Gum Tragacanth / 500g
雪燕
S$35.80 S$59.00
- Net weight
- 500 g
- Storage
- Keep in cool and dry place
About gum tragacanth
Hard, amber-to-cream coloured pieces that look like broken glass or small pebbles dry, and swell into a soft, clear jelly after a long soak. Almost no flavour of its own. This pack is 500 g net. At the quantities below that is about 50 servings. That works out at S$7.16 per 100 g.
Also known as xue yan, 雪燕, zao jiao mi, 皂角米, soap pod seed, snow swallow.
What people use it for
Simmered into sweet soups and dessert bowls with snow fungus, red dates, lotus seed and rock sugar, where it does the thickening. Usually served chilled in Singapore.
How to prepare it
Soak 6 to 12 hours in plenty of cold water — it swells many times over, so use far more water than looks necessary — then rinse and simmer gently for 20 to 30 minutes.
Keeping it
Keep in cool and dry place
Questions people ask
How long do I soak it?
Overnight is easiest. It is not ready until the pieces are soft all the way through with no hard core left.
How much does it expand?
A great deal — plan on it filling several times the bowl it started in, and soak in a container far bigger than it looks like it needs.
Is it the same as snow fungus?
No. They are cooked together in the same desserts and both turn gelatinous, but snow fungus is a ruffled fungus and this is hard pieces that dissolve into jelly.
How far does this pack go?
At the quantity in the instructions above, about 50 servings from this pack.
Is the bigger pack cheaper?
This one works out at S$7.16 per 100 g. One Sunny lists most items in more than one size, so compare that figure rather than the pack price.