Coconut Candy ( 1 ) 椰子糖

Coconut Candy ( 1 ) 椰子糖

Sweet, sweet confection

Coconut candy was among the first few food items that I learnt to make as a teenager. Back in the day of my youth, there weren't that many snacks or sweet treats around in small towns. I first ate this candy at my friend's Deepavali open-house. Later, my friend, Sim made this old-fashioned coconut candy and I learnt it from her. There seemed to be a slight variation from what I ate at the Deepavali open-house with that made by my friend, Sim. Making and eating this candy again brought back the nostalgia of bygone years. 

This sweet confection is laden with sugar but I think it is okay to indulge once in a while.

Ingredients

1 grated coconut, equivalent to about 2 cups tightly packed grated coconut
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup of evaporated milk
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder

Instructions

1.  Pour the grated coconut into a wok and stir-fry for about 3 minutes.
2.  Add in the butter, sugar, salt and evaporated milk.
3.  Add in the cocoa powder.
4.  Continue to stir and cook until it is almost dry and caramelised.
5.  Dish up into a greased tray.
6.  Use a spoon to distribute the coconut evenly across the tray. 
7.  Use a knife to cut into squares or rectangles but do not remove the pieces yet.
8.  Allow to cool down and hardened first before removing the squares or rectangles. 
9.  Store in a container and keep it in the refrigerator.