Agar Agar Aka Kanten

[macsurf]

I tried the Rimpings and Tops, also the Japanese shop on Chiang Mai land rd., none of them have it. Anyone know where to buy this in Chiang Mai. The Japanese name is Kanten, it's a seaweed extract. Thanks!

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Tesco has it. And Big C, and all the other ones.

Nice with Vodka.

[Yunnie]

Hmm you mean extract or the actual seaweed (and its powder form)... is there even an extract......?

Now if we're talking actual seaweed....

Do you mean Agar Agar powder or the actual dried seaweed form? like those below? ALL the Thai stores have them. A Thai store not having it is like Thailand not having Pad Thai.... just plain weird. I figure you were not looking in the correct place. Its Normally where ever the baking items are. You probably walked passed it and not notice cause it might have been an all Thai packaging - normally the Mermaid brand.

At Carrefour its near the Baking powder... either on the same shelf or below it... forgot which. I know for a Fact Rimping has it. Again, in the baking area. It should not be far off from the Bigger bags that has pictures of Thai desserts on the front that says Agar desserts (that has flavoring in it already)

Its not too hard to figure out... ALLthe plain Agar Agar powder are in similar/ SAME style small bags below, usually blue or green. They all look alike. Some will have English on it, but there's a green brand that is completely in Thai,(i got that one at Carrefour).

There's Mermaid ( pearl mermaid) brand - Green, Telephone - Blue (which I'm use to and like), and some Trophy/statue one - Blue. There's no difference in any of them... all the same.

Now if you want the actual seaweed form...( in my opinion is too much work to boil down when powder is the same thing) I've actually not noticed it in normal stores.... but then again I'm not looking for it. I do know for a fact the actual seaweed form is sold in Warorot Market on the first floor among all the teas and seasonings.

วุ้นผงอะการ์ - Agar Gelatin Powder

วุ้น =woon^H (gelatin)

ผง = phong^R (dust/ powder)

อะการ์ = agar^M

Edited September 4, 2010 by Yunnie

[neilrob]

That's a great answer---I hope the OP appreciates it!

[macsurf]

Yes thanks for that, good info & appreciated mak mak!

I did now find it at Rimping in the bakery section but exactly the packages in your pictures which are all in Thai.

I just was'nt sure if they are really made from seaweed or is it a Thai product they are calling 'agar' but is really just powdered gelatin which is as Wiki says;

"Gelatin is a protein produced by partial hydrolysis of collagen extracted from the boiled bones, connective tissues, organs and some intestines of animals ..."

Thanks for the warorot tip! I will check that out.

Mahalo

[orang37]

Sawasdee Khrup, TV CM Friends,

Thanks to Khun Yunnie, and other posters. who gave so much enlightening detail on this topic !

Fascinating to read in the Wikipedia entry: Agar on Wikipedia

Agar-agar is approximately 80% fiber, so it can serve as an intestinal regulator. Its bulk quality is behind one of the latest fad diets in Asia, the kanten (the Japanese word for agar-agar^[1]) diet. Once ingested, kanten triples in size and absorbs water. This results in the consumer feeling more full. Recently this diet has received some press coverage in the United States as well. The diet has shown promise in obesity studies.^[8

We have been concerned that our human body's diet consisting of about 90% soy-milk (mixed with cheap milk-powder for ages three and up) does not have enough fiber, and we are thinking that making some soft treats with agar might help us with certain bodily functions "good taste" requires omission of details about.

But, we also read that agar will "break down" if mixed with uncooked acidic fruits, like pineapple:

Agara and acidic fruits

and our first thought was to make a puree of mango, pineapple, banana, and then to mix that with agar to make a solid, and cool, treat.

By the way, in the southern part of America, where this human was raised (long before late-life fusion with Orangutan soul-mind), there is a long tradition of making all kinds of gelatin based frozen/chilled treats that are not sweet, but that include things like finely chopped celery and grated carrot. In our memory they were delicious.

best, ~o:37;

[Yunnie]

Banana puree uncooked, should work since you can just toss it in as slices and make a kind of fruit gelatin.

If you want to make it with fruit puree you will have a cook it because its the only way to dissolve the agar.

But the mixture will be mostly puree and enough agar to the firmness you want. So it would be puree (plus a bit of juice so its not too thick), sugar, and agar. Toss puree in a sauce pan with sugar and agar and stir till sugar and agar dissolves and quickly bring up to ALMOST boiling but not boiling. Leave it to cool off stove for a bit then before it hardens (which is does pretty fast) pour into mold and let it set in the fridge.

I've seen it made with soy milk, banana, pears, corn, eggs, coconut meat, coconut milk, thai custard, pumpkin...ect

basic SE Asian recipe is: Agar, lots of water, TONS of sugar (cause agar is so freaking tasteless), coconut milk, and a pinch of salt. <--- very vegan recipe. lol I prefer non vegan. So I add eggs. You add eggs (scrambled but not cooked) in after youre done cooking and right after you pour into a huge pan to cool down (or right into the pot before you pour into tiny molds.) The heat from the mixture will cook the eggs completely. You can also add corn, but with eggs.. nah, tooo busy for me.

What I like about this is... if you again put the crap that makes it unhealthy in, you have tons of fiber and tons of protein. But I'm not sure I can choke down the tasteless-ness... So I must have sugar and coconut milk.

But ultimate favorite is Agar with Pandan