Description
Colorful Vietnamese candied coconut ribbons are a tasty treat often served as a traditional snack during Lunar New Year celebrations (Tet). Here’s my version, which is much less sweet than the store-bought variety.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 lb freshly shredded coconut strips (from 2 coconuts)
- 1/3 cup granulated white sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt (a pinch)
- 1 packet vanilla sugar (8 grams, optional)
Instructions
- Season coconut strips: In a large mixing bowl, toss coconut strips with sugar, salt and content of the vanilla packet. Let it sit for four hours. Water will accumulate at the bottom of the bowl.
- Color coconut strips: Divide the coconut and accumulated water into separate bowls for different colors, if any. Lightly color each batch with food coloring. Keep in mind that the color will darken once dried. You can also naturally color the coconut ribbons by blending the following foods and straining the liquid: Pandan leaves for green, purple cabbage for purple, carrots for orange, and red dragon fruit/beets for pink/red, etc.
- Candy the coconut strips: Add coconut and its liquid to a non-stick pan. Do not crowd pan. If you have multiple colors, do each color separately. Turn heat to a medium-low. The coconut strips will first turn transparent as the sugar melts. Then it will turn opaque as it dries. Keep tossing coconut lightly with a pair of chopsticks until they are completely dry (about 10 minutes total). Transfer to a wire rack or large colander to cool to room temperature. Clean pan and repeat with other colors, if any.
- Prep Time: 4 hours
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: dessert
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: asian, vietnamese