High on Thai

I’m not a big fan of dessert. When fellow foodies ooh and aah over the most decadent chocolate cake, the most luscious berry compote and the creamiest of ice creams, I sigh and ask for the next bowl of pickle.

It’s strange, but it’s true, that even though the people in my family are addicted to sweets (yes my mum, dad and grand dad all have their own stash of chocolate and hide it from each other), I prefer foods that pack in a punch – gimme salty, tangy, bitter, sour, spicy over sweet nothings any day

(Statutory warning: this does not reflect my personality)

That being said, there are a couple of sweet treats that make me go weak in the knees. My love for cheesecake has been professed in a previous post, but I also cannot resist ice-cream cake, butterfingers, peanut butter cups (till the point that they make me sick) and anything jelly or jam filled.

However, if there is one dessert that has me lusting and how, it is a rather funny sounding – Tub Tim Grob. I first had this gorgeous dessert when I went for a meal with the family to Benjarong. After my disastrous escapade in ordering desserts (I always end up asking for the most exotic sounding dish, only to send it away because it tastes miserable), my mum sternly warned me against making a choice. I meekly submitted and asked our politely smiling steward what was the speciality of the house and he suggested - Water Chestnut Rubies in Chilled Sweetened Coconut Milk.   

I figured I had nothing to lose and asked him to bring it on! I kid you not when I say that it was love at first bite. The chilled milk proving to be the perfect foil for the crunchy chestnuts, which was just the right amount of sweet. Determined to make this recipe my own, I met and pestered master chef Regi Mathew, COO, Fine Dine, Oriental Cuisines Private Limited, to part with the recipe.

Tub Tim Grob

Ingredients

·         Water chestnuts diced small                                            ½ cup

·         Tapioca starch                                                                   1 cup

·         Edible food colouring – red                                              10 drops

·         Water                                                                                  4 cups

·         Fresh coconut milk                                                            1 ½ cups

·         Sugar syrup                                                                        1 cup

·         Jasmine essence                                                                 2 drops

Method: Put food colouring in a bowl of water and then throw the water chestnuts in. Let the water chestnuts absorb the water for about 20 minutes. Drain the chestnuts and mix it with the tapioca starch until all the chestnuts are covered completely. Put water to boil and throw in the water chestnuts and let it boil until the starch becomes clear. Now dunk the chestnuts into cold water immediately. Once this is done, put the chestnuts in sugar syrup so that they are evenly coated. Before serving, remove the chestnuts from the sugar syrup and put it in a bowl with the chilled, sweetened fresh coconut milk that has been flavoured with the jasmine essence. Serve Tub Tim Grob chilled with freshly crushed ice cubes.