Dissolve 1 teaspoon agar agar in 1 cup of room temperature water and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Then bring to the boil to complete dissolving the agar ensuring the small particles have completely dissolved. Then add the sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring to dissolve.
Allow the agar mix to cool for a few minutes before use.
Add the agar mix into your serving glasses or molds.
If you wish to suspend fruit in the jelly as it sets, while the jelly is cooling and part set, push the mango pieces into the clear agar.
Making the Coconut Jelly
Mix 2 tablespoons agar powder into 2 cups of water and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
While agar is standing, slice up strawberries and line your serving glasses with the strawberry slices.
Boil up the agar as described above, add the sugar, and salt and dissolve the ingredients then add the coconut milk and stir while simmering for 5 minutes. Avoid boiling the coconut milk as it will separate if you do.
Turn off the heat and allow to cool for just a few minutes.
Making Strawberry Jello Topping
Mix 300ml water with 50ml strawberry squash and add 2 teaspoons agar powder and mix in. Stand for 5-10 minutes. Then heat to boiling and stir to ensure full mixing. Allow to cool a little before use but use within a short time before it begins to set.
Making Colored Jello Art Flowers
Ready the Coloring for the Colored Flower Molds
For colored highlights, use 1 drop of food coloring in a tablespoon of coconut agar mix (more food coloring will produce too strong a color). Then add the color into the bottom of the flower molds for highlighting.
For through color coconut jelly to fill the mold (in other words a larger amount than used for highlighting) you can use 1 drop of coloring in one cup of agar mix. But you can make stronger or weaker colors by simply diluting the color more or using less coconut agar mix.
Once the highlighting colors are already set (which does not take long as the quantity is so little) top up the mold and refrigerate for about 30 minutes to set.
Making Thai Style Desserts
There are many variations such as layered clear jelly and coconut jelly or the two tone jellies featured in this article.
For fruit versions you can top with fruit, add fruit to the serving glasses and cover with jelly or suspend the fruit in part set jelly and top up with different colored jellies
For the Two Tone Mango & Coconut Dessert Featured
Angled your serving glasses and part fill with clear agar. Allow to partially set - just enough that the jelly will part to allow you to push chopped mango into it part way.
Allow the clear jelly to set before topping up with a coconut jelly mix. Again allow to set, refrigerate to cool for 30 minutes or so.
Before serving, top off the desserts with fresh chopped mango and some optional strawberry sauce.
For Strawberry and Coconut Thai Desserts
Slice strawberries and push the strawberry slices against the sides of the serving glasses where they should stick. Fill with coconut jelly and allow to set enough that your finger comes away clean when you touch teh surface which has a little bounce to it on touch.
When the coconut jelly is set enough (you can speed by refrigeration), top off with strawberry jelly and again refrigerate.
Finsih with chopped strawberries on top or you can push in to suspend the strawberries for a little more drama when teh jelly is still only part set.
Video
Coconut & Strawberry Jello Flowers - Kid & Vegan Friendly Agar Agar Art Desserts
Notes
Nutrition information provided for the coconut desserts.