A drink called Michael Jackson and more cultural exchange

Malaysia is famous for its food and where there is good food, there must also be good drinks! One of the favourite beverages here is Soya Milk. You can get Soya milk in cartons and you can also get it fresh from roadside hawker stalls. Some stalls sell them in plastic bottles too and you can get the milk sweetened or unsweetened.

A couple of years back, an interesting drink started to appear in many coffee shop and restaurant menus - Michael Jackson. My son loves this drink and it has nothing to do with the fact that his name is Michael!

So what exactly is a Michael Jackson? Well, it is Soya Milk with Cincau - otherwise known as Grass Jelly or Black Jelly. I'm not exactly sure what Cincau is made out of but a quick check on Google shows that it is a jelly made from boiling the aged and slightly oxidized stalks and leaves of Mesona chinensis - some sort of mint like plant.

There is also another drink called Cincau which is simply Cincau with sugared water. Cincau is also used in other desserts like Ais Kacang (Shaved Ice with syrup and a whole host of beans and nuts) and many more.

I've also got no idea why this drink is called Michael Jackson. Maybe it has something to do with his song Black or White as the drink is a mix of Black and White? Who knows?



I understand that many Asian stores in Australia, UK and even the USA sell Cincau (Black Jelly/Grass Jelly) in cans so I'm providing this recipe for all of you that want to try and sample a Michael Jackson.

Ingredients
Soya Milk
Cincau (Grass Jelly / Black Jelly)
Method
Dice the black jelly and set aside
Fill a glass with Soya Bean Milk and sweeten to taste. Add in the Cincau and lots of ice.

See how Michael is enjoying his Michael Jackson?!
Its a very refreshing drink and very tasty too. Serve it with a spoon to scoop out the jelly Try it, I'm sure your kids will love it - maybe even you will!

Lime Freeze or is it a Lime Slurpee...

My son was reading one of his books the other day and apparently there was some sort of instructions on how to make lime juice. This became his 'flavour du jour' and he kept telling everyone how to make lime juice.

Coincidentally, I had dug up an old Ice Crusher and had been making the kids Ice Blended Chocolate and Ice Blended Ribena drinks the preceding two days.


It seemed like a good idea then to carry on using the Ice Crusher to make a Lime Freeze or Lime Slurpee. Remember the Slurpees you used to enjoy (or maybe still do?) at 7-11?


We bought a bunch of limes at the market and a bag of ice from the nearby store. The kids got involved in squeezing the juice from the limes and I taught them the well known trick of pressing the lime down on the table while rolling them prior to cutting to get more juice out. You didnt know that? Well now you do!

They had a ball of a time trying to squeeze all the juice out. They thought it was hilarious when the lime slipped out of my hand as I was trying to squeeze out the last bits of juice and the cut half ended up in my shirt pocket. Lots of fun really!


I mixed up a sugar syrup with some hot water and added it to the lime juice. Then I whizzed up lots of ice till it was crushed and added in the juice and syrup to make a sludgy mix. Not as finely crushed as the Slurpees but all 100% fresh with no additives.

The kids loved it. Absolutely. You wont believe that these are two kids that just love sourish, citrus tastes. They even sucked on the lime slice that I used as garnish!


Note: Unfortunately after using my Ice Crusher repeatedly for a few weeks, the darn thing broke! That's what happens when you don't use an appliance for over 5 years and then suddenly use it continously. Now I have to go try and find another contraption as the kids just love their ice blended drinks too much.

Pomegranate Shots

Of all the celebrity chefs and cooking shows out there, I think I like Jamie Oliver the best. I like his cooking style and I also like his easy going attitude. The lovely wife likes him too and she loves his cookbooks.

There has been one recipe that she has been dying to try out and it's not something you cook. It's a beverage - and an alcoholic beverage at that. Now normally, I prefer to take charge of the drinks myself but she was so bent on serving this that I decided to humour her. Actually, I was pretty intrigued with it myself but was just too macho to admit it!

Jamie (yeah, both my wife and I are on first name basis with Mr Oliver!) had mentioned in his book that this beverage was supposed to be a palate cleanser so the lovely wife decided she would serve it as exactly that at our dinner party. Right before I served dessert.

It's actually rather easy to make. Place a bottle of Gin in the freezer to chill. The gin wont freeze due to the alcohol content.


Place 6 shot glasses (or one for each guest) in the freezer as well.


Peel some pomegranates and remove the purple-reddish seeds or capsules from inside. Fill the shot glass with pomegranate seeds,


pour in the ice cold gin and shoot the cocktail back. Keep the liquid in your mouth and dont swallow until you've chewed up the pomegranate seeds. You'll get a burst of flavour and then swallow the lot down.



Very nice actually although I think my wife overdid it with the gin. I'd have preferred half a shot of gin rather than the full shot. Our guests enjoyed it though and some had seconds.

Could that perhaps be a reason why they enjoyed dessert so much after??!!

Starfruit Juice

One of my favourite fruits is starfruit or Carambola if you want to get scientific. Aside from eating it, there is nothing quite so refreshing as a glass of freshly squeezed starfruit juice.



Last Saturday evening, after a run around in the nearby park, we all decided to indulge in some freshly squeezed starfruit. We had already bought a whole lot of starfruit that was going cheap at the market this morning. Out came the juicer and the kids with the wife supervising whizzed away to make a batch of yummy, freshly squeezed Starfruit juice.

The kids certainly enjoyed it!