Where can I buy agar agar powder?

Agar agar powder can be bought most inexpensively at some Asian grocery stores (especially ones that major in Thai and Vietnamese products). These would come in small packets. You can also buy it at health food stores because they are often sold as vegan alternatives to gelatin. They are also available online.

Can I use gelatin powder instead?

No...and yes. Gelatin behaves completely differently from agar agar, so you can apply the flavour combination to gelatin, but you cannot apply this method to gelatin. For example, gelatin needs to be chilled in order to set, and it melts at room temp, so the bottom layer will melt if you pour a layer of hot mixture over it as we did here. If you want to use gelatin, I recommend following instructions of a layered gelatin recipe, and change their liquids into mango and coconut flavours, rather than trying to use this recipe as a base and changing the gelatin. You'll have more success that way.

Can I use other fruits aside from mango?

Yes, you can technically change the fruit puree to whatever you want, keeping in mind that you will need to adjust the amount of sugar to match the sweetness of the fruit. You can also change the embedded fruit pieces.

My agar jelly layers are separating when I cut it. How can I prevent this?

This is very common issue! To ensure that the layers stick together, the bottom layer shouldn't be too cold, and the top layer needs to be steaming hot when you pour. The heat from the second layer will melt the top of the bottom layer every so slightly so they can fuse together. If the bottom is too cold, it will cool the liquid layer down instantly.

Mango Coconut Jelly Cubes วุ้นมะม่วง

Ingredients

Mango Layer

250 g mango flesh (for purée), roughly cubed (from about 1 ½ - 2 mangos, scant 2 cups)
Flesh of 1 mango, 1-cm cubes
½ cup orange juice
1 ¼ cups water
2 tsp (5.2 g) agar agar powder (see note)
⅓ cup sugar
Lime juice, to taste
15 small mint leaves, optional

Coconut Layer

⅔ cup water
1 tsp (2.6 g) agar agar powder (see note)
4 Tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
⅔ cup coconut milk

Ingredients and Kitchen Tools I Use

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Instructions

For the mango layer:

In a blender, blend the mango cubes (for the 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 the 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 as well, pushing them into the mango base. Note: Agar agar jelly sets at room temperature, so work quickly especially if you are making small ones.

Let the jelly set until the surface is firm enough to pour on the next layer (if you touch it gently and your fingers are not poking through, it's ready). You CAN put it in the fridge to make it go faster, but do not let this get cold! (see note)

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.

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 will break or cause dents in the mango layer). Refrigerate for a few hours until cold.

Close to serving time, cut into cubes with a sharp knife and enjoy!

Important Note on Unmolding: Do not unmold or cut agar jelly until close to serving time. When agar jelly is uncontained, water will slowly seep out because it's an unstable gel. A small amount of water loss will not affect how it tastes, and if it has to sit for a couple of hours unmolded that's fine, but you want to avoid it when possible. If you want to give it away to people, I recommend making it in clear heat-proof plastic or glass cups that you're willing to part with.

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Notes

Make sure you're buying pure agar agar powder with no sugar or any other ingredients added (you'll need to check the ingredient list.) Also if measuring by volume, you'll need to use agar agar POWDER. If using flakes, use the weight in grams.

A few people have reported that their coconut layer is not sticking to the mango layer and it slides off when cut. This happens because the bottom layer has set too cold, and the top layer isn't hot enough. The layers will stick when the heat from the coconut mixture dissolves a tiny bit of the surface of the mango layer. So if the bottom layer is too cold and/or the top layer isn't hot enough, they won't stick together. See my coffee agar jelly video where I talk more about this.