Thai-Inspired Vietnamese Fruit Cocktail (Chè Thái)

Open cans of rambutan, longan, toddy palm seeds & jackfruit, lychee, and coconut jelly. Separate the fruits from their syrup, cut any large pieces smaller, and place them in the refrigerator to chill completely.

In a saucepan, combine 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water in a 1:1 ratio. Bring to a boil on high heat until about one-third of the water dissipates, then set aside to cool.

In a saucepan, add 1 can of Savoy coconut cream, 3 tbsp of sugar, and 0.5 tsp of salt. Whisk and heat until steaming and the sugar completely dissolves, then set aside to cool completely.

In a large pot, add 2 L of water and bring to a boil. Pour in 200 g of tapioca pearls and cook on medium-high heat while continuously stirring until the pearls change from dull white to translucent. Remove from heat and rinse thoroughly through a fine-mesh strainer with cold water multiple times to prevent clumping.

Divide the cooked and rinsed tapioca pearls equally into two separate bowls. Add 1 drop of pandan extract to one portion to make it green, and 1 drop of red food coloring to the other portion to make it pink. Mix well and set aside.

Collect the leftover juice from the canned fruits and add enough water to make 8 cups total. Pour into a pot, add 1 bag of agar-agar powder to the cold liquid while whisking, add 0.5 cup of granulated sugar, and bring to a complete boil on medium-high heat until all powder granules and sugar are fully dissolved and the liquid is completely clear.

Divide the boiled agar-agar liquid into two bowls. Mix pandan extract into one bowl for green pandan jelly, and 1 can of Savoy coconut cream into the second bowl for white coconut jelly. Let cool on the counter, then chill in the refrigerator until completely firm.

Unmold the chilled pandan jelly and coconut jelly onto a cutting board. Cut them in half, slicing one half into cubes and the other half into ridged strips using a serrated bread knife.

In serving glasses or a large serving bowl, layer the green and pink tapioca pearls, chilled mixed tropical fruits, coconut jelly, and pandan jelly. Pour in 1 cup of half-and-half, add the prepared sugar syrup and coconut cream sauce to taste, top with 2 cups of crushed ice, and mix well before serving.