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Kẹo dừa (Bến Tre coconut candy)
Chewy coconut-milk candy wrapped in edible rice paper
Bến Tre, in the Mekong Delta, is coconut country, and its workshops turn out mountains of kẹo dừa, the chewy coconut candy that Vietnamese families put on the Tết tray and bring home as a souvenir from the south. Thick coconut milk is boiled with sugar and rice malt syrup until it becomes a soft, pale caramel that tastes of toasted coconut and a little salt. Each piece is cut into a small bar and wrapped in a sheet of paper-thin edible rice paper, which melts on the tongue. Offer them with green tea, or at the end of a family meal. The candy is naturally egg-free: the long boil reduces the coconut milk until its own fat and solids, with the malt syrup, set it to a chew. Chef's tip: use a wide heavy pan and stir right across the base without stopping; the common mistake is walking away, which scorches the coconut solids and leaves brown specks and a bitter edge.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 20
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups thick coconut milkfull fat, well shaken
- 7 oz granulated sugar
- 5 ½ oz rice malt syrup
- ¼ tsp fine salt
- ½ tsp pandan extract (optional)for green candy
- 1 tsp neutral oilfor the tray
- 40 sheets edible rice paper (wafer-thin candy wrappers)about 4 × 6 cm
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Line a 20 cm square tin with baking paper and brush it with 1 tsp neutral oil.
Step 2: Put 1 ¾ cups thick coconut milk, 7 oz granulated sugar, 5 ½ oz rice malt syrup and ¼ tsp fine salt in a wide heavy pan over a medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
4 minStep 3: Bring to a steady boil and cook, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, for 25–30 minutes. The mixture thickens, turns ivory then light tan, and the bubbles become slow and glossy.
28 minStep 4: Stir in ½ tsp pandan extract now if using. Keep cooking until it reaches 120–250°F (firm-ball stage): a drop in cold water forms a firm ball that still squashes, and the mass pulls away from the pan as you stir.
4 minStep 5: Scrape it into the tin, level it with an oiled spatula and leave for 10–15 minutes, until warm and firm enough to cut but still pliable.
12 minStep 6: Lift it out and cut into bars about 1 × 3 cm with an oiled knife. Wrap each bar in a piece of 40 sheets edible rice paper (wafer-thin candy wrappers) while it is still slightly warm, so the paper sticks. Keeps 2 weeks in an airtight tin.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 105 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 18 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kẹo dừa (Bến Tre coconut candy) take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 20 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of thick coconut milk?
- Single cream, same amount (not dairy free).
- What can I use instead of granulated sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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