Ondeh-Ondeh (Pandan Glutinous Balls)
Chewy pandan-scented glutinous rice balls filled with melting palm sugar, rolled in toasted coconut. A beloved Malaysian dessert that tastes restaurant-quality but comes together in under 45 minutes.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Servings
- 2
- Calories
- 285
- Protein
- 2g
Ingredients
- 1 cup glutinous rice flour (sweet rice flour)
- ½ cup water
- ½ teaspoon pandan extract or paste
- 3 tablespoons palm sugar (gula melaka), divided
- ¾ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar (for coating)
Instructions
- 1
Pour the shredded coconut into a small skillet and toast over medium heat, stirring every 15 seconds, until fragrant and light golden, about 4–5 minutes. Transfer to a shallow bowl and set aside.
- 2
Break 3 tablespoons of palm sugar into small pea-sized pieces (roughly ¼ inch each) by hand or with a knife. Set the pieces aside in a small bowl—you'll need about 12 total.
- 3
Pour 1 cup of glutinous rice flour into a medium bowl, then add 0.5 teaspoon pandan extract and 0.25 teaspoon salt and mix together with a fork until evenly combined.
- 4
Add 0.5 cup water to the flour mixture a little at a time, stirring with a fork after each splash, until the dough looks like wet sand and just barely holds together when squeezed—you may not need all the water.
- 5
Knead the dough by hand for 2–3 minutes, pushing it away from you with the heel of your hand, folding it back over itself, and repeating, until it is smooth and slightly sticky but no longer crumbly.
- 6
Pinch off a piece of dough the size of a small cherry (about 1 inch in diameter) and roll it between your palms into a smooth ball.
- 7
Poke your thumb straight down into the center of the dough ball to create a small hollow pocket, rotating the ball as you pinch the walls thinner, until the walls are the thickness of a coin and the center is a cup-shaped indentation.
- 8
Drop one piece of palm sugar into the hollow, then pinch the opening closed by bringing the dough edges together above it and rolling it gently between your palms to seal.
- 9
Place the finished ball on a parchment-lined plate and repeat steps 6–8 with the remaining dough and palm sugar pieces until you have 12 balls total.
- 10
Fill a medium pot with water and bring it to a rolling boil over high heat—you'll see large bubbles rapidly breaking the surface.
- 11
Carefully drop 6 balls into the boiling water one at a time, letting the water return to a boil between additions so they don't stick together.
- 12
Let the balls cook until they float to the surface, then cook for another 2 minutes longer, watching for them to bob gently on top of the water.
- 13
Use a slotted spoon to scoop each cooked ball out of the water and place it directly into the toasted coconut in the bowl.
- 14
Gently toss the hot balls in the coconut until they are evenly coated on all sides, then transfer them to a serving plate.
- 15
Repeat steps 11–14 with the remaining 6 balls, cooking them in a second batch.
- 16
Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar lightly over all the ondeh-ondeh and serve warm or at room temperature.
Tools you’ll need
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- medium bowl
- fork
- small skillet
- spatula or wooden spoon
- medium pot
- slotted spoon
- shallow bowl
- parchment paper
- plate
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