🥤 Sugarcane juice (asab)
Asab is freshly pressed sugarcane juice, one of Egypt's favourite street drinks. Peeled canes are fed through a press and the pale green-gold juice is poured straight over ice. It is very sweet, with a fresh, grassy taste and a light froth on top, and is drunk on the spot from a tall glass, especially on hot days.
Diets
Allergens
None of the 14 major allergens in a typical recipe.
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 kg fresh sugarcane
- Ice cubes
- 300 ml cold water (if using a blender)
- Optional: juice of 1/2 lime or a thin slice of fresh ginger
Method
- Peel the hard outer skin off the sugarcane and cut it into short pieces.
- Press the pieces in a sugarcane press, or chop them finely and blend with the cold water.
- If blended, strain through a fine sieve or cloth, squeezing well.
- Pour over ice, add lime or ginger if you like, and drink immediately, before the juice darkens.
How to make it lighter
- Almost all of the calories are natural sugar: a 300 ml glass is about 200 kcal, so a small glass of 150–200 ml is an easy swap.
- Ask for plenty of ice — it fills the glass and dilutes the juice.
- Treat it as a sweet drink rather than a thirst quencher, and have water for hydration.
History
Sugarcane is grown widely in Upper Egypt, and asab juice shops, with their cane presses at the counter and stacks of canes by the door, are a familiar sight in Egyptian towns and cities. A glass of asab is one of the cheapest and most popular ways to cool down in summer.
Count it in one photo
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →