Ingredients
Mixture
- 1 litrethick coconut milk
- 500 gpalm sugar
- 250 gglutinous rice flour
- 50 grice flour
- ½ tspsalt
- 2pandan leaves, knotted
To set
- banana leaf or oiled parchment
Directions
- Melt the palm sugar in 200 ml of the coconut milk over a low heat, then strain out any grit.
- Whisk both flours into the remaining coconut milk until completely smooth, with no lumps whatsoever.
- Combine everything in a wide heavy pan or a wok with the salt and the knotted pandan leaves.
- Cook over a low heat, stirring constantly with a long wooden spoon or paddle.
- Constantly means constantly. Dodol takes three to five hours and it will catch and scorch within a minute of being left alone, which is exactly why it is made by village teams taking turns at the paddle before Hari Raya.
- It passes through stages: first a thin batter, then a thick porridge, then a heavy paste that fights back against the spoon.
- Keep going long past the point where it looks finished. The colour has to travel from pale brown through to a deep glossy near-black, and the oil has to separate out and then come back in.
- It is ready when the whole mass pulls away from the pan cleanly in one piece and oil glistens across the surface.
- Pour it into a tray lined with banana leaf or oiled parchment and level it while it is still hot.
- Cool completely, for at least 6 hours, then cut into small diamonds and wrap each one in cellophane or leaf.
- It keeps for weeks at room temperature, which is precisely why it was made this way in the first place.
Technique
- A wide pan and a long-handled paddle. Both are about the hours rather than the recipe.
- The colour is the timer. Anyone who tells you it takes an hour has made a coconut pudding rather than dodol.
- Gula melaka, coconut palm sugar, is smokier than cane palm sugar and worth seeking out.
Substitutions
- Any dark palm sugar in place of gula melaka.
- Half the quantity, which is far more manageable on a domestic hob.
Variations
- With durian folded in towards the end.
- Dodol with jackfruit or with pandan for a green version.
- The Indonesian jenang and the Filipino kalamay, both close relatives.
History
Stirred in huge woks by village teams before Hari Raya, the mixture taking half a day to darken.
Frequently asked questions
What is Dodol?
Dodol is a dessert from Malaysia: sticky dark toffee of coconut milk, palm sugar and rice flour, stirred for hours. Stirred in huge woks by village teams before Hari Raya, the mixture taking half a day to darken.
How long does Dodol take to make?
Dodol takes 20 min of preparation and 4 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 1 tray, about 60 pieces. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Dodol?
Yes, within limits. Any dark palm sugar in place of gula melaka. Half the quantity, which is far more manageable on a domestic hob.
What is the most important thing to get right in Dodol?
Keep going long past the point where it looks finished. The colour has to travel from pale brown through to a deep glossy near-black, and the oil has to separate out and then come back in.
