Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Grass Jelly, Mango, Lychee with Thai Basil Seeds

We are having some scorching hot weather for the past few days and the temperature went up to upper 90’s today. It was so hot and humid that I went to bed only around 2.00am last night and already up by 6.00am as I can't just stay in bed in this condition. It is a bit unusual to be this hot at this time of the year. I can foresee some very hot days coming our way this summer season. This is a simple dessert that I prepared to cool us down few days ago.


You might notice some black speckles in the dessert. That is Thai Basil seeds or in Malay it is called Biji Selaseh. In Malaysia it is used very often in sweet beverages or dessert like ABC (air batu campur/shaved ice) or air bandung (rose syrup drink). Apparently some used these seed for dieting (feeling full with swelled seeds filling the stomach) and they are also used for the medicinal purposes in India to reduce blood sugar levels. It also prevents peptic ulcers and other stress related conditions like hypertension and asthma.


When you soak the seeds in water it will swell up in minutes forming a gelatinous shells and black center. I used to find them yucky as it kind of reminds me of tadpole eggs….not pretty but now I find it fascinating ha ha...There is no taste to it accepts a bit of crunch. You can get these seeds from any Vietnamese grocery store and you can actually get this basil drink in a can too.

Ingredients:

2 ripe mangos – peel and cut into cubes
1 can of lychee or longan
1 can of grass jelly – cut into cubes
1 ½ tbsp of Thai basil seeds – wash and soak in water for 10 minutes and drain
Juice of 1 lemon
Some sugar syrup (depend on level of sweetness you like)
Some ice cubes



Mix all the above ingredients in a big mixing bowl and serve it cold (I didn't add any extra syrup to it as I find the syrup in the can lychee is sweet enough)

26 comments:

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

You had scorching weather too? I need you to pass me a glass of that!

ann low said...

I need this too! *.*

Shereen said...

Gert,
Kesiankan kita dua..no traditional desserts but have to make do with whatever we have in hand...hehehe...I likey!You know what,j hates that basil seeds.If I make,I kena force and gaduh-gaduh with him to makan.Keksim!Like you say,that basil seeds got no taste so I really can't understand what's his proble..grrr!

tinyskillet said...

Yes I need this. We have been in the mid 90s, and set a record of 96 the other day. I am on the coast so we get enough seabreeze to feel cooler. I know in Florida we are usually hot, but we have never reached 100 in this part.

The basil seeds sound interesting. I will check our Vietnamese market to find them. I'm not too keen on tapioca because of the texture, but I'll give it a try.

My Little Space said...

Gert, your friend Shereen sounded so kesian. lol! :o) So remember to eat as much as you want the next trip you come back. Btw, your dessert looks really gorgeous except lack of the snowy ice. Probably, you can get the mini size ice crasher next time. Stay cool!
Cheers, Kristy

Elin Chia said...

Over here it is hot and humid too...I can do with a glass of this cooling jelly grass and mango drink :)

Cuisine Paradise said...

Wow! This look and sounds great!!! I need a cup for the super hot weather here :)

Jenn said...

I love Thai Basil Seed drink! My mom used to make this in a huge pitcher during the summers. I've tried to get my daughter to try it, but she like you, sees tadpole eggs. :) Perhaps she will change her mind one day too!

Alice said...

Gert, it's hot and humid in Spore, too..nowdays the weather is getting so messy and unpredictable

The drink is so nice and refreshing - I need one too here!
I love selaseh - I dunnow its called thai basil seeds :)

Thks for sharing :)

Little Corner of Mine said...

Looks cooling and I need to look for this Thai Basil seeds! I just talked to my friend yesterday and we were just complaining about this year weather as it's still pretty cold this time of the year here and we were wondering when would it gets warmer. LOL!

mycookinghut said...

I wish to have a glass of this yummy drink right now! We have been having quite nice weather and it will get warmer!!

ijayuji said...

Hi gert!! waaaaa..... musim panas2 mcm ni mmg best! nak cuba jugaklah! nanti i carik ada tak specis cincau yg block2 tuu :D i ada dia punyer daun yg kering2 tuk buat cincau tuu tp malas betul nak buat hihihi...

Yummy Bakes said...

Gert, this looks very tempting and refreshing. Singapore is very hot now too. Wish I would grab one ...

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

I need a glass of this right now, it is so so hot now..

Shaz @ feedingmykidsbetter said...

Looks so refreshing! I want a glass! :)

My Kitchen and Me said...

The weather is super hot in Msia as well, could really do with a bowl of this!

ICook4Fun said...

Shirley, a bit unusual for this time of the year. But weather pattern changes everyday over here. Some other states were hit by tornado now.

Ann, I heard many people complaint about the weather in S'pore and Malaysia too.

Shereen, ha ha like people said tak ada ikan udang pun jadi lah.. I can't blame J for not liking it. It look kind of 'geli' lah :)

Lyndsey, no breeze over here so it feels like the heat just sit on top of your head :( You should be able to get it from Vietnamese store.

Kristy, ha ha yea lah so far away from home. Can't get to eat ABC or Cendol so we have to make do with this. I do have an ice shaver but too lazy to get it and wash it after that. So I just add some ice-cubes to it.

Elin, the humidity here is pretty high too.

Ellena, ha ha come over and I can share it with you.

Jenn, yea they do look like tadpole eggs :)

Alice, ya they are unpredictable.

LCOM, we already hit the 90's since last week.

ICook4Fun said...

Leemei, good for you. Enjoy it while you can before it get warm :)

Ijayuji, kat sini cincau comes in can. Kat M'sia biasa we buy in block from the market kan :)

Aarthi, thank you. I will check out the giveaway.

Yummy Bakes, please do grab one to cool you down :)

Sonia, feel free to grab one :)

Shaz, thank you.

My Kitchen and Me, yea this is good when the weather get too hot.

Anonymous said...

I am having trouble finding basil seeds except in a can with drink. Help. Are they with herbs or are they sold with vegetable planting seeds? aaren

Lisa Ho said...

Basil seeds = biji selasih = telur katak (frog's eggs).... hehehe, that's what I call it too :)

YUmmmm nice summer treat ... I like :D

Lucy said...

Dear Gertrude, awesome looking dessert there! I love your blog and come here everyday. It's something that keeps me going during late night studies overseas :)

I usually follow the other links to other bloggers pages as well. I just right click so I can navigate to their page without leaving yours, but lately that has been impossible :(

I have to leave your page if I want to visit their blogs. Perhaps you can make it more user friendly? :D

Keep up the postings. I'm a huge huge fan!

Beachlover said...

I want a bowl of this wonderful and colorful cold dessert too!!

lena said...

it's superhot here too, went up to 35C yesterday and today. I'm thinking of ice kacang now..blame it on you that you wrote that down..ha! i think this is such a nice dessert and l like the contrast of the black and yellow in this drink!

Anonymous said...

I too can not find these Thai Basil seeds. I live in Kuala Lumpur. Could you please post some stores, locations that you know have these - that would great! :D

ICook4Fun said...

Aaren, this is not the one used for planting. If you are in the US you can get this at Vietnamese stores. Check out the aisle where they put all the Chinese dry herbs.

Lisa, yea they do look a lot like telur katak ha ha...

Lucy, I didn't do anything different to the blog. We were having a lot of problem with blogger's lately so it might be their problems.

Lesley, yea the weather is crazy here too.

Lena, yea very appetizing looking isn't it the color :)

Anon, if you are in KL you can get it from any Malay sundry shops. Just ask for biji selaseh. You can also check out Jaya Jusco where they put all the dry spices. You should be able to find them as this is a very comment ingredients in the Malay dessert.

Anonymous said...

ICook4Fun Thanks! I did find them in a plastic bag with the spices under the name Tukamaria Seed / Biji Selasih as you said. Quite a fun thing to use :D