Kuih Dadar or Ketayap, is a pandan flavoured rolled crepe filled with grated coconut and palm sugar. Kuih is a term used for both sweet or savoury snacks in South East Asia. The thin pancakes are also called Dadar Gulung. Dadar, in Indonesian means pancakes, while Gulung means ‘to roll’.
It is a popular tea time snack in Nyonya culture or Peranakan cuisine. The cuisine comes from descendants of early Chinese migrants who settled in Penang, Malacca, Singapore, and Indonesia, inter-marrying with local Malays.
You can often find street vendors selling a variety of Nyonya snacks at night markets or on busy roads. For us, this pandan rolled crepe is our favourite. Learn how to make the sweet treat with this simple Nyonya kuih recipe below.
Kuih Dadar
Ingredients
Pandan Juice
- 8 fresh pandan leaves cut into small chunks
- 200 ml water
Coconut Filling
- 200 g desiccated coconut
- 240 g palm sugar
- 400 ml water
Pancake Batter
- 150 g plain flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- 150 ml pandan juice from the first step
- 300 ml coconut milk
- 1 tbsp veg oil
Instructions
For The Pandan Juice
- Cut the pandan leaves into small pieces. Blend this with the water in a food processor until smooth.
- Strain through a sieve and collect the pandan juice. This step can be made a few hours in advance to save some time.
For the Coconut Filling
- Mix the palm sugar with water in a pot over a medium heat.
- Once the palm sugar dissolves, add the desiccated coconut. Cover the pot and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and set aside to cool once most of the water has evaporated. The coconut and palm sugar mixture should have a thick consistency.
For the Pancake Mix
- Sift the plain flour and salt into a large bowl.
- Add the egg and the pandan juice to the mixture and mix well.
- Incorporate the vegetable oil and coconut milk.
- Whisk until batter is smooth.
- Rest for the pancake batter for approximately 15 – 20 minutes.
- Pre heat a non stick saucepan over a low heat. Lightly grease the pan with a small amount of oil.
- Pour ¼ cup of the batter each time to get evenly sized pancakes.
- Begin pouring the batter from the middle, and pour slowly in a circular motion so that the batter spreads evenly on the saucepan.
- Once the edge turns a golden brown colour, flip using a spatula and cook the other side.
- Set aside to cool before assembling.
Assemble
- Put 1-2 tbsp of the premade coconut filling into at one edge of the pancake.
- Fold the pancake over the filling and fold in the sides.
- Roll it up and serve.
Nutrition
Finally, serve the pancakes with desiccated coconut and milk tea. Infused with natural pandan juice, the thin pancakes will present a bright green exterior. Using freshly made pandan juice will give the pancakes a sweeter and stronger aromatic scent from the pandan leaves. For those living in London, pandan leaves can be bought from Chinese supermarkets in Chinatown or any Wing Yip branch.
If you’re feeling lazy, some vendors in London also sell freshly made kuih dadar such as Sambal Shiok.
Looking for more Malaysian restaurants to try out? Read our guide to Malaysian food in London.
Comments