A concoction of sliced young coconut, pieces of avocado, cut-up jackfruit, tapioca pearl in coconut water, served with shaved ice and drizzle with ample amount of condensed milk.

Introduced To An Indonesian Drink – Es Oyen

I was never exposed to this vibrant colored ice-cold drink until just the last several years.  The first time I tried es oyen was when I returned to Indonesia for a visit several years ago.

After driving through 15-20 minutes of traffic from our house to one of the Shopping Malls in Kelapa Gading we headed down to the food hall.

If you have never visited Indonesia, indoor malls are among a favorite to visit when you are looking for food.  They usually have a wide variety of shops ranging from food stalls to fancy restaurants.

One of the smaller stalls in the mall serves the best es oyen recipe, which was a favorite of my parents.  I’ll never forget the first time I tried a spoonful of the sliced young coconut, pieces of avocado, mixed with the bright pink tapioca pearl swimming in sweet cold liquid (the tapioca pearl is my favorite part).

I cannot believe it took me so long to discover this treat.

I quickly chomped down the rest of the drink.  I even picked up the bowl and started slurping the remaining of the yummy liquid straight from the bowl.  I know.  It’s not very lady-like of me, but I just could not help it.

Now, every time I visit my parents, I always visit the mall several times to visit our favorite es oyen stall.

PREPARATION TIPS FOR ES OYEN

Es oyen is very easy to prepare at home. You can create different variations depending on what you like or what’s available near your area, but the basic ingredients are:

Sliced Young Coconut

• For a more authentic experience, you can purchase a whole coconut, crack it in half, and scoop out the meat into a bowl. Feel free to use prepackaged frozen sliced young coconut which is available in most Asian Supermarkets.

Avocado

• We are lucky to live in Southern California where avocados are in abundant.  The variety that is most commonly found in the local supermarkets is Haas, but we can find Bacon and Reed in our local Farmers Market with my top choice of Fuerte which has the creamiest flesh.  Also, note that Fuerte does not seem to bruise as easily as Haas.  The only downside is the season is only from mid-winter through spring, thus feel free to grab a Haas on other months.

Cut-up Jackfruit

• Jackfruit is the largest fruit of all trees, reaching as much as 120 lbs in weight, although I’ve never seen one that size.  When the jackfruit is cut open, you can spot hundreds of yellow flesh fruit (I might be exaggerating a bit since I’ve never actually counted them).  The young jackfruit is often used in cooking while the ripe ones which are sweeter and eaten as-is or mixed in a lot of different cold ice drinks in Indonesia.  I’ve never bought a jackfruit in America, but canned jackfruit is readily available in most local Asian Supermarket and can be used as a substitute. 

Pacar Cina (the Indonesian version)

• I use tapioca pearl as a substitute.  I still can’t believe I haven’t found the version used in the traditional Es Oyen in America.  Believe me, my sister and I have looked all over town.  The traditional version is about the size of peas with a bright pink color.  For a substitute, I use colored tapioca pearl.  They can be found in most Asian supermarkets.  To prepare, follow the instructions on the back of the package.  Once cooked, drizzle some simple syrup.  Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

Simple Syrup

• simple syrup can be made ahead of time by combining equal part of water and sugar in a pot and bring it to a boil until the sugar dissolved.  This can be stored for a few weeks in the refrigerator and the good thing is this comes handy for making adult beverages.

Shaved Ice or Ice Cubed

• Typically the es oyen in Indonesia uses shaved ice. Alternatively, feel free to use ice cubes or crushed ice.  Most refrigerators have an option to get crushed ice, but you can get a similar texture by putting some ice cubes in the ziplock bag wrapped in a kitchen towel.  Using a rolling pin, crush the ice on a solid surface.  Use a strong ziplock or it break and you will end up with a bunch of ice shooting off the bag!

Condensed Milk

• Use any condensed milk available in your local grocery store, except the chocolate version.  Feel free to use as little or as much to your liking.  My little girl definitely prefers extra on hers.

Yield: 2-4

Es Oyen Recipe

Print

A delicious concoction of sliced young coconut, pieces of avocado, cut-up
jackfruit, tapioca pearl in coconut water, served with shaved ice and drizzled with condensed milk.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 5 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 bag of frozen sliced young coconut
• 1 Avocado
• ¼ cup canned Jackfruit slices (optional)
• 1 cup of Tapioca pearl
• 8 oz Coconut water
• 1-2 Tbs simple syrup
• ¼ cup condensed milk
• Shaved ice/ice cubed/crushed ice

Instructions

1. Defrost the coconut by putting the bag in a bowl of water.  Once defrost, put them in a bowl and drain, set aside.
2. Cut avocado in half.  Remove the seed and scoop out the flesh into
   a bowl, set aside.
3. Cook tapioca pearl per instruction.  Once soft and drained, drizzle a tablespoon of simple sugar over.  Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 4 hours.

To Assemble:

1. Put ¼-1/2 cup sliced young coconut in an individual soup bowl. 
2. Scoop ¼-1/2 avocado and place over the coconut.
3. Sprinkle about ¼ cup of tapioca pearl.
4. Add 2-4 oz of coconut water and top with some crushed ice.
5. To finish, drizzle about 2-3 Tbs of condensed milk.

Assemble the remaining ingredients.  Depends on how big the bowl is. It will serve 2 to 4 people.

Serve immediately with a spoon and enjoy.

CONCLUSION

As I was typing this article, my 9-year-old was sitting next to me and began reading over my shoulder.  She got excited reading the first paragraph and was urging me to make them right now.

I hope you will try this recipe in your own home.  If you’ve never had them, I think this will be a surprising treat for your family and friends.