setting of agar.
Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its accuracy.

Nutrition

Calories: 107kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 0.1g | Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.002g | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 17mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 27g | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 0.3mg