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Serabi
Serabi: soft coconut rice-flour pancakes with a pandan palm-sugar syrup (kinca)
Serabi are small, thick pancakes cooked one at a time in clay pans over charcoal, sold at dawn in Solo and Bandung. The rice-flour batter, rich with coconut milk, sets with a spongy, bubbly top and a crisp, lacy base. In Bandung they come with a pour of kinca, a warm palm-sugar syrup scented with pandan; Solo's version is rolled in a banana leaf with a dot of thick coconut cream. Chef's tip: don't flip them; covering the pan lets steam cook the top while the bottom crisps.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the batter
For the kinca syrup
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Warm 1 ¾ cups coconut milk with 2 pandan leaves over a low heat until steaming, then take off the heat and leave to infuse for 10 minutes. Remove the pandan and let the milk cool to lukewarm.
12 minStep 2: Whisk 7 oz rice flour, 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp instant yeast and ½ tsp salt in a bowl, then whisk in the coconut milk to a smooth batter like thick cream. Cover and leave in a warm place for 1 hour, until bubbles cover the surface.
Step 3: For the kinca, simmer 5 ½ oz palm sugar, ¾ cup water and 1 pandan leaf over a medium heat for 5 minutes, until the sugar melts. Strain, stir in ½ cup thick coconut cream and 1 pinch salt and keep warm on a low heat without boiling.
8 minStep 4: Heat a small non-stick pan (12–14 cm) over a medium-low heat and wipe with a little 1 tbsp coconut or vegetable oil. Pour in a ladle of batter; it should hiss gently and the edge should start to bubble at once.
2 minStep 5: Cover with a lid and cook for 3–4 minutes, until the top is set and full of holes and the base is golden with crisp, lacy edges. Common mistake: a high heat; the base burns before the thick middle cooks through. Lift out and repeat with the rest.
20 minStep 6: Serve the serabi warm with the kinca poured over.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 62 g
- Fat
- 18 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does serabi take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 30 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 coconut milk?
- Single cream, same amount (not dairy free).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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