Pandan Crêpes
Stuffed with sweet coconut – KUEH DADAR –
MALAYSIA / SINGAPORE (PERANAKAN)
Most Peranakan kuehs are quite fiddly to make and involve careful steaming times and confusing ratios of rice/bean flours to coconut milk. Kueh dadar is mercifully simple to make, and in fact is pretty similar to crêpes, or British pancakes. Coconut milk is used instead of milk, and pandan is added for fragrance and colour. These gorgeous green coconut crêpes are actually pretty versatile at this stage; you can dress them up with your favourite ingredients – a seasonal fruit compote and/or ice cream – for a beautiful brunch. To make kueh dadar, you stuff these crêpes with palm-sugar-sweetened grated coconut and roll them up into delicate little packets.
Makes 6–8
For the crêpes
- 5 pandan leaves, chopped
- 100ml water
- 1 large free-range egg
- 150g plain white flour*
- 300ml coconut milk
- a pinch of salt
- groundnut or melted coconut oil, for frying
For the filling
- 2 tablespoons water
- 120g gula melaka (unrefined dark palm sugar)
- a pinch of salt
- 100g freshly grated coconut or desiccated coconut
- 2 tablespoons thick coconut milk (if using desiccated coconut)
- Purée the pandan leaves in a blender with the water, then strain through a fine sieve or muslin cloth to extract the pandan juices.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg, flour, coconut milk, salt and pandan juice together, adding more water to thin if necessary. The mixture should be quite thin; when poured from a ladle, the batter should drip rather than flow in a steady stream. Take your time to make sure the batter is smooth and lump-free. Set aside.
- To make the filling, combine the water, gula melaka and salt in a small pot and cook on a medium heat until the sugar dissolves. If using desiccated coconut, add a little splash of coconut milk. Stir in the fresh or desiccated coconut and cook until the mixture is sticky and moist. Remove from the heat and let cool.
- Set a 20cm shallow frying pan over a medium heat. Using kitchen paper or a brush, grease the surface of the pan with the tiniest amount of oil possible. Ladle about 2 tablespoons of batter into the pan, swirling it to cover the surface with a thin layer. The crêpe should set in seconds; once it’s cooked, transfer it to a tray. Repeat until the batter is used up.
- To assemble, scoop a tablespoon of filling on to the centre of each crêpe and spread it out so it forms a little sausage shape. Fold the bottom half of the crêpe over so that the filling is covered, then fold the sides in and roll into a parcel. Serve at room temperature, preferably with a cup of hot tea.
