How to Make Klepon or Ondeh Ondeh From Indonesia

A cute traditional dessert from Indonesia made from glutinous rice flour and coconut sugar fillings, covered entirely with grated coconut called Klepon or Ondeh-ondeh/Onde-onde.

What is Klepon / Ondeh Ondeh?

This little dessert in Indonesia is called klepon. It is a traditional sweet dessert made of glutinous rice flour with coconut sugar filling and the outer skin is covered with salted grated coconut.

The texture is like Japanese mochi, the skin is chewy. Original recipe uses pandan extract to give its color and fragrant smell. The shape is round. It is cooked in hot water until it floats, and then thrown into salted grated coconut to cover.

Klepon is preferred in bite size because you don’t bite it in two. When you eat it in whole, the filling will burst in your mouth inside, once you squeeze it.

Origin

Ondeh ondeh or the name can be written as onde onde without h and spelled the same. Another famous name for onde onde is klepon.

It was originally from Java. The name klepon is a Javanese name. Other places in Indonesia also have klepon but they call it onde-onde.

Malaysian even call it buah Melaka because of its resemblance to Malaccan fruit.

Is it Gluten-Free?

Glutinous rice flour and tapioca flour are gluten free flour. They are safe for gluten intolerant people.

Ondeh Ondeh Ingredients

Coconut Sugar Filling

Coconut sugar filling is easy to make. You just have to slice the coconut sugar thinly. When boiled, the sugar will melt inside the klepon.

Coconut sugar comes in many forms. There are cylinder form, sphere form, and many others. It is okay to use a powder form.

Pandan Leaves and Pandan Extract

If you don’t have pandan leaves, you can get dried pandan leaves. Actually pandan leaves are easy to grow anywhere. It is a very useful plant in the kitchen, especially if you like to make Asian food or Asian traditional snack.

Pandan extract can be made and stored in a bottle or a jar for use in baking. If you have fresh pandan leaves, I recommend you make a small bottle of pandan extract.

• Take 45 pcs pandan leaves, wash clean. Cut in small pieces.
• Blend in a food processor using 300 gr water. Sieve and throw away the pandan leaves.
• Put in a jar or a container, keep in the chiller at least one night. The pandan extract will submerge at the bottom of the container.
• Check after a few days if there is any water separated from the pandan extract. Throw away the water by scooping it carefully.
• Do this again for 2 more times until the thick pandan extract is left at the bottom. This is the pandan extract you want to keep for baking usage.

Grated Coconut

I recommend you use freshly grated coconut. Steam it for 15 minutes and put ½ – 1 teaspoon of salt and mix well.

If you can’t get freshly grated coconut in your area, you can just use dessicated coconut. You still need to rehydrate it by steaming it for 15 minutes.

Dough:

• 100 gr glutinous rice flour
• 25 gr tapioca flour
• 75 ml coconut milk
• 25 ml pandan extract
• ½ tbsp sugar
• ½ tsp salt

Filling:

Coconut sugar, sliced thinly

Steam for 10-15 minutes:

• 200 gr shredded coconut
• ½ tsp salt 
• 2 pcs pandan leaves

How To

• Slice coconut sugar thinly. Set aside.

• Steam freshly grated coconut with pandan leaves for 15 minutes. Put in 1 teaspoon salt and mix well.

• Put glutinous rice flour, tapioca flour, sugar, and salt into a bowl. Pour coconut milk and pandan extract. Mix well until it becomes a non-sticky dough.

• Take 1 tablespoon dough and shape it into a ball. Press the middle to resemble a pocket. Put in 1 teaspoon of coconut sugar filling.

• Finish the rest of the dough.

• Boil some water, put a pandan leaf in it. This is to add fragrance to the klepon while cooking it.

• Put in the shaped klepon into the boiling water. Let it cook until it floats. Take the floating klepon, put in the grated coconut. Let it covered well.

• Serve in a nice small plate with a cup of tea.

Klepon Variations

Another variation is with purple sweet potato. It makes the dough even more chewy and tasty. Plus the color is purple.

The same thing also applies to sweet potato. The color will become orange yellow.

You can also mix pumpkin with the dough. Be careful with the liquid ingredient because pumpkin has more water content.

In Indonesia, a famous café once promoted klepon cake. It is pandan layer cake with grated coconut mixed with coconut sugar in between and decorated with klepon on the top.

Shelf Life

This dessert doesn’t have a long shelf life. It can only stay fresh for a day in a cool room temperature.

The best you can get is 2 days, but you need to keep it chilled for the night. The next day you can steam it again for 15 minutes.

If you like coconut and traditional dessert or snack, please check my other recipes like Purple Yam Steamed Cake.

If you decide to make klepon based on this recipe and you love it, please leave a comment.