Onde-Onde

Ingredients

Dough

• 400 gglutinous rice flour
• 50 grice flour
• 1/4 tspsalt
• 80 mlpandan extract, from blended leaves
• 220 mlwarm water, approximately

Filling

• 200 ggula melaka, finely chopped

Coating

• 200 gfreshly grated coconut
• 1/2 tspsalt
• 1pandan leaf, if steaming the coconut

To cook

• a large pot of water

Note

• the name onde-onde means something different in parts of Indonesia and China

Directions

1. Chop a bunch of pandan leaves roughly. Blend them with a little water until they break down. Strain the pulp through a cloth, squeezing hard. The liquid should be deep green and smell strongly of pandan.
2. Let it settle and use the liquid rather than the sediment. Chop it finely rather than into large lumps. Making the dough is done with warm liquid. Mix the glutinous rice flour, rice flour and salt in a bowl. The plain rice flour keeps them from being unpleasantly gluey.
3. Warm the pandan extract and the water together. Add the liquid gradually while mixing with your hand. Bring it together and knead it in the bowl for five minutes. Judging the dough is done by feel.
4. Add a spoonful of warm water if it cracks. Add a little flour if it sticks. Keep it under a damp cloth throughout. Preparing the coconut is done before you boil anything. Grate the fresh coconut finely. Toss the grated coconut with the salt. Steam it with a pandan leaf for five minutes if you want it to keep longer.
5. Let it cool and spread it on a wide plate. Shaping and filling is done one ball at a time. Take a piece of dough the size of a walnut. Roll it into a ball between your palms. Flatten it into a disc in your palm.
6. Put about half a teaspoon of chopped sugar in the centre. Do not overfill, since the seam will not close. Bring the edges up around the sugar. Pinch the dough closed over the filling. Roll it between your palms until the seam disappears. Check carefully for any cracks and smooth them over.
7. Set the finished balls on a tray under a cloth. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Stir once so they do not stick to the bottom. After three or four minutes they will rise to the surface.
8. Let them boil for one more minute after they float. That extra minute makes sure the sugar has melted through. Lift them out with a slotted spoon. Rolling them in coconut must be immediate. Drop the hot wet balls straight into the grated coconut.
9. Roll them so they are coated all over. The coconut only sticks while they are wet and hot. Set them on a plate as you go. Serving them is done while warm. Let them stand for five minutes before serving. They go hard within a few hours and are made to be eaten the same day.

Technique

• Seal every ball completely, since a crack lets the melted sugar escape.
• Chop the palm sugar finely, as a large lump may not melt through in the short boil.
• In parts of Indonesia and in Chinese bakeries, onde-onde means a different sesame-coated sweet.

Substitutions

• Bottled pandan essence, which gives colour but less flavour.
• Desiccated coconut moistened with a little water.

Variations

• Klepon, the Indonesian name for the same sweet.
• Made with sweet potato worked into the dough.
• Made larger, though they are harder to seal.

History

Pandan glutinous rice balls filled with palm sugar and rolled in grated coconut, called klepon in Indonesia.

Frequently asked questions

What is Onde-Onde?

Onde-Onde is a snack from Malaysia: pandan glutinous balls bursting with palm-sugar syrup, rolled in coconut. Pandan glutinous rice balls filled with palm sugar and rolled in grated coconut, called klepon in Indonesia.

How long does Onde-Onde take to make?

Onde-Onde takes 40 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 30 balls. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Onde-Onde?

Yes, within limits. Bottled pandan essence, which gives colour but less flavour. Desiccated coconut moistened with a little water.

What is the most important thing to get right in Onde-Onde?

Let it settle and use the liquid rather than the sediment. Chop it finely rather than into large lumps. Making the dough is done with warm liquid. Mix the glutinous rice flour, rice flour and salt in a bowl. The plain rice flour keeps them from being unpleasantly gluey.