Balinese Klepon

Balinese Klepon is a traditional rice cake that originally came from Java. It is made of boiled rice cake stuffed with palm sugar and rolled in the grated coconut. Klepon made in Bali is little bit different from that of made in Java. Balinese Klepon is usually smaller in size, having smoother texture and more perishable, easily spoiled. When traveling to Bali, this is a traditional food you need to try. To get the original one, you may need to come to a traditional market in Bali at early in the morning.

In the 1950s, klepon was introduced by Indo immigrants to the Netherlands and is readily available in Dutch or Chinese Indonesian restaurants and supermarkets throughout the country.

The Recipe

Are you interested in trying making the klepon?

Ingredients:

• 300 grams glutinous rice flour
• 75 cc pandan leaf/paste water (if pandan leaf/paste is a not available, food coloring may be an option)
• 2 tea-spoon of whiting water or 3/4 cups of lukewarm water or 3/4 cups of coconut milk
• 100 grams of palm sugar or brown sugar
• 1 cup fresh-grated coconut, mixed with ½ tsp. salt

Directions to make Klepon:

• Mix the glutinous rice powder with the whiting water and the pandan leaf water into a firm but flexible dough.
• Pull off one full teaspoon of the dough and shape it into a marble sized ball
• Once you have made a ball, push a finger into the center of the ball to make a hole, and put about a tsp of palm sugar or brown sugar into the center, seal and roll it back in your hands into a ball shape again.
• Once you have finished made all the balls, put them aside and boil a pot half filled with water.
• Drop the balls into the boiling water and wait until the they float to the water surface. Take and roll them in the grated coconut and served immediately.
• If you want to save it for later serving, you may leave the ball without being rolled in the grated coconut. Put it in the refrigerator.