Recipes › Klepon

Klepon

Klepon are small green balls of glutinous rice dough, filled with palm sugar, boiled, then rolled in fresh grated coconut. Bite into one and the palm sugar, which has melted inside, runs out. The green comes from pandan, the chew comes from glutinous rice flour, and the whole thing takes about half an hour from a cold kitchen.

Ingredients

• 250 g glutinous rice flour
• 200 ml warm water
• 1 teaspoon pandan extract, or 3 pandan leaves blended with the water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 150 g palm sugar (gula melaka), chopped into small pieces
• 200 g fresh grated coconut, or desiccated coconut rehydrated
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, for the coconut
• A steamer or a wide pan of water

Method

1. If using pandan leaves, blend them with the water and strain, keeping the green liquid. Otherwise stir the extract into the warm water.
2. Mix the glutinous rice flour and salt in a bowl, then add the pandan water gradually, mixing with a spoon and then your hands, until you have a smooth, soft dough that does not crack when pressed. If it is too dry add water a teaspoon at a time.
3. Steam the grated coconut with the quarter teaspoon of salt for 8 minutes, then set aside to cool. Steaming stops it going sour and makes it cling to the balls.
4. Pinch off a piece of dough about the size of a small walnut and flatten it in your palm into a disc.
5. Place a few small pieces of palm sugar in the middle, about a quarter of a teaspoon in total. Small pieces melt evenly; one large lump will still be hard when the dough is cooked.
6. Bring the edges of the disc together and roll into a smooth ball, sealing completely. Any crack will leak sugar into the water and leave an empty, chewy ball.
7. Bring a pan of water to a gentle boil and drop in the balls in batches. They are cooked when they float, which takes about 3 minutes.
8. Lift them out with a slotted spoon, roll immediately in the steamed coconut, and eat while still warm. This is the point: cold klepon are a different, much duller snack.

Notes and tips

• Glutinous rice flour is not the same as ordinary rice flour, and neither is the same as wheat flour. The name refers to the sticky quality; it contains no gluten.
• Keep the balls covered as you shape them. The dough dries at the surface and cracks.
• Do not boil hard. A rolling boil breaks the balls open and the palm sugar escapes.
• Palm sugar is much better than brown sugar here, because it has a smoky caramel note that brown sugar lacks.
• Fresh grated coconut is worth seeking out. Desiccated coconut rehydrated in warm water is an acceptable fallback.

Questions

Why did my klepon come out empty inside?

The palm sugar leaked out during boiling, which means the dough was not sealed properly or the pieces of sugar were too large and pushed through. Wrap completely and use smaller pieces.

Can I make them ahead?

Shape them and keep them in the fridge for up to a day before boiling. Once boiled and rolled in coconut they are best eaten within a few hours.

What is pandan and can I skip it?

Pandan is a tropical leaf used across Southeast Asia for its vanilla-like, grassy perfume. You can skip it, but the klepon will be white rather than green and will taste plainer.

Are they gluten free?

Yes. Glutinous rice flour contains no wheat and no gluten, despite the misleading English name.

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