Onde-onde (Ondeh-ondeh)

4.71 from 34 votes
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Onde-onde (also spelled as ondeh-ondeh) are made with pandan (screwpine leaf) infused dough and filled with Gula Melaka or palm sugar. Roll them with grated coconut before serving.

Onde-onde filled with “Gula Melaka” or palm sugar.
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Onde-Onde Recipe

Onde-onde is one of the traditional kuih in Malaysia; they are one of my favorites.

Kuih is term for Malaysian sweet cakes or pastries.

This onde-onde recipe was contributed by Sea Salt with Food, an amazing food blog with many amazing recipes.

Onde-onde rolled in with some fresh grated coconut.

What Is Onde-Onde

Ondeh-ondeh filled with gula Melaka.

These cute little onde-onde–also spelled as ondeh-obdeh–are infused with pandan (screwpine leaf) juice and filled with “Gula Melaka” or palm sugar.

The dough is made from sweet potato or glutinous rice flour.

After cooking, they are rolled with grated coconut. The palm sugar is literally bursting in your mouth when you take a bite.

They are very popular in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. In Indonesia, they are called klepon.


Ingredients

Ingredients for onde-onde.
  • Glutinous rice flour
  • Pandan juice
  • Grated coconut
  • Gula Melaka
  • Sea salt

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.


How To Make Onde-Onde

A pinch of dough made from glutinous rice flour and pandan juice.

Step 1: In a large bowl, combine the glutinous rice flour with Pandan juice and knead lightly. Pinch a small piece of the dough (about 40 g/ 1½ oz.) and drop it into boiling water.

Onde-onde dough in a bowl covered with plastic food wrap.

Step 2: When the dough rises up the surface, remove it with a slotted spoon and shake off the excess water. Mix it back into the main dough and knead well to form a smooth dough. Cover the dough and set aside for about 15 minutes.

Grated coconut and salt being mixed with a spoon in small bowl which is placed in a steamer.

Step 3: Mix the grated coconut with a pinch of salt and steam for about 2 – 3 minutes and let it cool completely.

Flattened onde-onde dough with Gula Melaka filling in the center.

Step 4: Bring a pot of water to boil. Pinch a small piece of dough (about 15 g/ ½oz each) and flatten lightly. Fill the center of the dough with Gula Melaka or palm sugar. Roll it in your palms to form a smooth ball. Repeat the same until all ingredients are used up.

Onde-onde balls being rolled around in grated coconut in a bowl.

Step 5: Cook the onde-onde balls in boiling water. When they float to the surface, remove them with a slotted spoon and shake off the excess water. Coat the onde-onde with grated coconut and serve immediately.


Frequently Asked Questions

How many calories per serving?

This recipe is only 516 calories per serving.

Ondeh-ondeh, ready to serve.

What To Serve With This Recipe

There are many types of kuih in Malaysia. If you wish to try making kuih at home, I recommend the following recipes.

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4.71 from 34 votes

Onde-onde

Onde-onde (also spelled as ondeh-ondeh) are made with pandan (screwpine leaf) infused dough and filled with Gula Melaka or palm sugar. Roll them with grated coconut before serving.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4 people
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Ingredients  

  • 250 g (8oz) glutinous rice flour
  • 200 ml Pandan juice
  • 100 g (3½ oz) grated coconut
  • 1 pinch sea salt
  • 150 g (5½ oz) Gula Melaka or palm sugar, finely chopped

Instructions 

  • In a large bowl, combine the glutinous rice flour with pandan juice and knead lightly. Pinch off a small piece of the dough (about 40 g or 1½ oz.) and drop it into boiling water.
  • When the dough rises to the surface, remove it with a slotted spoon and shake off the excess water. Mix it back into the main dough and knead well until smooth. Cover the dough and let it rest for about 15 minutes.
  • Mix the grated coconut with a pinch of salt and steam for about 2 to 3 minutes. Allow it to cool completely.
  • Bring a pot of water to a boil. Take a small piece of dough (about 15 g or ½ oz), flatten it lightly, and fill the center with Gula Melaka or palm sugar. Roll it in your palms to form a smooth ball. Repeat until all the ingredients are used.
  • Cook the onde-onde balls in boiling water. Once they float to the surface, remove them with a slotted spoon and shake off any excess water. Coat the onde-onde with grated coconut and serve immediately.

Video

Notes

Recipe Contributor: Sea Salt With Food.
  • Please use Gula Melaka if you can.
  • The best Gula Melaka should be golden brown in color and not so solid. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1g, Calories: 516kcal, Carbohydrates: 89g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 15g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 92mg, Potassium: 183mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 26g, Vitamin C: 0.4mg, Calcium: 13mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Please rate and comment below!

About Bee Yinn Low

Bee is a recipe developer and best-selling cookbook author, sharing easy, quick, and delicious Asian and American recipes since 2006. With a strong following of almost 2 million fans online, her expertise has been featured in major publications, TV and radio programs, and live cooking demos throughout the United States and Asia.

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62 Comments

  1. Tammy says:

    Can you use pandan powder instead of juice?

    1. Bee Yinn Low says:

      Hi Tammy, you can try. Many people also use green food coloring.

  2. Tara says:

    4 stars
    I think my dough wasnโ€™t right. It was a very moist dough
    What should be the consistency please

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Hi Tara. There’s an instructional video on the page which will show you the entire process including what the dough looks like. It should be similar to cookie dough before cooking.

  3. Malaysian Kepochi says:

    As a Malaysian, I wondered if onde is a Malay word. It is not. So thought about possible corruption of foreigners lingo who traded at Malacca in old times: Arabs, Persian, Tamil, Portuguese, Dutch, English. I started with translations of fruit, ball, round. The best result is Dutch for round which is ronde (rorn~day) that somewhat rhymes with onde (orn~day). So onde-onde (round-round) is possibly a glamorous albeit corrupt Dutch term by Nyonyas for describing these round deserts. Malay pluralizes anything by repeating it. So onde- onde is plural version of onde. Unsurprising since one onde is never enough.
    But the Indonesian term klepon is Javanese for ovary. Immature chicken or duck eggs in the ovary are roundish. So possibly a term associated with fertility. So serving klepon is less appealing than serving onde-onde or buah Melaka (Malaccan fruit) to ones guest.

  4. Tiffany says:

    Hi Bee,
    Can you recommend some of the gula melaka brand please?

    1. Bee Yinn Low says:

      No brand I can recommend. I just buy the higher quality ones (more expensive).

  5. Victoria Mah-Gallow says:

    Hello,
    Can these be made the day before, then boiled the next day?

    1. Bee Yinn Low says:

      I don’t recommend.

  6. Ning says:

    Hi, how do I store these and for how long? Thank you.

    1. Bee Yinn Low says:

      They don’t keep very long on room temperature. Better serve and eat all up in a few hours, unless they are kept in the fridge.

  7. Ning says:

    Hi, can I use pandan extract instead of pandan juice as I canโ€™t get pandan leaves here. If I can use pandan extract, what is the measurement for it? Thank you

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      I am sorry but I am not too sure. I never use pandan extract.

    2. Aida says:

      Yes you can use pandan extract. I subbed it in when I made this recipe. Just mix it in to taste/colour with the water and add to the rice flour.

  8. Rika says:

    Hello, is it needed to steam the grated coconut? What is the purpose of steaming it?

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Yes, it will be great if you steam it, so they are moist and juicier.