Kue Jongkong (Pandan Coconut Rice Pudding)

Kue Jongkong is an old-fashioned pandan coconut rice pudding dessert wrapped in banana leaves to make little pouches of deliciousness.

Kue Jongkong is light, creamy, and rich pandan coconut rice pudding with a soft and wobbly texture. It is gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan pudding you can easily make over a stovetop. It is easy to whip up. If you are intimidated by wrapping it with banana leaves, you can pour the components into individual cups instead.

What is Kue Jongkong?

Kue Jongkong is a traditional Indonesian dessert from North Sumatra. It is basically a pandan coconut rice pudding dessert made from a mixture of rice flour and tapioca flour and drizzled with palm sugar syrup.

“Kue” literally means cake, while “jongkong” means boat. This cake is named so because it is wrapped in a little pouch made from banana leaves, which resembles the shape of a boat.

Components

There are actually many versions of Kue Jongkong, but the dessert usually consists of three components:

• Pandan dough – The green dough is mainly made from a mixture of rice flour, tapioca starch, coconut milk, and pandan juice. The mixture is then cooked on low heat until it thickens. It does not have much taste, but it has a subtle sweet and earthy flavor and aroma from the pandan.
• Coconut milk dough – The white dough is made from a mixture of rice flour, tapioca starch, and coconut milk. Just like the pandan dough, it is cooked on low heat until it thickens. It tastes rich, salty, and savory.
• Palm sugar syrup – Sweet caramel-like syrup with smoky and butterscotch notes. This is where the flavor mainly comes from and it will bind all the components together.

The components are not meant to be eaten individually, but they should be eaten altogether.

Topping Options

• Young coconut meat 
• Mature coconut meat
• Diced jackfruits
• Sago pearls

How to Make Kue Jongkong

1. In a pan, cook palm sugar, water, and pandan leaf until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture boils. Set aside.
2. Make pandan dough. In a medium pan, combine rice flour, tapioca starch, sugar, salt, pandan juice, and coconut milk. Cook with low heat until the mixture thickens. Set aside.
3. Make coconut milk dough. In a medium pan, combine rice flour, tapioca starch, sugar, salt, coconut milk, and knotted pandan leaves. Cook with low heat until the mixture thickens. Set aside.
4. Put 2 banana leaves on the working space with the pale sides touching each other. Spread 2 tablespoons of pandan dough and coconut milk dough. Sprinkle with the topping of your choice on top. In this case, I used thinly sliced coconut.
5. Fold one side of the leaves. Pour a small ladle of palm sugar syrup.
6. Fold the other side of the leaves and wrap it into a parcel. Secure the top with a toothpick.
7. Steam for 10 minutes to infuse the aroma of banana leaves. Let it cool completely and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. The longer it sits, the better the texture and flavors. I recommend making this a day ahead.
8. Open and serve. The components should be eaten altogether.

How to Wrap Kue Jongkong with Banana Leaves

1. On the working space, put 2 banana leaf squares (10-inch/25 cm each) with the pale sides touching each other. 
2. Spread 2 tablespoons of pandan dough and coconut milk dough. Sprinkle the toppings on top.
3. Fold one side in with your index finger.
4. Rotate and put the fold side on your palm. Pour the palm sugar syrup.
5. Fold the other side in.
6. Pull in the long end from one side.
7. Pull in the long end from the other side.
8. Secure the top with a toothpick. 

Kue Jongkong (Pandan Coconut Rice Pudding)

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Author: Taste of Nusa

Prep: 45 minutes mins

Cook: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Indonesian

Difficulty: Intermediate

Dietary: Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Gluten-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: 12

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Kue Jongkong is an old-fashioned pandan coconut rice pudding dessert wrapped in banana leaves to make little pouches of deliciousness.

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Ingredients

 

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Pandan Dough

• ▢ 12 pandan leaves
• ▢ 1 cup (240 ml) water
• ▢ 1/2 cup (75 gr) rice flour
• ▢ 2 tbsp (15 gr) tapioca starch
• ▢ 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 tsp salt
• ▢ 2 1/3 cups (560 ml) coconut milk

Coconut Milk Dough

• ▢ 1/2 cup (75 gr) rice flour
• ▢ 3 tbsp (22 gr) tapioca starch
• ▢ 1 1/2 tsp salt
• ▢ 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• ▢ 3 1/3 cups (800 ml) coconut milk
• ▢ 2 pandan leaves, knotted

Palm Sugar Syrup

• ▢ 1 1/4 cups (250 gr) tightly-packed shaved palm sugar block
• ▢ 5 tbsp (75 ml) water
• ▢ 1 pandan leaf, cut into 2-inches/5 cm

Topping (Optional)

• ▢ Sliced coconut meat

Wrapper

• ▢ Banana leaves

Instructions

Palm Sugar Syrup

• In a small pan, add palm sugar, water, and pandan leaf. Heat on low heat while stirring constantly. Cook until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture boils. Set aside and cool completely before using.

Pandan Dough

• Make pandan juice – Use a pair of scissors to cut pandan leaves into 1-2 inch pieces into a blender or food processor. Add water and blend until the leaves are fully pulverized. Use a strainer or cheesecloth to strain the pandan juice.
• Make batter – In a medium pan, sift in rice flour and tapioca starch. Add granulated sugar and salt, and pandan juice. Mix until smooth with no lump with a spatula. Add coconut milk and stir to combine.
• Cook – Heat on low heat and stir constantly. Cook until the mixture thickens. Set aside and cool completely before using.

Coconut Milk Dough

• Make batter – In a medium pan, sift in rice flour and tapioca starch. Add salt and granulated sugar. Pour a little bit of coconut milk and mix with a spatula until smooth with no lump. Then, add the remaining coconut milk and stir to combine.
• Cook – Heat on low heat and stir constantly. Cook until the mixture thickens. Set aside and cool completely before using.

Assemble

• Prepare banana leaves – Cut banana leaves into 24 10-inch/25 cm squares or more for spares. Wipe with a wet kitchen towel to clean them. Soften banana leaves by passing them lightly over the low flame of a gas burner so that they become pliable and do not break easily during folding.
• Wrap – On the working surface, put 2 banana leaves with pale sides touching each other. Spread 2 tablespoons of pandan dough and coconut milk dough. Sprinkle the sliced coconut meat on top.
• Fold one side up. Rotate and put the fold side on your palm. Pour a small ladle of palm sugar syrup on top. Fold the other side up. Pull in the long ends. Secure the top with a toothpick.
• Steam in a steamer for 10 minutes to infuse the aroma of banana leaves.
• Cool completely and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before serving.

Notes

Storage. Kue Jongkong will last for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Wrapping with banana leaves is completely optional, but the aroma and flavor will be better this way. You can also pour the components into individual cups if desired.

Make ahead. The longer it sits, the better the texture and flavors. It is recommended to make the dessert a day before serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving

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