Dazz Switalla Flavour Secrets No.1 The Strand Chef www.no1thestrand.co.nz

The walk up the Mount the other day was amazing.

Luckily it was early, because as the morning went on the temperature rose dramatically and working in the garden afterwards picking more corn became hot, sweaty and thirsty work. Luckily the chicken fence supports a bit of shade, with the biggest pumpkin I have ever grown (possibly inspiring another column) hanging from its supports.

Usually this is the time a cold beer or three would go down well, but today the fridge contained only one, so I drank that. I remember passing a shaved ice vendor on marine parade at the Mount, which gave me an instant recall of Penang street hawkers selling a shaved ice drink called Ais Kacang, made with red beans, jelly, palm sugar syrup, evaporated milk, sweetcorn, and shaved ice. The ice was kept in big blocks shaved in an old cast iron mangle-type contraption.

All the ingredients were placed inside a plastic bag with straw and taped in such a way that you could drink it. I remember my wife refusing to try it as it had such unusual ingredients. To her corn was for fritters and savoury items, not for a sweet. Such a pity, because to this day the flavour of this drink on that hot sweaty day, having just circumnavigated Penang on a scooter, was the most amazing drink I've ever had in my life! So this week the recipe is a toned down version, no red beans and a standard raspberry jelly instead of seaweed set (agar) but still containing corn and the plum of the moment, Luisa.

Crushed Summer Ice Dessert
Makes enough for six bowls or glasses

Ingredients

3 discs (165g) light palm sugar

1 piece (195g) dark palm/coconut sugar

2 knotted pandam leaves (with four leaves in each)

6-8 ripe Luisa plums

3 C smashed ice, pulverised to a fine snow

3 corn cobs, boiled and stripped from cob

1 packet raspberry jelly, made up according to instructions

1 tin evaporated milk

Method

Source pandam leaves and palm sugar from an Asian supermarket. It will cost you around $6-7.

Slowly melt the two palm sugars in separate pots on a low heat with the pandam leaves and ¼ cup of water in each pot until they turn into syrup. Cut the flesh from the plums and add 1/4 of the light palm syrup to them, purée and then strain. Add the rest of the syrup to the corn kernels and chill down both for an hour.

Assemble the dessert by placing the corn, dark palm syrup, red jelly and plum purée on top of crushed ice and pouring on evaporated milk until the whole thing floats. The dessert can be drunk with a straw as the ice melts and eaten with a spoon to finish off. An interesting way to have corn and plums together and a refreshing way to cool you down.