My mama’s gonna be so proud of me! I finally made my very first Malaysian kueh, all by my very self. And they turned out super cute and rather tasty! What more could I want? These babies here are ondeh ondeh, pandan flavoured glutinous rice balls with melted gula melaka (Malacca palm sugar) on the inside.

All it takes is a bit of mixing, bit of rolling and bit of boiling. Hey presto!

But it wasn’t all joy. The most frustrating thing about having made these on Monday night is that firstly, I didn’t expect this recipe to make that many and well, I ended up with a fracking colony of ondeh ondeh – over 30 of them! Secondly, I’m on an “eating plan” from Tuesday to Thursday this week (but more about that later) and I’m only eating what’s On The Plan. Suffice to say, a colony of ondeh ondeh ain’t on the plan.

So I ate as many as I humanly could on Monday evening and yesterday morning I sent Panu off to work with a take-out container full of these little green balls.

It’s a super short week here in London. We had Easter long weekend where I spent the better part of four days lazing in the sunshine and we even had a BBQ! This weekend, thanks Will & Kate for getting married, we have another four day weekend. Panu and I are off to Venice so if you have any recommendations for what to eat (nothing fancy, just casual good Italian grub) let me know!

And yes, it does feel totally weird to make something green that isn’t matcha flavoured. But you know, we can always make a matcha version of ondeh ondeh… matcha flavoured glutinous rice balls with red bean filling, anyone?

Ondeh ondeh
Filling:
80 grams gula melaka (malacca palm sugar), chopped and mixed with
2 tablespoon castor sugar 

Skin:
240 grams glutinous rice flour
120mL hot water
4 tablespoon thick pandan juiceย (can be made with coconut milk and 1 teaspoon pandan essence)
2 tablespoon castor sugar
about 4 tablespoonsย coconut milk (to mix)
1 tablespoon oil
few drops green colouring

To coat:
dessicated coconut

  1. Pour the hot water onto the glutinous rice flour and mix.
  2. Add in the other ingredients for skin and keep mixing until it forms a soft dough.
  3. Form small balls with the dough, put a little filling inside and seal up. When making the balls, don’t make the skin too thin and don’t fill with too much gula melaka as they may burst when boiling. Make sure the balls are sealed properly too.
  4. Bring half a pot of water to boil. Add about 10 balls at a time – once they float up, dish and drain.
  5. Coat with grated coconut. If some of them look like they are about to burst or starting to leak, these are still salvageable! Just coat with the coconut and this should stop the leaking ๐Ÿ™‚
  6. Best served immediately. The glutinous rice will start becoming harder over time.
Makes about 30.

17 Thoughts on “ondeh ondeh: my first attempt at Malaysian kueh

  1. I love ondeh ondeh!

    I also love the name!

  2. OMG I used to eat these all the time in Auckland and Inwas convinced they were caled Samountry! That was what the box said (also for the crispy fried sesame balls with red bean or black sesame in) so even after I realsied I’ve called them that ever since, I love them. Gonna make.

  3. yummy, i want to try to do this:)

  4. Yeah, go Catty! Will you make these for me when you’re back in Sydney?

  5. Oh yay! Momma would definitely be proud of you! But seriously now, your ondeh ondeh looks fabulous ๐Ÿ˜€

  6. Love making ondeh ondeh, they are so much fun! And of course, delicious when you stuff plenty of gula malacca into it ๐Ÿ˜€ these are adorable x

  7. Leon: Hehe yeah I like the name too ๐Ÿ™‚ very cute!

    Sasa: What the heck is a samountry? I don’t believe you! hehe… but yeah the fried ones are yummo too, might have to make them but baked or something one day!

    mc: Do it do it!

    Maria: I think I’m making a LOT of things for you when I get back to Sydney lol.. but you’re making me heaps of stuff too! ๐Ÿ˜€

    Karen: I’m gonna email her my blog lol, she’ll be happy!

    diva: I love the melty oooooozy gula melaka when it’s first cooked ๐Ÿ™‚

  8. LOL at colony of Onde Onde! ๐Ÿ˜› Sometimes it seems like that doesn’t it! I try and give lots of Mr NQN to take to work ๐Ÿ˜›

  9. i want a colony of ondeh ondeh!!!

  10. Oh nooooeeee I’m not in London to try them! ๐Ÿ™ We’ll have to make matcha/adzuki mochi when I’m back to make up for it, lol.

  11. jenny c. on April 27, 2011 at 4:41 pm said:

    Ooooh these look good! i haven’t had them for so long!!

  12. Lorraine: I know, the guys at Panu’s work love it when I bake and stuff. I always send a bunch with him haha!

    chocolatesuze: what’s better than an ondeh ondeh? a COLONY of ondeh ondeh!! ๐Ÿ˜€

    Su-yin: never fear, I will make another million ondeh ondehs when you’re back, and YES we are SO making matcha/adzuki ones!

    jenny: I know, I was craving them for ages ๐Ÿ™‚

  13. MmmmmmHmmm. Gotta make these. They are adorable, Catty.

  14. Your mum will be proud – these look brilliant Catty!

  15. Linda: thanks! and they’re also YUM.

    Gourmet Chick: hehe yeah, I’ve made sure she sees this post!! ๐Ÿ™‚

  16. Wow, looks gorgeous. I really need to get a bit more adventurous….

  17. You know they breed like amoeba when your back is turned right. You have watched gremlins, yes?

    Actually, these look ace, and are they really that easy to make? I will be trying this just as soon as I can get my mits on some glutinous rice flour. I bet you can play with all sorts of flavourings: matcha, saffron, cinnamon, oh what fun!

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