There are two variants of "buko pandan" in the Philippines. One is a cold drink made with strips of coconut, pandan-flavored jelly and coconut juice. The other is a dessert salad made with strips of coconut, pandan-flavored jelly, cream and sweetened condensed milk.

Young coconuts with soft meat is essential to both. The kind that is grated to extract coconut milk is the opposite of what this dessert requires. 

Traditionally, the jelly component is made with agar-agar, not gelatin. While gelatin is derived from the collagen of various parts of animals, agar-agar is made from red algae and is, therefore, preferred by vegetarians. Agar-agar, however, does not have the chewy texture of gelatin; it also falls apart easily. To add that desirable chewiness and to give agar-agar a lift, a little food grade lye water is added. 

A note about lye water which is used in many Asian food items. A lot of people confuse lye water with industrial lye. In my blog, in fact, there are so many comments about the "dangers" of using lye water in food because, according to these commenters, the purpose of lye is to unclog drains. Not true, of course. Lye water is safe if used properly. And it is used more widely, and even beyond Asia, than most people think.

Lye water finds high rate of usage in Asian cooking. It is both a preservative and an essential ingredient in the making of food products. It breaks down hard fibers and makes them easy for cooking. Often you do not cook the food items in lye, but use lye to soak or marinate them before cooking. In Chinese foods, lye plays a big role. It is used to produce dumplings,  steamed pastries and as an additional leavening agent to add to that extra lift. Sometimes, it is used with ammonium carbonate to make the dough crispy and prevent dumplings from getting soggy. Pretzels and bagels are soaked in lye bath before baking. This not just makes the dough crispy, but also makes it brownier and tastier. Sodium Hydroxide or lye is an important ingredient in the making of Hominy Corn too. Corn, water and lye are either boiled or kept still overnight to make Hominy Corn. Lye opens up the corn by loosening its skin and eyes. After washing off the lye and seasoning with salt, the corn is ready for consumption. (Source)

These days, agar-agar and gelatin are used interchangeably. If using gelatin, there are pandan-flavored green-colored powdered gelatin available for easy use. If using agar-agar or unflavored gelatin, prepare them using fresh pandan extract instead of plain water and sugar to taste. Alternatively, use a few drops of green food color and bottled pandan flavoring. Know, however, that some commercial pandan flavorings are mere imitations rather than authentic extracts.

See Also

Venezuelan Coconut Cream Cake

Bojo Cake (Coconut and Cassava Cake from Suriname)

Tembleque (Coconut Pudding)

Ingredients

• the meat of 2 young coconuts, cut into thin strips
• 3 to 4 cups prepared agar-agar or gelatin, cut into half-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup of chilled cream
• 1/2 cup chilled sweetened condensed milk

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 0 minutes

• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 6 persons

Preparation

1. Place the coconut strips and jelly cubes in a bowl.
2. Whip the chilled cream until thick. Fold in the sweetened condensed milk. Pour over the coconut and jelly. Stir.
3. Keep the buko pandan dessert covered in the fridge until serving time.