Coconut yellow split pea pudding aka 椰汁馬豆糕 "yeh jup mah dou goh"

Image 1: Coconut yellow split pea pudding (椰汁馬豆糕)

Food Synopsis: Coconut yellow split pea pudding (椰汁馬豆糕, pronounced "yeh jup mah dou goh") is a sweet dessert made with cornflour and coconut milk, so is nothing like a traditional English pudding made of flour, butter and eggs. It has a jelly-like consistency, and if made correctly, should wobble a bit like jelly too. Dotted throughout the pudding are tender yellow split peas, adding bite and textural contrast to the chilled smoothness of the rest of the pudding.

Although cornstarch is usually used in small quantities in cooking to thicken up sauces, thispudding uses large amounts to cornstarch - so much so that it creates a liquid so thick that its solid. Heat is required for thickening of corn starch in solutions as it is responsible for breaking the granules of starch, releasing individual starch molecules which absorb water and form a thick gel. Getting the correct amount of heat is crucial for this recipe.



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I'd been wanted to eat this dessert for ages since I found the English translation to the name. What better time to try it out when in living alone in the Australian outback? Though there was nothing but anglicized Chinese take away food like deep fried lemon chicken and other unauthentic horrors served with an extra dollop of grease for sale, there was at least a trusty supermarket stocked with  coconut milk and cornflour.

Like with most recipes, I ended up modifying it to suit my needs. I had no measuring cup, 1 pot that was too small and rusted so would never consider using, and no small pans or molds.

What I did have was a Decor Tupperware container with markings on the side, a Homemaker rice cooker, 1 plastic rice palette that came with the rice cooker, and a large round dish. Despite all the substitutions, I think it all worked out pretty well.

Ingredients	Original recipe	spoon’s recipe
Yellow split peas (dried)	½ cup + enough water to cook	½ cup + 1 cup water to cook
Cornflour	1 cup	1 cup
White / caster sugar (personal preference)	¾ - 1 cup	<¼ cup +4 sachets sweetener
Coconut milk	⅔ cup	200ml light coconut milk
Evaporated milk	½ cup	N/A
Cold water	4 cups	4 cups
Method	1.       Rinse the yellow split peas until the water runs clear.  Place them in a pot of cold water and bring to the boil.  Make sure you watch it at this stage as it can boil over really quickly!  Lower the heat so that its in between simmering and boiling and wont’ boil over.  Cook for 15-20 minutes.  Pop on the lid, remove from heat and let it stand for 10 minutes.   Drain and set aside. 2.       Mix the cornstarch with 1 cup of water — it feels like it’ll never dissolve at the start, but keep going and it’ll dissolve.  Set aside. 3.       Put the remaining 3 cups of the water into a saucepan and add the sugar.  Bring to the boil.   Add the coconut milk and evaporated milk.  Bring to the boil again.  Add the cornflour mixture and stir vigorously.  The mixture will thicken up considerably at this stage, so it’s important to keep stirring.  Do so for about 2 minutes. 4.       Remove pot from heat and add the drained yellow split peas.  Stir for another minute. 5.       Pour the mixture into a dish or moulds, and place into the fridge for 4-5 hours until set. 6.       Makes a 9 inch quiche dish but fit it into whatever mould you have.	1.       Wash yellow split peas. 2.       Boil in a rice cooker for 15 – 20 mins. Unhinge the lid to let out steam if it boils over. 3.     Let peas stand on ‘warm’ setting for 10 minutes. Peas should be soft, but still have a bite. 4.       Add cornstarch to1 cup of cold water. Stir, as if trying to dissolve it. It won't dissolve, but the solution will be opaque. 5.       Scoop out peas leaving  any water remaining in rice cooker. Set peas aside. 6.       Set rice cooker to ‘cook’ mode. Add 3 cups water into the rice cooker. 7.       Add sugar/sweetener coconut milk. Cover with lid. Bring the water to boil. It needs to be boiling as this provides the heat for the thickening the cornflour. 8.       Add corn flour mixture. Cover with lid until mixture starts to thicken. 9.       Stir vigorously and continuously until the mixture doesn’t seem to thicken any further. 10.   Set rice cooker to ‘warm’ mode. Add split peas and stir until peas are evenly distributed. 11.   Pour into a heat proof dishes or desired molds. Makes ~ 5 ½ cups; 1.4L 12.   Refrigerate for at least 4 – 5 hours, or overnight. 13.   Slice into 3x3 cm cubes, diagonally, or as creatively as you wish!