Buko Pandan

My eight year old daughter is in the process of getting braces. Her first reaction after our appointment the other day was, “I can’t eat anything sticky and chewy… does that mean I can’t eat boba anymore? What about the boba that grandma and grandpa gave me?” *Cue sobbing and waterworks* (me on the inside). I am not sure if I could say I was lucky that when I had my own braces, boba had not yet been introduced to the Philippines. But for a while now, it’s been a huge part of my diet, so I understand her pain. Since they were both little, we have made boba at home and occasionally would buy them from our favorite spots, Happy Lemon and TP Tea. One of our favorite books is “我愛珍珠奶茶! (I love Boba!)” by Katrina Liu.

Since I had leftover syrup from the Pandan Mochi Pancakes, I decided to make a semi-traditional dessert from the Philippines called Buko Pandan (lit. Coconut Pandan), a creamy fruit salad with pandan jellies. I knew that my daughter could eat jellies and offered it up to her as an alternative to boba. I was unsure whether she would like the actual flavor of pandan, as it can be an acquired taste, but to my surprise, all three of them were more than satisfied with my boba replacement. Now all we have to do is write a book about how much we love pandan!

Enjoy!

Buko Pandan

Serves 6

Prep Time: 15 mins

Total:15 mins

Ingredients:

1 can pandan jelly

1 can young coconut strips

1 cup whipping cream*

½ cup coconut syrup*

Instructions:

Open can of young coconut strips and drain liquid.

Open up can of pandan jelly and drain liquid into can of coconut strips. We want that intense pandan flavor.

In a bowl, whip cream until stiff peaks form.

Cut up pandan jelly into cubes.

Throw them all into the bowl and give it a stir until fully combined.

Chill before serving.

Notes:

*If you don’t have any of the coconut syrup, feel free to swap it for condensed milk, as that is what the traditional recipe calls for.

*If you are pressed for time, the frozen whipping cream does the trick, however, those are typically sweetened, so you may have to adjust your syrup/condensed milk for sweetness.