Soy Beans and Jasmine Rice for a Non Melt Ice Cream

In the Gourmet Market of the elegant Siam Paragon Mall, in Bangkok, I spot a cute food cart decorated with pink and white stripes that shows a sign: ‘Non Melt Ice Cream’.

I roll my eyes and I draw near to double check. That’s exactly what it says.

;;;

They state their mission is to be “The First. The Best. And Different.” The challenge lies in their name: “15 inch mochi cream“, description of an ice cream that is supposed to be piled up to 15 inches and to maintain its shape even when hot toppings are poured over it.

Its inventor, Marut Chalotorn, wanted to patent a ‘non melt ice-cream‘ able to withstand the sultry weather of Bangkok. He succeeded indeed: his invention can hold its form overnight before the cold slowly disperses.

The secret hides in the ingredients: a mixture of milk, soybeans and Thai jasmine rice, that give the dessert a glutinous texture, similar to the Japanese rice cake mochi.

Although the main ingredients (which are already tasty enough) don’t allow the chef to get too creative with the flavoring, one can personalize their ’15 inch’ with the toppings, that range from tradition – with chocolate, berries, kiwi or mango sauce – to innovation, with soy powder and corn butter.

I choose the latter, and a friendly Thai teenager enriches my cup with a generous ladle of relish, that streams along the curves of the ice cream dragging along full grains of corn. The warm, sleek concoction is smooth and oily and creates an interesting pair with the soy-rice based chilled cream.

Now the question: ‘If at the store next door they sold a good, traditional gelato, which one would you enter?

Tradition wins by a mile.

It would have been better if… besides being ‘non melt’, the ice cream had been ‘non forgettable’.