I like Agar-Agar. Why? The thought of something cold and tasty on a hot day, which is practically every day in Malaysia, is reassuring and refreshing. Oh alright… we have more than a few rainy days in the wet season. But it’s still hot, maybe a little less hot and certainly humid. It is weather deserving of something cold in a mould like Agar-Agar. And, I mean the real deal. Agar-Agar strips that are made from seaweed or red algae, the vegetarian substitute for gelatine.

My mum boasts three types of Agar-Agar in her Agar-Agar dessert arsenal. She still remembers the recipes and the little stories associated with them. She’s just not up to making them anymore. Although, I think she could, with some difficulty and really slowly, if she wanted to. She’s a tad old but determined. My favourite is the coconut Agar-Agar. A close second is what I like to call the stained glass Agar-Agar or dried Agar-Agar. The third is the straightforward red colour Agar-Agar. All nice to have any day of the week. Of the three, the stained glass Agar-Agar has made a few appearances at Deepavali, the Indian Festival of Lights.

Making the stained glass Agar-Agar is two-fold, according to my mum. Preparing the Agar-Agar is the easy part. The drying process not so. It takes a pretty long time. Luckily, the sun or ‘surian mama’ or uncle ‘surian’ obliges. With no specific place to dry the Agar-Agar, my mum used to place her Agar-Agar moulds, which were really large pans, on the floor to catch the sun’s rays. One year, many, many moons ago, the drying process got elevated. My mum had inadvertently discovered a corrugated zinc metal sheet on the top or near the edge of the Atap or Nipa palm roof of our house in Seberang Perak in Alor Setar.

Fastidiously clean, she thought placing the Agar-Agar on the metal sheet on the roof would help keep dirt, dust and prying little hands from reaching them.  She didn’t, however, reckon on the wobble factor. After a few days, the zinc metal sheet gave way with a loud thud. The metal sheet tipped but got stuck between our roof and our neighbour’s – the Haji shop. Yes, the same Haji shop, which is my first memory of that indispensable corner shop for Aiskrim Malaysia and other sweet goodies.  The Agar-Agar was stuck firmly and didn’t fall off. They lived to see Deepavali, albeit briefly. What’s nice about the stained glass Agar-Agar is that it cracks like glass when tapped. The top of the Agar-Agar, where the sugar crystallises, once it’s completely dry, is crunchy and sweet. Yum.

There is another story about the stained glass Agar-Agar. Many years ago, my mum received a fusion version, in amongst a few other Deepavali cakes from her brother number 2. I have mentioned that my mum is the oldest of three girls. She is. The cakes were from her step-brother. My grandfather was married thrice. Hence, my mum had a few step-siblings. Back to the stained glass Agar-Agar. Apparently a beautifully carved cucumber or what looked like it was imprinted in the dried Agar-Agar. My mum was curious to learn how it was made but didn’t ask for the recipe. I asked why and the conversation went like this. Me:  “If you don’t ask, how do you know it won’t be shared with you?” My mum: “She’s won’t.”  Me: “You should have asked.” My mum, “No point.” That was the end of that conversation.

Ingredients, measurements and instruction

Again, the ingredients, measurements and instruction are based solely on my mum’s description. A handful is the size of her cupped arthritic hand, cup refers to an old milk tin, a ladle full is the ladle she’s had forever, enough of this or that refers to gut feel and visual appearance, and save some for later means prepare more of one ingredient so that it can shared and used in another recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Tahil or 38 grams of Agar-Agar strips
• 8 cups (milk tin) water 
• 3 cups (milk tin) sugar 
• 3 tsp vanilla essence
• A few drops of red and blue food colouring (my mum likes this colour pairing)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place pot of water on stove. Bring to boil
2. Place the Agar-Agar strips in pot and stir until fully dissolved
3. Add loads of sugar. Stir until fully dissolved
4. Add vanilla essence
5. Divide mixture
6. Add red and blue food colouring
7. Pour into moulds or pans. Let to cool and to set
8. Organise suitable place or area to dry Agar-Agar
9. Leave to dry completely.  May take a few days
10. Once fully dried, the sugar crystallises and comes to the top
11. Crunchy and sweet on the top. With a fairly firm bottom

I like all three types of my mum’s Agar-Agar.  Admittedly, I like her stories or rather the way she tells them even better. Disjointed with no real explanations. It’s like … ‘that’s it, do what you want with them.’