Kuih koci
Sticky rice and coconut parcels
Kuih koci: glutinous rice pyramids with coconut and gula Melaka, steamed in banana leaf
Kuih koci are the little banana-leaf pyramids stacked on Malay kuih stalls at teatime and on trays at kenduri feasts in Kedah, Perak and Melaka. You unwrap the leaf to find a soft, chewy dough of glutinous rice flour around a dark, sticky filling of fresh coconut cooked with gula Melaka. Some cooks colour half the dough blue with butterfly pea or green with pandan; this one keeps it plain white. Chef's tip: a filling that is too wet seeps through the dough and makes it collapse, so cook the coconut until it is dry enough to roll into balls.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the filling
- 3 ½ oz gula Melaka (palm sugar)chopped
- ¼ cup water
- 1 pandan leafknotted
- 5 ½ oz freshly grated coconutor frozen grated coconut, thawed
- 1 pinch salt
For the dough
- 9 oz glutinous rice flour
- ¾ cup coconut milkwarm
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 12 banana leavespieces about 18 × 18 cm, wilted over a flame and wiped
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Melt 3 ½ oz gula Melaka (palm sugar) with ¼ cup water and 1 pandan leaf in a pan over a medium heat until dissolved, about 3 minutes.
3 minStep 2: Add 5 ½ oz freshly grated coconut and 1 pinch salt and stir over a medium-low heat for 8–10 minutes, until the syrup is absorbed and the mixture is sticky and almost dry. Discard the pandan and cool.
10 minStep 3: Roll the cooled filling into 12 balls the size of a large marble.
Step 4: Mix 9 oz glutinous rice flour and ¼ tsp salt in a bowl, then add ¾ cup coconut milk gradually, kneading until you have a soft, smooth dough like playdough that doesn't crack. Add a spoonful of water if it is dry.
Step 5: Divide into 12 pieces. Flatten each in your palm, set a coconut ball in the centre and pinch the dough closed around it.
Step 6: Brush the shiny side of each 12 banana leaves square with 1 tbsp neutral oil. Roll a leaf into a cone, drop in a ball, then fold the top flaps down into a pyramid and tuck the end underneath.
Step 7: Steam the pyramids, standing up, over a high heat for 20 minutes, until the dough is translucent and soft when you press the leaf.
20 minStep 8: Cool for 10 minutes before unwrapping; the dough firms a little as it cools. Eat the same day.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 175 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbs
- 27 g
- Fat
- 7 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kuih koci take?
- About 75 minutes in total: 45 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 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 coconut milk?
- Single cream, same amount (not dairy free).
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