Avocado Shake
With gula melaka (dark palm sugar) syrup
INDONESIA / PHILIPPINES / VIETNAM
Avocados are generally eaten sweet in Southeast Asia. I remember making guacamole once when I was back home on summer break. My dad’s eyebrows shot up when I started adding chopped garlic to the avocado, but he didn’t want to say anything; after all, his daughter’s all grown up now and is fit to eat all the weird foreign food she likes. Then when I went on to add coriander leaves and salt to the mix, he gave up trying to be cool and asked pointedly if that was how I wanted to eat my avocado. Avocado shakes are a much more common way to enjoy the creamy buttery fruit. The Filipino shake uses milk, while the Vietnamese version uses condensed milk, but the one I am most partial to is the Indonesian one – served with dark palm sugar and coffee or chocolate syrup dripping down the sides of the glass.
- 3 ripe Hass avocados or 2 green avocados
- 300ml organic milk
- 200g ice cubes, or as needed
- 4 tablespoons gula melaka syrup, or to taste (see below)
- 300g gula melaka (unrefined dark palm sugar)
- 150ml water
- cocoa powder or ground coffee (optional)
- For the gula melaka syrup, roughly hack the palm sugar into pieces, then place in a saucepan with the water and the cocoa powder or ground coffee, if using. Bring to the boil, then simmer over a low heat, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup is reduced to the consistency of runny honey. Once cool, pour into a jar or squeezy bottle and refrigerate until ready to serve. You can use this caramel-like syrup on any dessert.
- For the avocado shake, halve, peel and destone the avocados. Put into a blender with the milk and ice cubes, and blend until you get a smoothie consistency.
- To serve, pour or squirt about a tablespoon of gula melaka syrup around the inside of the glass, letting it drip down, then pour in the blended avocado. Drop in some straws, stir and slurp away.