A sweet jelly dessert typically served with coconut milk.
A Khmer New Year and Pchum Ben (Ancestors' Day) sweet, sold from street carts year-round in hot months. The layered-jelly format took its modern form in the early 20th century when imported agar (from Japan via Chinese traders) replaced the older starch-based jellies. The name literally means "shake-shake water" — the wobble of the jellies in the glass.
Khmer New Year sweet; modern layered form took shape in the early 20th century when Japanese-imported agar replaced starch jellies via Chinese traders. Sugar-palm seed (Borassus flabellifer) is non-substitutable — climbed from 20-meter palms, and canned versions are mealy.
A tall glass of layered jellies: agar cut into green pandan strips, red sugar-palm seed slices, yellow mung-bean paste, sometimes pieces of fresh young coconut. Coconut milk and crushed ice fill the gaps, with a drizzle of palm-sugar syrup on top. Spoon-eaten. Cold, faintly grassy from the pandan, sweet but not heavy.
Sugar-palm seed (lontar fruit, Borassus flabellifer) is the ingredient that can't be substituted: jelly-soft, faintly coconut-floral, harvested by climbing 20-meter palms. Canned versions are mealy and over-syruped. Pandan is steeped, not extracted with food coloring — a fluorescent-green dessert is the giveaway sign of a shortcut shop.
Variations
Phnom Penh cart version (pandan strips, palm seed, mung bean); Battambang version adds jackfruit slivers; Siem Reap tourist cafes blend it into a smoothie; Khmer-French Paris cafes plate it as a dessert verrine.
On the Palate
Where Cha Houy Teuk sits in the Cambodian flavor cloud
Ingredients
How it's made
4 steps · 12 min active + 45 min waiting
- 15 min
In a pot, dissolve agar agar and sugar in water over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture comes to a gentle boil, about 5 minutes.
Watch outEnsure all agar agar is fully dissolved to avoid grainy texture.
- 25 min
Reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer for another 5 minutes until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally.
- 31 min
Pour the mixture into a mold and allow it to cool at room temperature until it begins to set, about 15 minutes.
- 41 min
Once set, drizzle with coconut milk for a creamy finish. Chill in the refrigerator until fully firm, about 30 minutes before serving.
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