Simple Vegan Mango Pudding
One of my favorite things to do is to veganize a recipe and make it taste as similar as possible to the original— and for today we’ve got the vegan version of the mango pudding, a dessert with unknown origin, but that is immensely popular in Hong Kong where it’s commonly served in local restaurants and cafes.
It’s a light and refreshing treat with a sweet, fruity flavor and a smooth, creamy consistency. Not the easiest to recreate because of the fundamental differences between agar and gelatin, but I’ve come up with a version that is equally light and incredibly delicious— much like the original.
Let’s look at the ingredients you need and a step-by-step explanation of how to do this vegan mango pudding.
🗒️ Ingredients Notes
Pudding base
To create the base for this mango pudding, you’re going to need the following ingredients:
- Mangoes.
- Maple syrup.
- Agar.
- Water.
- Coconut milk.
- Lime.
These are ingredients you should be able to easily find in any supermarket. The only exception may be agar, but if that’s the case, you can always go to a health store or Asian store near you. They should have it!
Garnish Suggestions
If you want to add some extra flavor or make your vegan mango pudding look very pretty on a dessert bowl, there are a few garnishing ingredients you can use, namely:
- Coconut milk
- Mangoes
- Lime or lemon zest.
These three will not only look good on top of the mango pudding, but they’ll also make it much more delicious.
Unfortunately, as I’m currently traveling, I don’t have a grater to make lemon zest, but it’s definitely something I would add if I could. It just adds that much more color and zestiness to the pudding!
👨🏻🍳 How To Make Vegan Mango Pudding
Create mango pureé
The first part of this recipe is to create mango pureé. Fortunately, that’s quite easy, as you only need to cut two mangoes and put all the flesh you can get from them in a blender.
You then add four tablespoons of maple syrup and blend everything until you’re left with a thick, creamy pureé.
Mind you, depending on the mango, it’s quite possible that you’ll have some strings or fibers in the pureé, which you ought to remove with a sieve before adding it to the pudding mixture.
Dissolve the agar in water
Next, you have to mix one teaspoon of agar with 150 milliliters of water and bring the mixture to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, turn down the heat and keep stirring to dissolve the agar.
It should take 4-5 minutes to completely dissolve the agar, and then you can move on to the next step, which is to add all the remaining ingredients.
Add the coconut milk to the agar mixture
First, you’ll want to add full-fat coconut milk. Yes, the same one that is used for cooking curry!
The reason we didn’t add the coconut earlier (and mixed it with the agar) is that you can’t see if the agar is fully dissolved (due to the bright white color of the coconut milk).
Pour the mango pureé into the mixture
The next obvious step is to add the deliciously fruity mango pureé mixture, but make sure to remove the fibers first. I poured the pureé through a sieve into the mixture.
It will prevent the mango pudding from being stringy— which frankly, doesn’t really affect the flavor much, but it’s not really a good sight to see on a pudding.
Add the lime juice and mix well
After incorporating the mango purée, add the lime juice and continue stirring for about 5 minutes or until you get a creamy and shiny consistency. As soon as you get that, turn off the heat.
Pour the mango pudding base into serving bowls
Don’t leave the pudding mixture in the pan, otherwise, it’s gonna start to set. Pour it immediately into serving bowls and leave it to cool down for roughly 15 minutes.
Put in the fridge for at least 4 hours
After it has cooled down, place the pudding base into the fridge for about 4 hours. That’s enough time for it to get thicker and gain that pudding-like consistency.
Garnish with coconut milk and diced mango
Only after it’s out of the fridge should you start garnishing since the pudding base will have completely set by then.
❓Frequently Asked Questions
Is agar the same as gelatin?
Nope, agar and gelatin are not the same things. Agar is made from red algae, while gelatin is derived from collagen found in animal bones, skin, and connective tissue.
However, they’re both commonly used as gelling agents, though what results from their use is different.
Agar leads to a more firm consistency so it’s normally used to make jellies and puddings.
Gelatin, on the other hand, results in a softer and more delicate texture, lending itself quite well to the making of marshmallows. It’s just an example.
Does agar have any taste?
Fortunately, agar has a very neutral flavor. This is great because it doesn’t interfere with the flavor of the dessert you want to make. When it comes to flavor, it’s pretty much the same as gelatin.
Simple Vegan Mango Pudding
- Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 (about 2 cups) 1x
Description
Mango pudding is a very popular dessert in Hong Kong, but it’s typically not vegan. As such, I’ve decided to create a vegan-friendly version that is equally delicious!
Ingredients
- 2 ripe mangoes (Two mangoes should provide you with 1 cup worth of mango pureé)
- 4 tbsps maple syrup
- 1 tsp agar agar
- 150 ml water
- 1/2 cup coconut milk (This refers to full-fat coconut milk— the one used for cooking)
- 1/2 lime (juice)
Instructions
- In a blender, add the cut mangoes and maple syrup to make a mango pureé. Measure out the mango pureé, as it should be enough for one cup.
- In a pan, mix 1 teaspoon of agar and 150 ml of water. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil while whisking regularly. Once it starts boiling, bring the heat down to low-heat and continue stirring for about 4-5 minutes until the agar has dissolved completely.
- Once you’ve confirmed that the agar is dissolved, pour half a cup of coconut milk and continue stirring. I did not add coconut milk earlier as it would make it impossible to see if the agar had dissolved.
- Pour the mango pureé into the mixture using a sieve. By using the sieve, you prevent mango fibers from getting into the mixture.
- After incorporating the mango purée, add the lime juice and mix for another 3 to 5 minutes, until you get a creamy, shiny consistency.
- Pour the mixture into dessert bowls and let it cool down before placing it in the fridge to set for 4-5 hours.
- Once it’s ready to eat, you can garnish it with coconut milk, diced mangoes, and even lime zest.
Notes
- Check to see if the agar is dissolved by using a spoon— you don’t want to see any remaining particles in the water.
- Before adding the mango pureé to the agar and coconut milk mixture, be sure to strain it first to prevent fibers from getting into the mixture.
- It’s important to let it settle for a few minutes outside before placing the pudding in the fridge.
- Garnish only after you take it out of the fridge since only then will the pudding base be thick enough.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Hong Kong, Vegan
🙏🏻 Before you go, I’ve got a favor to ask!
I’d love to get your feedback on this recipe! Feel free to leave a comment below detailing your experience— and let others know how you feel about it!
Of course, you can also ask any questions you may have about the recipe— and we’ll try to respond ASAP.
When is the maple syrup added?
Hi Rosie, you add it to the blender in the beginning along with the sliced mangoes. 🙂