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Recipe

Klepon

Check dates to cook this with Chef Wayan in Petulu.

IDR 530.000promo · per guest

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Warung Tumang Bali in Petulu with Chef Wayan Suryana — about 10 minutes from central Ubud, depending on traffic.

  • Private kitchen IDR 700.000.
  • Afternoon 14:30–17:30 ends in dinner — that is the evening session.
  • Vegetarian or vegan at the same Petulu kitchen. Say so when you check dates.

The green rice balls from the Ubud morning market: pandan dough around palm sugar that melts as it boils, rolled in grated coconut. The class sweet is dadar gulung.

By Chef Wayan Suryana, Warung Tumang BaliLast updated

Serves About 20 balls·Prep 20 minutes·Cook 15 minutes

Chef Wayan Suryana at Warung Tumang Bali, Banjar Laplapan, Petulu, Ubud, Gianyar, Bali 80571. The kitchen is about 10 minutes from central Ubud, depending on traffic. Pin -8.4945671, 115.2812928.

Klepon in short

Klepon are Balinese and Indonesian green rice balls. Knead glutinous rice flour with pandan water, wrap each piece around chopped palm sugar, boil until they float plus one minute, then roll them in steamed grated coconut. The sugar melts inside. You find them on Ubud morning market trays; the sweet cooked in the Petulu class is dadar gulung.

A morning market stall piled with chilies, shallots, and garlic, with a guide in a blue apron, from the Petulu class where klepon is cooked

Klepon are the green rice balls you find on market trays in Ubud before the souvenir stalls open, and at the Gianyar night market after dark. Bite one whole: the palm sugar inside melts while it boils and runs out when you bite.

The sweet you roll in the Petulu class with Chef Wayan is dadar gulung, the green crepe. Klepon use the same three flavors — pandan, palm sugar, coconut — in a ball instead of a roll. This is the home recipe for when you miss the market tray.

Klepon ingredients

  • 200g glutinous rice flour
  • 8 pandan leaves blended with 180ml water and strained, or 160ml warm water with 1 teaspoon pandan paste
  • A pinch of salt
  • 100g palm sugar, chopped fine
  • 120g freshly grated coconut
  • A pinch of salt, for the coconut

How to make klepon

  1. Steam the grated coconut with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes so it keeps until serving. Spread it on a plate to cool.
  2. Mix the glutinous rice flour and salt, then add the pandan water a little at a time, kneading until the dough is soft, smooth, and does not crack when you flatten a piece. Add a spoon of water or flour to adjust.
  3. Pinch off a walnut-sized piece, flatten it in your palm, put half a teaspoon of palm sugar in the middle, and close it into a smooth ball with no gaps. Repeat.
  4. Drop the balls into a pot of boiling water. When they float, cook one more minute so the sugar melts inside.
  5. Lift them out with a slotted spoon, let them drain a few seconds, then roll them in the coconut. Eat the same day, at room temperature.

Cracks let the sugar leak into the pot. If the balls split, the dough was too dry: knead in a little more pandan water. Market palm sugar is darker and less sweet than a pale supermarket block, and it melts better.

Klepon questions

What is klepon made of?
Glutinous rice flour, pandan for color and smell, palm sugar for the filling, and grated coconut on the outside. A pinch of salt goes in the dough and the coconut.
Why did my klepon burst?
There was a crack or gap in the dough, so the sugar leaked out while boiling. Knead the dough until it is soft and smooth, and seal each ball with no seams.
Can I make klepon ahead?
Eat them the same day at room temperature. They harden in the fridge, and the coconut sours if it was not steamed first.
Where can I eat klepon in Ubud?
On sweet trays at the Ubud morning market just after dawn, and at the Gianyar night market in the evening. The Petulu class with Chef Wayan finishes with dadar gulung, the green crepe with the same palm sugar and coconut.

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IDR 530.000promo · per guest

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