Mango Coconut Jelly Cubes วุ้นมะม่วง (woon mamuang)

There’s a reason why this recipe is now my Number 1 all-time most popular video. It’s got everything you could ever ask for in a dessert, delicious, refreshing, beautiful, easy, and without even trying or needing to be modified, it’s naturally healthy, vegan, and gluten-free. Agar agar jelly is widely used in Thai cuisine to make a variety of dessert, and I have always loved agar agar jelly growing up. This is a recipe I developed because I wanted to utilize the ripe mangoes that are in season by making a dessert that lets the mango flavour shine.

• If you’ve got more question about agar agar, check out this Agar Agar FAQ video.
• For another, more traditional agar agar jelly recipe, check out this Coconut Jelly Duo recipe!

INGREDIENTS

Makes one 8-inch square pan

Mango Layer

• 250 g mango flesh (for purée), roughly cubed (from about 1 ½ – 2 mangos, scant 2 cups)
• Flesh of 1 mango (for adding in), 1-cm cubes
• ½ cup orange juice
• 1 ¼ cups water
• 2 tsp agar agar powder
• ⅓ cup sugar
• Lime juice, to taste
• 15 small mint leaves, optional

Coconut Layer

• ⅔ cup water
• 1 tsp agar agar powder
• 4 Tbsp sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• ⅔ cup coconut milk

INSTRUCTIONS

For the mango layer:
In a blender, blend the mango cubes (for purée) and orange juice until smooth. In a small pot, add water and agar agar powder and stir to distribute the powder. Bring to a full boil, stirring frequently, making sure that all the agar agar powder has dissolved. Add sugar and mango purée and whisk until smooth. Remove from heat and taste, adding more sugar and/or lime juice as needed.

Pour the mango mixture into a mould. You can use whatever mould you like; I used a square pan, but you can also make individual ones using cups, glasses, etc. Add the 1-cm mango cubes into the mango base, distributing the cubes evenly throughout, and pushing them down to make sure they are submerged. If desired, you can add mint leaves all throughout, pushing them into the mango base. Note: Agar agar jelly sets at room temperature, so work quickly especially if you are making small ones. 

Refrigerate or leave at room temperature until the surface is set and no longer moves when you jiggle the mould.

For the coconut layer:
In a small pot, combine water and agar agar powder and stir to distribute the powder. Bring to a full boil, stirring frequently, making sure that all the agar agar powder has dissolved. Add sugar, salt, and stir until dissolved. Add coconut milk, stir to mix and remove from heat. You can use this immediately if the mango layer has set, if the mango layer has not set, keep this mixture hot, covered, over the lowest heat setting on the stove to prevent it from setting and becoming clumpy.

TIP: A few people have told me that their coconut layer is not sticking to the mango layer and it slides off when cut. This happens because the coconut mixture is not hot enough when you pour it on to the mango layer. The heat from the coconut mixture dissolves the surface of the mango layer, and the two layers will be fused together when set, so make sure your coconut mixture is steaming hot when you pour it on. It’ll also help if your mango layer isn’t too cold.  

Once the surface of the mango layer has set, gently pour the coconut layer over the back of a spoon on to the mango base (if you pour too hard it might break or cause dents in the mango layer). Refrigerate for a few hours until cold.

When cold, cut into cubes with a sharp knife and enjoy!

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Mango coconut jelly