Traditional "Ice Cream Malaysia"

I have some leftover Pulut Hitam (recipe from previous post) and what comes to mind? Ice cream! Yup, this is our very own traditional ice cream which is truly one of a kind. This fabulous ice cream can hardly be found in it's original packing anymore. They are now being produced commercially in modern, convenient packs. Nowadays, our children are spoilt with choices of hundreds of different flavoured ice cream complete with sauces and toppings!

This ice cream was very popular in Malaysia and I believe in Singapore too, at the time when I was young, more than three decades ago! We have always call this "Ice Cream Malaysia" ever since I can remember. Maybe to distinguish the difference between our own local ice cream and the ones adopted from the western countries. Over the years, this ice cream has been "upgraded" to what is popularly  now known as "Ais Krim Potong", directly translated as "Cut Ice Cream".  The plastic packing has been changed to a popsicle style ice cream on a stick. The closest that we can find this traditional style ice cream are the ones sold at the "pasar malam' (night market), ice cream with the local flavours such as Pulut Hitam, Red Bean, Durian, Green Bean and Corn, which are made in a large tray,  are then cut into rectangular shapes when frozen, hence it is called "Ais Krim Potong" (Cut Ice Cream) and only poked through mid-way with an ice cream stick upon buying them. 

Here's a story of a little 'entrepreneur"! When I was in my teens, and we moved from the village to an apartment, suddenly we have this new fridge which we never had before! I was very excited and did not waste time in making ice cream as my little business during the school holidays mainly because I was bored with the ones sold in the shops and I knew that the ones I made will be well received! I made various flavoured ice cream like Red Bean, Green Beans, Milo, Pineapple, Wheat Grain and a few other yummy flavours. Sold them at 10 cents each! Business was good.....better than the orange and strawberry flavoured with artificial colouring, the ones sold at the mini market downstairs! He! He! Frequent knocking at my front door for my ice cream, when my sister takes her daily afternoon nap, soon irritated her so much, and my mom has got no space to freeze her meat in the freezer that was full of my ice cream, which I replenished real fast! So that's the end of my ice cream business after a few weeks of successful business venture! It was fun actually, earning my own money through hard work! My sister still teases me now and then about my "little ice cream business"! It is fun to laugh about the good old days!

Hopefully, my kids will remember and have fond memories of this ice cream as I have. I'm going to make more of this with various flavours that I have done before, I actually miss making these, which are rather fun to make. The special plastic bag for this ice cream are still being sold, it is now used for packing chili sauce and other sweet sauce by most hawker stalls around here.  I'm really looking forward to make more of this so that my kids can share with their cousins when they visit, hopefully they too will continue on with this "old fashion but not forgotten" ice cream with their own children.

To make this delicious ice cream, you can keep your ice cream maker aside! We do it the traditional way, with just a pot and a stove, here goes :

There's no particular recipe for this, just taste as you cook it and adjust the sweetness and amount of coconut milk that you like. Here's a guide on how much of sugar and coconut milk that I used :

 The leftover "Pulut Hitam" (Black Glutinous Rice), about 2-1/2 cups. (Refer to my previous post on how to cook Pulut Hitam)

 I add about 1/4 cup sugar as the leftover Pulut Hitam was already sweetened, just a little amount of water (about 1/4 cup). Cook over a stove till sugar melts. Add about 2 cups thick coconut milk and remove from heat as soon as it starts to boil. Cool uncovered or partially covered to room temperature.

 Special plastic bags for making these ice creams

 Use a funnel to pour the ice cream into the plastic bag,  three quarters full, which is about half a cup.

Tie the other end into a knot and freeze overnight in the freezer.

 Ice Cream Malaysia, frozen, ready to be enjoyed! Just cut the top of the plastic bag with a pair if scissors (or do it the fun way, just bite the plastic off!) and enjoy it direct from the plastic by slowly nibbling and chewing the delicious taste of the "Pulut Hitam" and the creamy taste of the coconut. 

Or just, slide the whole stick of ice cream into a cup, squash lightly with a spoon and enjoy by the spoonfuls!

The texture of this ice cream is not like the ones which you will find in David Lebovitz's recipes. No! Definitely not the same. Homemade Ice Cream Malaysia has a creaminess of its own. There are basically three main ingredients, the main flavour (Pulut Hitam, Red Bean, Corn, etc...), sugar and thick coconut milk. This ice cream is like the version of creamy granitas! That's as close to the description that I can think of! Any closer to how it actually taste like, well, you just have to try them out yourself.

If using beans like Red Beans, Mung Beans or Pulut Hitam, these needed to be cooked with some water until mushy and soft. Try not to add more water than necessary as the more water it contains, the less creamier the ice cream will be. Add sugar to taste and lastly add the thick coconut milk, cook till it starts to boil and remove from heat. Do not boil it over a long period of time after adding the thick coconut milk, as  the oil from the coconut milk will start to get separated from the milk, and you would not want that! That is the reason, the coconut milk is always added in last. Instead of freezing these in  the special plastic bags, they can be frozen in the popsicle mould too. Have fun making this and enjoy!

My favourite flavours are Pulut Hitam, Mung Bean and Corn. Yummy! My kids are already asking what flavour am I making next!  Maybe in a couple of weeks time, perhaps corn, kinda miss it! Too much of coconut milk is definitely not healthy, a treat once in a while is alright!

To my fellow Malaysian blogger friends out there, when was the last time you had this?  I'm sure you would have your special memories of  "Ice Cream Malaysia"  too! Come and share with us!