Agar agar, popular in Asia, is a gelatinous substance derived from red algae. I purchased agar agar at a Chinese grocery store, and the results were mixed. While the almond agar agar molds were pretty, it was soft and bland tasting. The red bean agar agar was fantastic, reminding us of red bean mochi. I need more practice making agar agar recipes from scratch, so in the meantime I’m sticking with gelatin.

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