I wanted to show you some of the properties of agar, so I made this very simple dessert. In Thailand we use agar rather than gelatine. It's very much stiffer than gelatine and made from seaweed, rather than cow, so it's suitable for vegetarians. It sets very very quickly, the moulds you use for agar should withstand hot liquids, since it needs to be poured in hot.

Ingredients
4 Bananas Sliced
5 gms Agar Powder
500 ml Water
100 gms Sugar

Preparation
1. Mix the agar powder with water and heat on the stove.
2. Heat until the powder has dissolved, don't let it boil.
3. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.
4. Take off the heat. You can leave it a little to cool down, but as soon as you see it thickening, pour it into your jelly mould.
5. Place in the fridge, after 1 hour it should be set firm.

You can see from the photograph it's almost like glass to look at, the texture is firm but not gummy - it breaks and cuts very easily. Tomorrow I will make a more typical Thai recipe with agar.