Indonesia is the largest archipelago and the forth populous country in the world, consisting of five main islands namely Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Papua. It has a total of 17,508 islands, among which 6,000 are inhabited. It stretches 5,150 km between the Australian and Asian continental mainland, and divides the Pacific and Indian Oceans at the Equator. There are so many cultures from different cities that I have never visited and the food culinary that I have never eaten before. But luckily that some food can be found in Jakarta or Surabaya because lots of people who migrated to the capital Jakarta 🙂

Ketan serundeng is one of them. Serundeng is an Indonesian spicy fried coconut flakes, which is made from sautéing grated coconut, and is often used as a side dish to accompany sticky rice. I love the savory and slightly sweet combination of serundeng top on the sticky rice. It’s a popular breakfast or snacks in Indonesia.

I N G R E D I E N T S

• 300 gr glutinous rice / sticky rice – soak for at least 4 hours if cooking on the stove
• 300 ml coconut milk
• 1 pandan leaf – knotted
• Pinch of salt

Serundeng (savory coconut flakes)

• 500gr grated coconut
• small handful of red onions
• 4 cloves garlic
• turmeric 2 finger segments
• red chillies 1
• cayenne pepper 2
• orange leaf 2 (boneless)
• coriander powder 1 tsp
• brown sugar + salt according to taste

Ground Spices:

• 10 gr dried shrimp – soaked with warm water for 10 minutes
• 1 red chili – optional
• 2 shallots – peeled
• 2 cloves garlic – peeled
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder

H O W T O P R E P A R E

You can prepare the coconut flakes few days before if you like:

• You can use fresh grated coconut or if you can’t find one, you can buy frozen dessicated coconut
• Mix the grated coconut with ground spices and stir to mix evenly
• Preheat a large skillet without any oil over low heat.
• Add in the coconut mixture, bay leaves, lime leaf, galangal and stir fry until the coconut is really dry and crispy and sprinkle in the coconut sugar while stirring.
• This may take a while and remember to do this over low heat or you are risking burning the coconut before it’s dry.
• Once it’s completely dry, crispy, and golden brown, remove from the heat and store in air-tight container at room temperature when it’s completely cool.
• I added crushed peanuts and it’s more delicious when you are ready to eat them.

Cooking the sticky rice (on the stove):

• Drain off water after soaking the rice. Place the glutinous rice in a steamer and steam for about 20 minutes. The rice won’t be fully cooked at this point
• Meanwhile, place the coconut milk, pandan leaves, and pinch of salt in a small saucepan.
• Bring to a gentle simmer and continue to stir. You don’t want it to be rolling boil as the coconut milk will turn foamy.
• Remove from the heat. Pour this milk to the steamed rice and stir to mix thoroughly.
• Bring the steamer back on high heat and steam for another 30 minutes. The rice should be cooked through, soft (but not mushy) and sticky at this point

Notes:

If you can’t find grated coconuts, you can use desiccated coconuts. I normally put it in the microvawe and pour a little bit of water and run it for 3 minutes 🙂