Gelatine

The animal gelatine (usually pork skin or beef bone, not fish) that sets a pudding. Ten grams (about two and a half teaspoons) give mango pudding its wobble; some set 椰汁馬豆糕 with it instead of cornflour, quicker and firmer but without the coconut fragrance. Gelatine powder in the Australian supermarket baking aisle (McKenzie's, for example) is the 魚膠粉 the Hong Kong recipes mean, and gelatine leaves are on the same shelf or at a deli; one leaf is about a teaspoon of powder.

Cautions: read first

• Animal-derived (usually pork or beef), which matters for vegetarian, halal and kosher guests; agar is the substitute.

Preparation

Sponge it in cold water for a few minutes, then dissolve it into the warm liquid or over a water bath; never boil it.

Availability in Australia

Easy to find

Pairs well with