Onde-onde is made with pandan-infused dough and filled with Gula Melaka or palm sugar.

The dough is made from either sweet potato or glutinous rice flour and when dropped in boiling water, they will rise to the top once cooked.

This is a clear signal that you should remove them immediately from the water and gently roll in grated coconut before serving.

The palm sugar within the ball melts to a sweet and gooey liquid as the dough cooks if grated finely, and the ball will literally burst in your mouth as you bite into it, releasing the sweet centre.

Onde-onde is enjoyed by many over coffee at breakfast or tea at tea-time. It also makes a delicious sweet treat for dessert after a particularly spicy meal.

Beware: one is rarely ever enough.

This recipe is contributed by ‘Sea Salt With Food’, an amazing food blog of traditional sweet treats and other dishes both sweet and savoury.

Ingredients

• 250 g glutinous rice flour
• 200 ml pandan juice
• 100 g grated coconut
• 1 pinch sea salt
• 150 g Gula Melaka or palm sugar, finely chopped

Method

• In a large bowl, combine the glutinous rice flour with pandan juice and knead lightly. Pinch a small piece of the dough (about 40 g) and drop it into boiling water.
• When the dough rises to the surface, remove it with a slotted spoon and shake off the excess water.
• Mix this small piece back into the main dough and knead well to form a smooth ball. Cover the dough and set aside for about 15 minutes.
• Mix the grated coconut with a pinch of salt and steam for about two to three minutes and leave it to cool completely.
• Bring a pot of water to the boil. Pinch a small piece of dough (about 15 g each) and flatten lightly.
• Fill the centre of the dough with Gula Melaka or palm sugar. Roll it in your palms to form a smooth ball.
• Repeat the same until all the dough and Gula Melaka are used up.
• Cook the onde-onde balls in boiling water.
• When the balls float to the surface, remove them with a slotted spoon and shake off the excess water.
• Coat the onde-onde with grated coconut and serve immediately.

Tip: Use Gula Melaka instead of palm sugar if you can. The best Gula Melaka should be golden brown in colour and not too solid.

This recipe can be found in Rasa Malaysia.

Low Bee Yinn is a food blogger and cookbook author.