#Eatsomethingnice article 2 - Cendol

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image credit - Veronica Ng

Originally sold on pushcarts and later at road side stands, this refreshing and sweet dessert has come a long way indeed and can now be found in high end restaurants and 5 star hotels.   

Chendol is very popular in Asia, especially Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. It is made from coconut milk, thin green pandan flavored “worms” and palm sugar. Red beans, pulut rice, creamed corn and grass jelly are added on top as additional toppings.

It’s hard to resist the allure of chendol. Served ice-cold, chendol is a seductive concoction indeed, reminiscent of the many interesting ingredients that make each and every one of us a Malaysian.

This popular dessert takes its name from “jendol” which in Javanese, Sundanese and Indonesian means "bump" or "bulge", in reference to the sensation of drinking the green worm-like jelly. Chendol was first introduced in Malaysia by Indonesians. Later, Indian Muslim hawkers started selling the dessert.

Originally cendol was served without ice; however after the introduction of refrigeration technology, cold cendol with shaved ice became available and grew widely popular. It is possible that each Asian country developed its own unique recipes once ice became readily available.

This explains why it is most popular in Malaysian port cities such as Malacca, Penang and Kuala Lumpur where British refrigerated ships' technology would provide the required ice. The Peranakans also invented their own version, which had the addition of sweetened red beans.

For this article, we hunted high and low for vendors who make their own cendol worms—traditionally hand-made with mung bean flour and flavored with pandan juice, and learned that the key to a great chendol is top-quality ingredients. The basic ingredients for cendol include coconut milk, green starched noodles with pandan flavoring and palm sugar.

The more adventurous Malaysian vendors have come up with flavored and jackfruit cendol, and we are happy to vouch that both variations are actually quite delicious.

Finally for the health conscious, take comfort that if you consider cendol sinful, at least its fat content counts for something. The generous amounts of coconut milk in chendol may be responsible for the dessert’s heart-unfriendly saturated fat content, but when taken in moderation, the milky white liquid offers a surprising number of benefits. Manganese-rich, coconut milk can help fight muscle cramps and soreness by calming overactive nerve cells. And because it satiates you quickly, it can actually be a good weight management tool.

So there you go. Something for you to chew on as you slurp your icy treat.