Kelupis

Ingredients

Rice

• 1 kgglutinous rice, soaked overnight
• 400 mlcoconut milk
• 2 tspsalt

Wrapping

• 40nyirik or daun isip leaves
• strips of bamboo or raffia for tying

To serve

• rendang
• curry
• serunding

Directions

1. Soak the glutinous rice overnight in plenty of cold water, then drain it thoroughly.
2. Mix the drained rice with the coconut milk and salt and leave it 30 minutes to absorb.
3. Wipe the nyirik leaves clean and pass them briefly over a flame or through hot water to make them pliable.
4. Soften the leaves first. Used stiff they split along the spine as you fold, and the parcel leaks rice into the pot.
5. Lay a leaf flat and spoon a line of rice along it, about a finger thick.
6. Fill it only about two thirds full.
7. Glutinous rice swells considerably as it steams, and a packed parcel splits its seams every time.
8. Fold the leaf over the rice lengthways into a flat rectangular packet, tucking the ends under.
9. Tie each parcel with a strip of bamboo or raffia, firmly but not so tight that the rice cannot expand.
10. Stack the parcels in a steamer or a large pot and steam or boil them for 1 hour 30 minutes.
11. Give it the full time. Under-steamed glutinous rice has a hard chalky core that no amount of resting will fix.
12. Top the water up as it goes if you are boiling them.
13. Lift them out and let them cool before unwrapping, which lets the rice set into a firm block.
14. Kelupis is flat and rectangular where the related ketupat is a woven pouch and lemang is cooked in bamboo, and the shape is how you tell them apart.
15. Serve with rendang, curry or serunding.
16. It is made for Hari Raya and for Gawai across Brunei, Sabah and Sarawak, and the leaves give it a distinct grassy scent.

Technique

• Nyirik leaf, also called daun isip, is what gives the characteristic aroma; banana leaf smells quite different.
• It keeps two or three days at room temperature in its wrapping, which is why it is festival food.
• It is unsweetened and is eaten with savoury dishes rather than as a snack on its own.

Substitutions

• Banana leaf or bamboo leaf, accepting a different aroma.
• String in place of bamboo strips.

Variations

• Made with a little turmeric for colour.
• Ketupat, the woven pouch version.
• Lemang, cooked in bamboo over a fire.

History

Glutinous rice wrapped in nyirik leaves and steamed, served at Hari Raya, weddings and royal occasions with rendang or serunding.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kelupis?

Kelupis is a snack from Brunei: glutinous rice steamed in nyirik leaves, eaten with rendang. Glutinous rice wrapped in nyirik leaves and steamed, served at Hari Raya, weddings and royal occasions with rendang or serunding.

How long does Kelupis take to make?

Kelupis takes 30 min plus overnight soaking of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 20. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Kelupis?

Yes, within limits. Banana leaf or bamboo leaf, accepting a different aroma. String in place of bamboo strips.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kelupis?

It keeps two or three days at room temperature in its wrapping, which is why it is festival food.