Recipes Desserts Es Teler (Shaved Ice with Jackfruit, Avocado and Coconut) Be the first to rate & review! Es teler sits comfortably in the middle of a Venn diagram of "dessert" and "refreshing drink": it's one of many similarly hard-to-classify (but wonderful to eat) sweets found throughout Asia. This Indonesian treat is served in a glass but is most often eaten with a spoon. Served throughout Indonesia—by street vendors and fancy restaurants alike—es teler is beloved for its cooling properties, and is often consumed "as an afternoon snack," says Lara Lee, the author of the cookbook Coconut & Sambal. This dessert features young coconut meat; crunchy, jelly-like toddy palm seeds; creamy avocado; pleasantly fibrous jackfruit; and chewy tapioca. Look for pandan leaves in the freezer section of Asian grocery stores; their floral vanilla flavor makes the leftover syrup great in coffee or spooned over ice cream. For a shortcut, used canned young coconut meat and coconut water. A shaved ice machine makes easy work of the crushed ice. By Lara Lee Lara Lee Londoner Lara Lee is an Indonesian-Australian chef, food writer, and co-founder of the events catering company Kiwi & Roo. The New York Times named her debut book Coconut & Sambal one of the best cookbooks of fall 2020. Lara contributes to The New York Times, Bon Appetit, Food52, Food & Wine, The Guardian, and Waitrose, among others.Experience: Lara Lee's aspirations to dance professionally were sidelined by an injury. She spent a decade working in technology sales in London, never fully satisfied with her career. Lara began taking refuge in the kitchen, inspired by memories of dishes her Indonesian grandmother cooked back home in Australia. This led her to sell her creations at a street food stall. Fueled by the success of her side hustle, Lara saved up enough money to quit her corporate job, enroll in the prestigious Leith School, and start a catering business. While still in culinary school, she began developing her cookbook concept, submitting her book proposal about her heritage and Indonesian food as an entry for the Oxford Cultural Collective's Yan-Kit So Award, which funds research and travel to create original work about any aspect of Asian food. Lara didn't win, but she did get a literary agent. Seven months after graduation, she was signed by Bloomsbury Publishing.In addition to her food writing, Lara operates a bustling event catering business serving fine Antipodean and Indonesian fare at such venues as the Natural History Museum and the Royal Academy of Arts to high-profile guests like the royal family and the Australian prime minister. She also runs monthly supper clubs at the Yurt Cafe in Limehouse.Education: Lara studied writing at Macquarie University in New South Wales where she graduated with a bachelor of media degree. She got her culinary training at Leiths School of Food & Wine in London, graduating with a diploma in food and wine. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on May 20, 2021 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Active Time: 50 mins Total Time: 1 hrs 20 mins Servings: 4 Ingredients 2 medium-size fresh young coconuts (about 2 1/4 pounds each) 1 (13 1/2-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk, divided .50 cup plus 3 tablespoons cane sugar, divided 2 medium-size fresh or frozen pandan leaves, each leaf tied into a knot (or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract) ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt 3 cups water ⅓ cup multicolored tapioca pearls (about 1 3/4 ounces) 2 small avocados, diced (about 1 1/3 cups) 1 (20-ounce) can jackfruit in syrup, drained and cut length-wise into 1/8-inch-thick strips 1 (22-ounce) can toddy palm seeds in syrup, drained, rinsed in warm water, drained well, and halved crosswise 1 cup cubed (about 1/2-inch pieces) drained green or clear nata de coco (coconut gel) 3 cups crushed or shaved ice .50 cup sweetened condensed milk Directions Place 1 coconut on a cutting board. Using a butcher's knife, slice away white outer husk along the pointy end to expose the hard brown shell underneath. Turn the coconut upright, and carefully hit the heel of the knife about 1 inch below the coconut's pointy end. Rotate the coconut about 45 degrees, and continue hitting and rotating until the shell cracks. Pry open the top; pour coconut water through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a medium bowl, and reserve. Using a metal spoon, loosen and remove coconut meat from inside shell. Gently scrape off any brown fibrous shell attached to coconut meat. Thinly slice coconut meat into about 2- x 1/8-inch strips. Repeat with remaining coconut to yield about 1 1/2 cups coconut strips and 3 cups coconut water. Set aside. Combine 3/4 cup canned coconut milk, 1/2 cup cane sugar, pandan leaves, salt, and 1/2 cup reserved coconut water in a small saucepan. (Reserve remaining coconut water for another use.) Bring to a boil over medium, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring often, 5 minutes. Remove from heat; let syrup cool to room temperature, at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. Remove and discard pandan leaves. Set syrup aside. While pandan mixture cools, bring 3 cups water to a rolling boil in a medium saucepan over high. Add tapioca pearls to boiling water, and cook, stirring occasionally, until completely translucent. Drain, reserving 1 cup tapioca cooking liquid in a small bowl. Rinse tapioca pearls under cold water; drain. Add remaining 3 tablespoons cane sugar to reserved 1 cup hot tapioca cooking liquid in small bowl; stir to dissolve sugar. Add tapioca pearls to sugar water to prevent them from sticking together. Set aside. Arrange about 1/3 cup each avocado, jackfruit, toddy palm seeds, and coconut meat in 4 (12-ounce) serving glasses. Top each with 1/4 cup nata de coco; drizzle each with 2 tablespoons cocopandan syrup. (Reserve remaining cocopandan syrup for another use.) Pour 3 tablespoons canned coconut milk over each. Top each with 3/4 cup shaved ice; drizzle each with 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk. Top each dessert with 1 1/2 tablespoons drained tapioca pearls. Serve immediately. Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Heather Chadduck Hillegas Make Ahead Cocopandan syrup can be stored in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 5 days. Note Pandan leaves, tapioca pearls, coconut gel, fresh coconuts, canned young coconut meat, and toddy palm seeds can be found at grocerythai.com. Jackfruit in syrup can be found at foodsofnations.com, or find them at South Asian grocery stores in your community. Rate it Print