Ongol Ongol

What is Ongol-ongol?

Ongol-ongol is a traditional Indonesian snack/dessert from West Java. This dessert is very easy to make. The 7 ingredients are tapioca flour, palm sugar, granulated sugar, coconut milk, grated coconut, vegetable oil and pandan leaves. This snack has a chewy and bouncy texture, which reminds me of a gummy bear. Ongol-ongol is typically eaten as a breakfast snack or dessert.

Substitution

Pandan juice: If you are not able to find pandan leaves in your local Asian store, you can substitute it with this pandan flavoring extract from Amazon. This is the most commonly used pandan extract in Indonesia.

Palm sugar: You can substitute palm sugar with brown sugar or coconut palm sugar. Don’t confuse coconut palm sugar with normal palm sugar. Palm sugar is a darker brown color and has a fragrant smoky aroma while coconut palm sugar or coconut sugar has a softer brown caramel color. You can order traditional Indonesian palm sugar from Amazon.

Fresh grated coconut: Klepon will taste better when you use fresh, grated coconut but if you can’t find it, you can buy frozen, grated coconut from your Asian store. Just make sure to thaw it!

Tips

• If you are using fresh coconut, make sure to peel the brown coconut skin and dice it into 1-inch cubes before putting it in a food processor. If you don’t have a food processor, you can cut the coconut into bigger pieces and grate it.
• Preserving and enhancing the taste of freshly grated coconut: make sure to steam your grated coconut and add 1/2 tsp of salt. This will make keep the coconut fresh longer. The salt will help to balance the sweetness of the ongol-ongol.

Ongol Ongol

Recipe by Catherine RicardoCourse: DessertCuisine: IndonesianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

5

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

30

minutes

A soft and bouncy traditional Indonesian kue/snack that has a caramelly taste from palm sugar, rolled in lightly salted grated coconut. Ongol-ongol can be enjoyed as breakfast, snack or dessert.

Ingredients

• 250 grams tapioca flour

• 200 grams palm sugar

• 75 grams granulated sugar

• 750 ml coconut milk

• 1/2 tsps salt

• 4-5 pandan leaves, knotted

• 1 tbsps vegetable oil

• Toppings

• 250 grams grated coconut

• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

• In a medium mixing bowl, add 250 g of tapioca flour and 250 ml coconut milk. Mix until combined. Then, add 1 tbsp of vegetable oil. Stir until combined and set aside.
• In a saucepan, add 200 g palm sugar, 75 g granulated sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, knotted pandan leaves, 500 ml coconut milk and cook at low heat until all the sugars have melted. Keep stirring to prevent burning. Once the mixture starts to bubble, turn off the stove and leave it cool for 5 – 10 minutes.
• Pour the warm palm sugar mixture into the tapioca flour mixture and stir until combined.
• Grease your 6 inch square or round pan with vegetable oil. Add parchment paper on the greased pan. Then, grease the parchment paper with more vegetable oil.
• Pour the mixture into the greased pan and steam for at least 75 – 90 minutes or until the cake is no longer wet on the surface.
• Coconut Topping
• If using fresh coconut, crack the coconut open and extract the meat.
• Peel the brown coconut skin with a peeler.
• If you have a food processor, cut the coconut meat into cubes, and pulverize with a food processor. Otherwise grate the coconut by hand.
• To preserve your coconut for later, mix the grated coconut with salt and stir. Steam the grated coconut for 5 minutes. Set aside.
• Assembly
• Cut the cooked Ongol-ongol into squares ,rectangles or any desired shape and size.
• Coat the cut ongol-ongol in the grated coconut.
• Voila! It’s ready for you to enjoy.