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Klepon
Pandan rice balls with palm sugar
Chewy green pandan rice balls that burst with molten palm sugar, rolled in salted coconut
Klepon are the jajan pasar, or market cakes, of Java: sold in the morning from baskets lined with banana leaves, bright green from pandan and dusted with grated coconut. Bite one and a pocket of molten palm sugar floods your mouth, so Javanese eat them whole. Malaysians and Singaporeans know the same sweet as onde-onde, made for festive tea tables, so this page covers both. Chef's tip: seal the balls with no cracks and drop them into gently boiling water — the moment they float, give them one more minute, and the sugar inside will be fully molten.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the dough
- 7 oz glutinous rice flour
- 1 tbsp tapioca starch
- 8 pandan leavesor 1 tsp pandan extract with 150 ml water
- ¾ cup waterabout
- 1 pinch salt
For the filling and coating
- 3 ½ oz palm sugar (gula jawa or gula Melaka)finely chopped; dark muscovado works
- 4 oz freshly grated coconutor 80 g desiccated, steamed 5 minutes with 3 tbsp water
- ¼ tsp salt
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Cut 8 pandan leaves into short lengths and blitz with ¾ cup water, then squeeze through a sieve or cloth to get about 150 ml of deep green juice.
5 minStep 2: Mix 7 oz glutinous rice flour, 1 tbsp tapioca starch and 1 pinch salt in a bowl. Add the pandan juice gradually, kneading, until the dough is smooth, soft and like playdough: it shouldn't crack when pressed or stick to your hands. Add a few drops of water or a little flour to adjust.
5 minStep 3: Mix 4 oz freshly grated coconut with ¼ tsp salt and, if fresh, steam it over boiling water for 5 minutes to keep it longer; spread on a plate to cool.
5 minStep 4: Pinch off a cherry-sized piece of dough (about 15 g), flatten it in your palm, put ½ tsp 3 ½ oz palm sugar (gula jawa or gula Melaka) in the middle and close it up, rolling it into a smooth ball. Pinch any cracks closed; a crack lets the sugar leak out, which is the most common mistake. Repeat to make about 24.
15 minStep 5: Bring a large pan of water to a gentle boil over a medium heat. Drop in 8–10 balls at a time. When they float to the top, after about 2–3 minutes, cook for 1 minute more, then lift out with a slotted spoon.
9 minStep 6: Roll the hot balls straight away in the coconut until coated. Let them cool for 5 minutes — the sugar inside is very hot — and eat the same day, at room temperature.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 58 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does klepon take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of palm sugar (gula jawa or gula melaka)?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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