Long before bubble tea or bingsu gained popularity in Southeast Asia, there was an iced dessert that was and is the staple go-to after a hearty meal.
The Cendol.
There is more to this saccharine delectable than it meets the eye. Mashable Southeast Asia aims to scoop out facts you never knew about this well-loved dessert.
Let's start with the most obvious reason.
Its distinct taste and appearance.
The secret is in its ingredients which makes it unique and satisfying to those with a sweet tooth.
All you need are: Worm-like green jellies (made out of rice flour), coconut milk, palm sugar syrup, and some shaved iced.
Mix them up and you'll have an orgasmic dessert that is sweet, tasty and delightfully satisfying. At times, additional condiments are added into the mix as toppings to give the Cendol the extra oomph.
Depending on where you're at, they range from corn, ice cream, tea milk, fruits, rice and even durian.
A staple dessert Southeast Asia can’t live without.
This special dessert is enjoyed by 10 Southeast Asian countries.
From the dramatic landscapes of Vietnam, to the ancient temples of Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, to the cities of Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, and even Timor-Leste, the Cendol is found in a variety of forms and variations.
There is also no one way to enjoy the Cendol. You can either opt to drink it in a glass through a straw or eat it in a bowl. Your choice.
The Cendol dates back to the 12th century.
Sorry, Malaysia and Singapore, the Indonesians are laying claim to the origins of your favourite dessert.
According to them, the Cendol was first mentioned in the Kresnayana manuscript, which dates back to the 12th century Kediri Kingdom, in Java.
In fact, the Javanese name for the Cendol is Dawet.
Instead of crushed ice, the Dawet is served as a drink. Within it are the trademark green rice jellies.
In the Javanese tradition, this drink plays an integral part in weddings through the Dodol Dawet ceremony. This practise is held a day before the wedding when the parents of the bride would sell the Dawet to guests and relatives. The guests would then pay the parents with terracotta coins, symbolizing earnings for the family.
The popular belief is that the more Dawet is sold, the more guests would attend the wedding.
Meanwhile, the word Cendol was first mentioned in 1932 in the Malay Concordance Project which had listed the food items that were available in Kuala Lumpur back then. In other words, the Indonesians could probably be right.
Now, because of Malaysia's connection to Indonesia in terms of culture, history, and even heritage, there is a famous belief that the word Cendol itself was derived from the Indonesian word, jendol, which means "bulge" or "swollen".
The jendol is a direct reference to the green jellies, which typically grow in size when exposed to any form of liquid.
Thank the British for ice.
Hold on. So how was ice introduced to the dish if the existence of this dessert predates the refrigerator?
Colonialization. See, when the British arrived at the port cities of Malaya, they brought with them ice. How were the British able to ship ice?
They had already figured out through the tech of refrigerated ships. In fact, by the mid-19th century, there were already reefer ships, or refrigerated cargo ships. These vessels were able to carry goods such as frozen beef.
So, historians believe that the people living in the Malayan port cities of Melaka and Penang back then had access to ice, which they then used to experiment with their desserts.
For once the British did the right thing.
So many varieties, all unmistakably Cendol.
In Vietnam, it's called Chè Ba Màu which means "three-colored dessert". The dessert is given the name due to the method in preparing the dish.
The green rice jellies are layered on top of the mashed mung beans, followed by the red beans. All three are mixed with crushed ice and coconut milk.
The Cambodians and Vietnamese share yet another similar method in preparing the dessert in the form of Bánh Lọt where the green rice jelly is mixed with coconut milk, minus the toppings.
In Thailand, however, the dessert takes on a simpler form and it's called the Lot Chong. Similar to its cousins from other countries, this drink is best served cold. In Central and East Java in Indonesia, the street variant of the drink is called the Es Cendol.
If you're in Myanmar in April, then you've probably seen the Mont Let Saung served in conjunction with the Burmese New Year.
Similar to Thailand, the drink is served the same way only with an extra teaspoon of palm sugar syrup, giving the dessert its iconic distinct brown appearance.
The dessert is also extremely popular during the summer season.
In Malaysia, the Cendol is at times married with the Ais Kacang which consists of numerous toppings such as corn, red beans, milk tea, syrup, peanuts, and tapioca pearls.
Best to avoid if you're diabetic.
Though the debate rages on which country has the best iced dessert, one thing is certainly clear: The presence of the iconic iced dessert across 10 different countries just shows how similar we are when it comes to tastebuds.
By the way, the Cendol is best experienced after a hot steamy bowl of Laksa.
Cover image sourced from goMelaka.
