About this recipe
Small green glutinous rice balls filled with dark palm sugar, boiled and rolled in fresh grated coconut. The point of the sweet is the moment it is bitten: the sugar inside has melted to a liquid and runs. Closely related sweets are made under other names elsewhere in the region.
Recipe facts
- Yield
- About 24 pieces, serving 6
- Prep
- 35 minutes
- Cook
- 15 minutes
- Total
- 50 minutes
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Spice
- None
Allergens Contains coconut. Vegan and gluten-free. Dairy-free.
Development draft. This is an untested development recipe from the cookbook project. It has not been kitchen-tested, and the quantities and timings are the author’s working draft rather than a verified result.
Ingredients
The coating
- 1.5 cups (120 g) freshly grated coconut, or frozen grated coconut, thawed
- 1/4 tsp (1.5 g) fine sea salt
- 1 pandan leaf, knotted
The dough
- 2 cups (250 g) glutinous rice flour
- 2 tbsp (16 g) rice flour
- 1/3 cup (80 ml) pandan extract, from about 10 pandan leaves blended and strained
- About 1/2 cup (120 ml) warm water, added gradually
- 1/4 tsp (1.5 g) fine sea salt
The filling
- 5 oz (140 g) dark palm sugar (gula jawa), finely chopped into small pieces
Equipment
- Large saucepan
- Steamer (for the coconut)
- Slotted spoon
- Mixing bowl
Method
- Toss the grated coconut with the salt, add the knotted pandan leaf, and steam 8 minutes. Cool and spread on a plate.
- Combine the glutinous rice flour, rice flour and salt in a bowl. Add the pandan extract, then the warm water a little at a time, until you have a smooth dough with the feel of soft modelling clay — it should not crack or stick.
- Divide the dough into about 24 pieces and roll each into a ball.
- Flatten a ball in your palm, place about 1/2 tsp of chopped palm sugar in the centre, then draw the edges up and seal completely, rolling it smooth. Any gap will leak in the water.
- Repeat with the remaining dough, keeping the finished balls covered so they do not dry out.
- Bring a large saucepan of water to a gentle boil.
- Drop the balls in in batches. They sink, then rise to the surface after 3–4 minutes. Once floating, cook 1 minute more.
- Lift out with a slotted spoon, drain briefly, and roll immediately in the steamed coconut while still wet so it clings.
- Serve warm or at room temperature, the same day.
The Complete Edition
Klepon (Pandan Rice Balls) sits in the Indonesia chapter
The book carries this recipe in full alongside the rest of the Indonesia chapter, the pastes and dips it is built on, and the twenty-seven pantry studies that open the collection.
In review with Amazon KDP
Both editions have been submitted to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and are currently in review. Submitted prices are $9.99 for the kindle edition and $49.99 for the paperback. Neither is on sale yet, and prices are as submitted rather than final.