• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Hot Thai Kitchen
  • Recipes by Categories
  • Kitchen Tips & Ingredients
  • Thailand Vlogs
  • My Cookbooks
  • Newsletter
  • Patreon
  • Shop Ingredients & Tools
  • Find an Asian Grocer
  • Merch
  • About
  • Contact
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes by Categories
  • Kitchen Tips & Ingredients
  • Thailand Vlogs
  • My Cookbooks
  • Newsletter
  • Patreon
  • Shop Ingredients & Tools
  • Find an Asian Grocer
  • Merch
  • About
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » All Recipes » Desserts & Sweets

    Red Rubies Dessert (Tub Tim Grob)ทับทิมกรอบ

    Published: Dec 27, 2019 · Modified: Dec 7, 2020 by Pailin Chongchitnant · This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

    Jump to video!


    This is a beautiful, yummy, classic Thai dessert that's super easy! It's so easy you barely need a recipe. Once you understand what it's made from, and how it's done, most people can just wing it. Water chestnuts are coated in a soft and chewy tapioca gel, served in a pandan-scented coconut syrup and ice. Ah....so refreshing!

    Watch The Full Video Tutorial!

    All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video below to ensure success - and if you enjoy the show, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. Thank you!

    Beautiful and easy traditional Thai dessert that's vegan and gluten free! Crunchy water chestnuts in soft and chewy tapioca gel in scented coconut broth. #thaidessert #vegandessert #glutenfree
    Print
    clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

    Red Rubies Dessert (Tub Tim Grob)ทับทิมกรอบ

    ★★★★★ 4.8 from 4 reviews
    • Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
    • Yield: 4 servings
    Print Recipe
    Pin Recipe

    Ingredients

    The Rubies

    • 1 8oz-can whole water chestnuts (you can also use fresh)
    • Red food colouring or beet juice
    • ¼ - ½  cup tapioca starch

    Syrup

    • ½ cup sugar
    • 1½ cup water (or fresh jasmine water, see note)
    • 1 pandan leaf
    • Optional: a dash of rose water or orange blossom water.

    Coconut Milk

    • ¾ cup coconut milk
    • ¼ cup water
    • 1 pandan leaves
    • ⅛  tsp salt

    For serving

    • Crushed ice
    • Ripe jackfruit (fresh or canned in syrup), optional
    • Young coconut meat, optional

    In Thailand we make jasmine water by floating fresh jasmine flowers on water in a covered container overnight, and then we use that water to make the syrup. For a different, but still floral, flavour, you can use a little bit of rose water or orange blossom water instead. Commercially available rose water and orange blossom water are very strong, so add just a tiny little bit at a time (¼ or ½ tsp) until the desired strength is reached.

    Ingredients and Kitchen Tools I Use

    Instructions

    1. Cut water chestnuts into about 1cm cubes.
    2. Add just enough water to cover chestnuts, then add red food colouring until the water is bright red (about 10-15 drops). Or add less for lighter colour.
    3. Meanwhile, make syrup: boil pandan leaves in water for 10 minutes. Then add sugar and stir to dissolve. Chill completely.
    4. Make coconut milk: Boil coconut milk, salt, water and pandan leaves for 5 minutes. Chill.
    5. Bring a big pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, drain the chestnuts and place in a mixing bowl.
    6. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoon of the tapioca starch and toss to coat. Then add another 2 tablespoon and toss again to coat. Keep adding until all pieces are completely coated in starch (they look white) and are not sticking together. For a thin coating, you'll need about ¼ cup total. For thicker coating you may need up to ½ cup. I like just a little more more than ¼ cup.
    7. Once done, put them in a strainer and shake off excess starch.
    8. Prep an ice water bowl for chilling the rubies after cooking.
    9. To cook the rubies, sprinkle half of the rubies into rapidly boiling water, then stir briefly. Boil them for about 2-3 minutes (once they float, let them boil for another minute or so).
    10. Scoop out a small amount (tester amount) with a slotted skimmer then dunk them into the cold water bowl, keeping them in the skimmer for a few seconds just until the coating "settles" into a clear gel. Look to see if there are lot of white, uncooked starch spots on the rubies, if so, put them back into the pot and boil for another minute. If you only see white spots on a few of them, this is okay. Once done, fish out the remaining rubies and place them into cold water.
    11. Repeat #9 and #10 for the other half.
    12. Once cool, drain them. It's best for the texture to not refrigerate these but they will last all day at room temp so you can make them the night before and keep in a cool place until serving time.
    13. To serve, put a scoop of the rubies into a serving bowl, add jackfruit and/or young coconut meat if using. Spoon the syrup over, just until it almost covers the rubies. Top with a couple of tablespoons of coconut milk, but this amount is flexible - I typically do about 2 parts syrup to 1 part coconut milk. Add ice, stir it around so it's really cold, then enjoy!
    Join us on Patreon for bonus content and rewards!

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @HOTTHAIKITCHEN on Instagram and hashtag it #HotThaiKitchen!

    More Desserts and Sweets

    • several cups of tako pudding in green, red and yellow
      Thai Layered Coconut Pudding - Tako
    • a slice of mango royale on a plate
      No-Bake Icebox Mango Pie (Filipino Mango Royale)
    • A plate of Thai tea ice cream cubes
      No-Machine Soft Ice Cream Bars - Thai Tea Flavor
    • 3 scoops of coconut ice cream in a hotdog bun, topped with peanuts and corn.
      Street-Style Thai Coconut Ice Cream

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe rating ★ 5 Stars ☆ ★ 4 Stars ☆ ★ 3 Stars ☆ ★ 2 Stars ☆ ★ 1 Star ☆
      Recipe Rating




    1. Andreas

      September 13, 2023 at 11:12 pm

      If I have to use canned water chestnuts, would I use the ones in syrup or the ones in water? Thanks.

      Reply
      • Pailin Chongchitnant

        September 18, 2023 at 1:57 am

        In water 🙂 Hope you enjoy it!

        Reply
        • Andreas

          September 26, 2023 at 1:54 pm

          I made it yesterday for my family and it was a huge hit. Very refreshing! Thank you for the recipe!

          ★★★★★

          Reply
    2. Bebes Imbembe Tpele Chicha Hidza

      May 31, 2023 at 5:25 pm

      Very tasty and visually stimulating.

      ★★★★

      Reply
    3. Indu Chandra

      April 06, 2023 at 4:08 pm

      can i use canned coconut milk?

      Reply
      • Pailin Chongchitnant

        April 07, 2023 at 2:32 pm

        Yes, but it will not taste as good.

        Reply
    4. Alxandlee

      July 18, 2022 at 3:59 am

      My rubbish tend to be sticky after cook during storage and the coating often fell off. Leaving naked chestnuts... how to prevent these 2 situation?

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Alxandlee

        July 18, 2022 at 4:00 am

        Rubbies * sorry for the error

        Reply
      • Pailin Chongchitnant

        July 26, 2022 at 7:48 pm

        Hi! Unfortunately this is not a dish you can store and should be served within the day. I talk about storage in detail in the video, at 12:20, so take a look and see if that helps.

        Reply
      • Jeselle

        March 23, 2023 at 2:44 am

        How many servings is that ingredients you make? Thank you ☺️

        Reply
        • Adam from HTK

          March 24, 2023 at 8:03 pm

          Hi Jeselle - do you mean how many servings does this recipe make? If so it's written above - 4. Cheers!

          Reply
    5. Hanna

      January 25, 2022 at 2:49 am

      Hi, can we add sago in? Thanks

      Reply
      • Pailin Chongchitnant

        January 29, 2022 at 1:23 pm

        Sure! If you like!

        Reply
    6. LayChin Nicholson

      December 31, 2020 at 8:05 pm

      This is one of my favorite Thai dessert. The ingredients are often easily available and I can make it anywhere anytime. Light, refreshing and delicious!

      ★★★★★

      Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Connect With Me!

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    Image of Pailin

    Sawaddee ka! I'm Pai, a chef, author, and YouTuber. I'm here to demystify Thai cuisine and help you cook great Thai food at home. Want to learn more about me? Here's my story.

    My Latest Cookbook

    Popular Classics

    • Two glasses of Thai tea, one with half and half being poured into it.
      Thai Iced Tea Recipe - Thai vs American Style
    • A plate of chicken satay with a bowl peanut sauce and a bowl cucumber pickle.
      Easy Chicken Satay with "Real" Peanut Sauce
    • a bowl of Thai crab curry stir fry
      Thai Curry Crab: The Hidden Gem of Thai Cuisine 
    • tomato beef stir fry on an oval plate on green napkin.
      Mother-in-Law's Chinese Tomato Beef Stir Fry

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility Statement
    • Merch
    • All Recipes

    Newsletter

    Sign Up!

    Contact

    • Contact
    • My Cookbook
    • Patreon

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © Pailin's Kitchen Inc. 2023