Limau Assam Boi

Baking may be a bit of a challenge in my current kitchen but there are still plenty of culinary things I can get up to.  I love exploring recipes from the places we live.  This drink (literally lime and sour plum juice) might sound like something your grandmother might make you drink for a cold but it is possibly the very best invention of Malaysian cuisine.  It is an effective thirst quencher and extremely tasty to boot.

It is possible to buy a cordial version of this drink but it is over sweet and far too sugary to be pleasant.  A friend gave me her family recipe so that we can now make it up at home.

It may look unprepossessing but this is the very
best Malaysian recipe we have found/

To make the drink for two adults and two children You need:

• 6 Kasturi Limes (ordinary small limes will do if you cannot get them)
• 6 Preserved Sour Plums (Assam Boi)
• Rock Sugar
• Ice Cubes
• A blender

Rock Sugar

First take the sour plums and place them in a bowl, add some rock sugar and cover with boiling water to dissolve the sugar and soften the plums.  Next halve the limes and squeeze out the juice.  When all the juice is extracted remove any remaining pips from the skins and place the lime halves in the blender.  Pour the juice over the skins and top up with a little cold water so that the skins are completely covered.  Blend until smooth. 

Preserved Sour Plums

Strain the lime mixture to extract as much juice as possible and wash out the blender.  Return the juice to the blender, add the ice cubes, spring water and the sugary water the plums were soaking in and blend again so that the ice cubes are broken up into small pieces.

Kasturi Limes

Place two plums in the base of each adult’s glass and one in each child’s glass then top up with the icy lime juice mixture and enjoy.

I am still trying out variations and seeing what works and what doesn't.  I had a particularly tasty version of the drink in Malacca where the restaurant prepared it with palm sugar (known as Gula Melaka here in Malaysia), I have some at home and might try this out for the next batch.  Some friends also use honey instead of sugar to sweeten the drink.

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