Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Onde You.

You just can't stop at one! Imagine poppin' these cute little furry coconut-covered green little kueh gems AND squishing them between your teeth, releasing a flurry of sweet syrupy gula melaka goodness into your mouth. Yum!

Mum just brought back some homemade ondeonde for me. Perfect for a midnight snack. And I just can't wait to attempt making my own -I plan to be trying out the recipe from Irene's Peranakan recipes. Do let me know if youve tried it before and how it turned out! Especially since Irene's recipe is a tad tricky calling for sweet potatoes as one of its ingredients.

If you, like me, have grown up with the epinymous Bengawan solo versions made from rice-flour. This MAY come as a surprise for you that there actually are receipes for ondeonde which call for sweet potato. While rice flour typically gives ondeonde balls that *bouncey* quality to them. Ondeondes made from sweet potatoes are softer in nature and more frangrant. Overall though, it has to be agreed that it doesnt matter what the ondeonde skin is made from as long as it's nice and thin just like xiaolongbao....

How about the filling? I think the PERFECT ondeonde has to have syrupy gulamelaka filling, studded with a few crunchy crytals of gulamelaka for that extra crunch. Those extra crystals just add to the fun!

Inspired to make your very own ondeonde yet? I am especially gobsmacked by Shebakesandshecooks brilliant idea of using PURPLE SWEET POTATOES in her version of ondeonde. [: And Look here if you'd like to try making ondeonde from rice flour. Or try out this one with coconut fried with gula melaka as filling instead. Don't hesitate; just go and make!

p.s: The origins of this great dessert may be hazy- but I'd like to think that maybe it was invented by some adventourous Chinese who with access to wonderful ingredients like coconut and gula melaka in South East Asia decided to reinvent their own glutinous rice balls a.k.a tang yuan into what is known today as onde onde.

2 comments:

黄子琳 said...

haha..my fav nonya kueh is also ondeonde..n i happened to haf made them in hall wif my hallmates for supper..they r simply mouth-drooling..mayb we can try making them @ the nxt stayover? =P

garden-city girl said...

Yay!!! I hate to admit it but... THAT'S a great idea [: