Friday, July 15, 2005

pandan ice cream

this is it.
my "orig" recipe born out of some desperation.
#2 son took a lick and declared it his favorite when we first discovered it in an Asian superstore in Boston. the only place to get it.
*sigh* $1 per bar. steep, albeit quite delicious. i promised to make it for him instead of trekking all the way there (a couple of times they didn't have it and baby boy went "wahhh!") and plunking down the hard-earned cash.
yesterday's family reunion cookout for husband's family was the perfect occasion and i ended up giving them a foodie lesson on "pandan" ("you know, it's a kind of grass, screwpine? we use it for giving flavoring and scent," and trotting out the frozen packet of leaves from the freezer).
the family pronounced it a winner, worthy of marketing! heehee, i need an ice cream cart and bell. *blush* i'm just so happy that #2 son is now a contented boy and i can claim that i made this up on my own....with a little help from a couple of cookbooks: "Shiok" and "Sorbets and Ice Creams" by Lou Seibert Pappas.
the next quest is to score an extra freezer bowl for the krups ice cream maker so i can make more than 1 quart at a time.





2/3 cup pandan syrup concentrate*, cooled to room temperature
1 & 1/2 cups half and half
6 egg yolks, beaten
1 & 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

in a double boiler, heat the half and half over barely simmering water until scalded. whsik the pandan syrup into the egg yolks. whisk in some of the hot half and half, return the mixture ot the pan, and cook over barely simmering water, stirring constantly until the custard coats the spoon (slightly thickened). immediately place the pan in a bowl of cold ice water and stir to cool to room temperature. stir in the heavy cream.
cover and refrigerate the mixture for 2 to 3 hours at least, or until thoroughly chilled. freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions (for this it took about 25 minutes to get a creamy but firm texture).
makes 1 quart.

*pandan syrup:
1 can pandan juice (Maesri brand) or equivalent of a big bunch of pandan, snipped and processed, placed in cheesecloth, squeezed with water, enough to make 2 cups)
1 cup sugar

mix and bring to boil, until sugar is dissolved. if you have it, add more pandan cut to 1 inch pieces and add to syrup. simmer to reduce to 2/3 cup (it will be somewhat thick). drain and let cool.
add in 1 tsp. pandan essence/extract, if desired.