Over our New Year Party, I was tasked to make this dessert.  My version is an adaptation of the original recipe which is a longer process. Since buko and pandan are not readily accessible in groceries around here, I seeked alternatives.

Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 3 hrs
Yields: 15-20 people

Ingredients:
2 package unflavored gelatin
3 cups water
1 tbsp. pandan essence
5 drops green food color
1/2 cup sugar

1 bottle of palm seed (kaong)
1 bottle of cooked sago (tapioca pearls)
2 package frozen buko meat (roughly 4 cups)
1/2 tsp. pandan essence
2 small cans Nestle all purpose cream
1 cup half and half or whole milk is fine as well
1 can condensed milk

Procedure:
Defrost buko packages inside your refrigerator.

Dissolve gelatin and sugar in 2 cups water and bring to boil, add remaining 1 cup water. Turn of heat, stir in 1 tbsp of pandan essence and green food. Transfer to a flat container, preferrably a shallow baking sheet to allow quick setting. Make sure your pan is filled only up to around 1″ deep. Refrigerate and allow to set for 2 hours. When set, run a small knife along the formed gelatin horizontally and vertically creating 1″ dices.

In a large bowl, take cream, milk and condensed milk and 1/2 tsp of pandan essence and whisk all together. Drain liquid and syrup from buko strings, kaong and sago then toss all ingredients.

Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

COOKING TERMS AND METHODS:
Buko – the flesh of your coconut.
Kaong – or Palm Seeds, are seeds of the Nipah palm (Nypa fruticans). Nipah palms (or atap) are abundant along coastal shores and near rivers and swamps. The seeds or fruits of palms are boiled down in sugar syrup to make it sweet and soft. This is primarily used in desserts and sweet drinks and is enjoyed throughout Southeast Asia, Malaysia, India and the Philippines.
Sago – Tapioca Pearls is an essentially flavourless starchy ingredient, or fecula, produced from treated and dried cassava (manioc) root and used in cooking. It is similar to sago and is commonly used to make a milky pudding similar to rice pudding. Purchased tapioca comprises many small white spheres each about 2 mm in diameter. These are not seeds, but rather reconstituted processed root. The processing concept is akin to the way that wheat is turned into pasta.
Pandan – comes from Screwpine tree. The tree grows to be twenty-six feet high. The leaves are used there like we use vanilla flavoring. This leaf also has medicinal properties. In ancient times, the leaves were used for making house thatching and women’s grass skirts. The fruit heads are approximately eight inches in diameter and looks like a green pineapple.

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