← Nouns Cooking · Malaysian & Singaporean

Ingredients

• 120 g freshly grated coconut (white part)
• 1 pinch Salt
• 1 Pandan leaves, tied in a knot
• 10 Pandan leaves, cut into short pieces
• 220 ml Water
• 250 g Glutinous rice flour
• 1 pinch Salt
• 150 g gula melaka (palm sugar), finely chopped

Method

1. Mix the grated coconut with the salt, lay the pandan knot on top and steam for 10 min. This keeps it fresh for longer and makes it fluffy. Leave to cool.
2. Blend the pandan pieces with the water, then strain and squeeze to get about 200 ml of green juice.
3. Mix the glutinous rice flour and salt in a bowl and gradually add the pandan juice, kneading until you have a soft, smooth dough like play-dough that does not stick to your hands. Add more juice or water a teaspoon at a time if it cracks.
4. Pinch off walnut-sized pieces (about 15 g), flatten each into a small cup, add about ½ tsp of gula melaka and pinch the dough closed. Roll gently into a smooth ball; any cracks will leak while cooking.
5. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Drop in the balls in batches; once they float to the top, let them cook for 1 minute more so the sugar melts inside.
6. Lift them out with a slotted spoon, let excess water drip off and roll them straight away in the steamed coconut. Serve at room temperature the same day.

Tips

• If you cannot get fresh coconut, toss desiccated coconut with a few spoonfuls of water and a pinch of salt and steam it the same way.
• Warn people to eat them whole: the hot syrup squirts out if you bite one in half.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Huang Kitchen Bake With Paws