Dodol Pandan

-  Palm Sugar Pandan Sticky Rice Chews -

Dodol is a sugary toffee-like snack that, for me, always brings to mind Puncak in West Java. Puncak is a beautiful mountain resort area just a few hours south of Jakarta that is very popular on long weekends. I have been there three times now, twice for pleasure, and once with work, and it never loses its charm. 

One thing that I've noticed with Indonesians when they travel is that they are all very keen on "Oleh Oleh" which is basically souveniers, but they are specifically very keen on buying certain snacks when they visit certain cities or regions. So for example, when you go to Jogja, you would come back with bakpia among other things. From Pontianak, you might pick up some freshly roasted coffee beans from Aming Coffee or Warung Kopi Suka Hati. If you come back from Bandung, you'll likely bring home some little cakes with fresh bananas and chocolate. And the list goes on. 

Well, if you go to Puncak, the likelihood is that you will come back with some deep fried spinach chips, and - wait for it - dodol. 

The first time I tried dodol was in Puncak, where I bought a whole mishmash of flavours and tried them all, and although I buy it in Jakarta sometimes now, and certainly have bought it in other places as well, it always reminds me back to Puncak. Since I don't get the chance to go to Puncak all that often, I thought I'd try making it on my own. And it turns out, it's not really tricky at all. There are only a handful of ingredients, all of which I'm sure you can easily find at Superstore or your Asian grocery store for a little taste of Indonesia right in your home.

Note: Pandan is a leaf found in Southeast Asia that gives a subtle aromatic flavour similar to that of vanilla. In this dodol recipe I added pandan paste because I love it, but if you don't have it, or don't want to use it, it will be equally delicious (and actually more authentic) without.

NOTE: If you omit the pandan paste, the final product will then be brown rather than green.

Dodol Pandan

-  Palm Sugar Pandan Sticky Rice Chews -

Ingredients:

• 75g palm or coconut sugar, finely chopped (gula merah)
• 150g thick coconut milk (santan)
• 75g glutinous rice flour (not to be confused with regular rice flour) (tepung ketan)
• 50g water (air putih)
• 30g coconut oil (or vegetable oil) (minyak)
• 2 drops pandan paste (optional)

Directions:

• Finely chop your palm sugar or coconut sugar so it will easily dissolve
• In a large saucepan, combine the palm or coconut sugar, water, pandan paste, and thick coconut milk. Stir to dissolve the sugar
• Add the oil and glutinous rice flour to the pot and whisk until smooth
• Stir continuously with a wooden spoon until a thick glossy paste has formed - about 20 minutes. Not only will does this long cooking time create the chewy candy-like layer, but it cooks the coconut milk as well. By the time the candy is ready it will be a little darker in colour
• Spread the dodol out about 1 cm thick over a baking sheet wrapped in clingwrap and let cool
• Once cooler, cut the dodol into squares or chunks and wrap individually in plastic wrap or in wax paper for convience
• store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week (from Wednesday)

Enjoy!