Klepon

What is Klepon?

Klepon (pronounced Klē-pon) is the Javanese term for sweet glutinous rice balls. It is a traditional snack or dessert in Indonesia and can also be found in Singapore and Malaysia. Klepon are green chewy balls filled with melted palm sugar and coated in grated coconut. Why green? It’s because the dough is colored with pandan leaf juice or paste. The paste gives off a soft aroma and adds a slightly sweet flavor to the dough. Some people say that pandan leaves taste like almond and vanilla.

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 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 Klepon.
• If the dough is too wet, you can add more rice flour and if the dough is too dry, you can add more pandan juice.

Klepon

Recipe by Catherine RicardoCourse: DessertsCuisine: IndonesianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

45

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Calories

300

kcal

Soft chewy balls stuffed with melted palm sugar, coated with grated coconut.

Ingredients

• 4 – 5 pandan leaves, cut into 1-inch slices
  

• 3/4 cup – 1 cup water
  

• 1/2 of a small coconut, grated
  

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 1/4 cup glutinous rice flour
  

• 1/2 block of palm sugar

• 1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil

Directions

• 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.
• Klepon Dough
• Prepare a bowl containing the glutinous rice flour.
• Cut the pandan leaves into 1-inch squares. Add the cut leaves and water into a blender and blend for up to 1 minute until no big chunks remain.
• Using a cheesecloth or a fine sieve, sieve the mixture. Boil the juice on high until it reaches a rolling boil. Turn off the stove and set aside.
• The next step is to knead the hot pandan leaf juice into the glutinous flour. You can do this two different ways: 1. Pour the boiled mixture gradually into the flour and use a stand mixer. 2. Pour the boiled mixture gradually into the flour and mix with a spatula. You don’t need to use all the pandan juice if it’s not necessary. Once the mixture has cooled enough, use your hands to knead the dough. Add vegetable oil and knead until it is smooth and elastic.
• Divide the dough into 15 pieces and roll each into a ball. Use your thumb or the handle of a wooden spoon to mark an indentation in each ball. Fill the hole with palm sugar, seal the sides, and roll into balls.
  
• Bring a large pot with water to a boil and add the balls. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until the balls float to the top. Boil the balls in batches small enough so that they do not touch. The balls stick together easily while boiling.
• Remove the balls from the pot and roll each with the grated coconut topping.

Notes