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Monday, June 27, 2011

wajik - brown sticky rice cake

my dad now has been the frequent readers of my blog. he gives a lot of supportive ideas about this blog and also about the photographs. he was the person who first introducing me to the world of photography back when i was a toddler. sadly, i didn't develop too much skill on it even until now. hahaha. however, one interesting idea that my dad has told me is to create more indonesian traditional sweet foods. traditional? yes. as an Indonesian, i think it's an obligation for me to master all those traditional Indonesian food or desserts, but in fact i don't. making Asian dishes is not an easy one for me, Asian dishes are so rich in spices and flavor, it feels complicated to really get a perfect balance of all those spices and ingredients. that's why, once the dish has been done perfectly, Asian dishes will give you the superb explosion of flavors in your mouth.


wajik literally means diamond shape. in case you wonder how to spell it, it should be like this: 'waa-jeek'. in terms of food, wajik is a sliced sticky rice cake, it is flavored by caramelized palm sugar and coconut milk. it is very simple to make, just cook the glutinous rice in the boiled and reduced palm sugar-coconut milk syrup until all the syrup has been absorbed, then we spread the rice into a lined baking-pan and let it cool. when it has reached the room temperature, slice it into diamond shape. i think any people would love this cake, from whatever nation you are. i mean, who doesn't like the richness of coconut milk? and who can resist a caramelized sugar?


this cake is one of our favorite among those traditional Indonesian desserts. my mom, dad, and siblings love them tweaked with durian flavor, not me though. i don't really like durian. in this post, i will give you the original recipe also the durian flavored wajik recipe. for the first-time wajik-eater, i think it would be wiser for you to try the original one first and then you may go to the next step with durian flavor. come on, try it and tell me what you think about it! :)


Wajik / Brown Sticky Rice Cake

1000 gr white glutinous rice
250 gr palm sugar
750 ml coconut milk (naturally from 1,5 coconut)
salt to taste
3 pandan leaves
10 pieces of durian fleshes, juiced (optional) -- preferably an almost ripened
banana leaves
vegetable oil

directions:

  1. soak the glutinous rice overnight and steam until it is half cooked. remove, set aside and let cool.
  2. cook the palm sugar, coconut milk, salt and pandan (and the optional durian juice) together, stir from time to time and bring it to a boil. reduce the mixture into 2/3.
  3. add the glutinous rice into the syrup and stir until the rice has cooked and the syrup has all been absorbed. let cool for a while, until slightly warm.
  4. line a baking sheet with oiled banana leaves. pour the glutinous rice mixture onto the banana leaves and spread evenly to a thickness of approximately 2,5 cm.
  5. let cool, it will be harden by then. cut into diamond shapes and serve.
that's all for the recipe. it's easy and simple. 
thanks for reading everyone!
have a very good day!

Hearth and Soul Hop at the 21st Century Housewife


13 comments:

  1. Setuja bgt aku sama babe kamu Mon, hidup babenya Momon! hehehe. Kalo bukan kita yg ngenalin masakan asli Indo, siapa lagiiii? Masakan Indo kurang terkenal dibanding masakan Asian lainnya krn kurang banyak yg ngenalin :D. Setelah dapet kesempatan sekali nulis guest post di Indonesia Eats, jiwa nasionalis gue terhadap masakan Indo kembali meledak-ledak, jiaaaahhhh bahasanye hehehehe, sampe2 aku mau bikin blog lagi dedicated for mostly Indonesian food hehehe, tapi masih binggung :D. Ini wajik favorit embah ku bgt deh Mon, gak pas lebaran aja, setiap ada syukuran pasti dibela2in bikin, aku sampek mblenger T______T

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  2. Monica, your dad is so sweet! This rice cake sounds so cooool, the coconut milk and caramelized sugar both are my hubby favourite! I think he'd definitely love it, I'm interested in cooking for him someday. I travelled to Bali few years ago, love this paradise and indonesian food. =)

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  3. Love this traditional Indonesian dessert you are right, Asian dishes requires unique spice blending. we make similar preparation but not with sticky rice, i love the flavor of coconut milk, plam sugar yumm. Thanks for sharing with hearth and soul hop.

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  4. @tabon: hahahaha. wah, Mbak Pepy sih emang yg paling patut kita acungin jempol Ta buat jiwa nasionalisnya terhadap Indonesian foods. haha. aku mau mulai rutin nih tiap bulan bikin indonesian desserts. aku dukung km bikin blog Indo Food taaa.. semangat!

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  5. @SiuKwan: yes Siukwan, my Dad is the sweetest. ha ha. it is so nice to hear you wanted to make this for your hubby. i'm sure he'll like it! Bali is the most famous place here in Indonesia, but actually there are still so many beautiful places nearby. you should visit Bangka someday, the beaches are also very pretty and there's a lot of Indo-Chinese people there, the foods are also lovely!

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  6. @Swathi: Hi Swathi, thanks for dropping by. i just visited your blog and i'm so happy to have a new blogger friend who's cooking Indian! yay! i think both Indonesian and Indian foods almost share the same spices and herbs in it. that's why almost our foods are rich and flavorful. can't wait to see your other posts about Asian foods too.. :)

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  7. I don't know how i didn't wee that delicious wajik! Looks weird, but i am dying to try it!! Its name is gorgeous, diamond shape...

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  8. hahaha. yes Val.. i am the one to blame due to the photos. hahaha. you are so extremely better presenting the food in front of the camera, i want to learn from you..!!

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  9. Monica, thank you for your recommendation, I never heard this place before, I've just searched from the internet, you know I am amazed on the pictures, it's GOOOOD idea! Love it!!!

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  10. @Siukwan: wow! i'm so glad you love it Siukwan. tell me when you finally visit Bangka..!! the Parai Island is the most beautiful, don't forget to check it out! *hugs from Jakarta*

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  11. I love these!.
    One of my favorite snacks.((:

    http://czarinacuison.blogspot.com/

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  12. @czarina: wow, you know this snack? where do you come from Czarina? thanks for the comment anyway.. :)

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  13. thank u, thank u, thank u. I love this soooo much :)

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