Palm Sugar

Palm sugar, or jaggery, is a dark, unrefined sugar obtained from the sap of sugar palm trees. The sap is collected from the trees and boiled until it turns into a thick, dark syrup. It is then poured into moulds, where it dries to form dense, heavy cakes. Palm sugar is widely used in Southeast Asian dishes, not only in sweet dishes butto balance the flavours in savoury dishes. The easiest way to use it is to shave the sugar off the cake with a sharp knife or grate it. Buy palm sugar in blocks or jars from Asian grocery stores and some supermarkets. If unavailable, any full-flavoured brown sugar can be used as a substitute.