Khao lod song is a Lao dessert made with sweetened coconut milk with floating green pandan flavored gems. It can be sweetened with caramelized sugar or palm sugar. The green gems are made from a large strainer with the gems falling into ice cold water like green rain. There are variations found across Southeast Asia.

How to use pandan leaves

Pandan leaves can be found everywhere in Laos. It was once used to heal my injured foot from gout. The leaves were warmed up and wrapped around my foot to melt the crystals in between my bones. It was a miracle!

The most common use of it is food. It’s fragrant smell and vanilla like flavor is used often in desserts. One way to extract the flavors is to blend the leaves with warm water and then strain it. Warm green liquid will come out. I love using the pandan flavoring for all types of desserts.

Tips & Tricks to make the best khao lod song

This is a simple recipe but it is difficult when it comes to the technique:

I highly recommend getting a metal strainer to create the green gems. Have the gems falling at a height that will give you short rain drop shapes. Make sure the mixture is not under cooked and over cooked.
It can be flavored and colored in many ways; I’ve tried ube, durian, and butterfly pea flower.
practice makes perfect! I had to work on this recipe and technique for awhile until it came out the way I like it so don’t give up.

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Khao Lod Song

Yield: 8-10

Author: Saeng Douangdara

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 8 MinInactive time: 1 H & 30 MTotal time: 1 H & 43 M

This sweetened coconut water dessert comes with floating green gems made from pandan and rice flour.

Ingredients

Slaked Lime Water

5 cups water
2 tbsp lime stone

Pandan Water

10 pandan leaves
3 cups water

Green Gems

1 cup rice flour
2 tbsp tapioca flour
2 cups pandan water
2 cups slaked lime water
1 tsp pandan extract

Syrups

1 cup sugar
2 blocks of palm sugar
1 cup water
13.5 fl oz coconut milk
1 tsp salt

Instructions

Let the limestone paste sit in water for 1-½ hours. Slowly pour the separated water in another bowl while keeping the sediments in the original bowl.
Cut up pandan leaves and blend them in water and then strain.
Add rice and tapioca flour and whisk. Then add pandan water, lime water, pandan extract and mix. Cook on high until it all becomes thickened and then cook on low heat for 6-8 mins until thick
Put through a strainer with large holes and letting the green gems fall in an ice cold bath water
In a small pot, melt sugar and palm sugar on low and add water once golden brown.
In a separate pot, warm coconut milk with salt on low.
Let everything get to room temperature and assemble by green gems, sugar syrup, and coconut milk and topping it off with crushed ice.