Traditional Kuih Wajik

Ingredients

• 3 cups glutinous rice (soaked for 5 hours up to overnight)
• 2 cups coconut cream
• 1/2 cup water
• Pandan leaves
• Pink Himalayan rock salt
• Gula melaka
• Water (for melting sugar)
• 1 cup organic coconut sugar
• Coconut cream/milk (for caramel)

Method

1. Soak 3 cups of glutinous rice for at least 5 hours or overnight, then drain.
2. In a rice cooker, combine the soaked glutinous rice, 2 cups of coconut cream, 1/2 cup of water, a stalk of pandan leaf, and some pink Himalayan rock salt. Mix well and cook like normal rice.
3. Chop the gula melaka and transfer it to a wok.
4. Chop a few pandan leaves and add them to the wok, then pour in a little water to help melt the sugar.
5. Add 1 cup of organic coconut sugar to the wok and bring the mixture to a boil to create a caramel.
6. Line a cake mold with a clean piece of banana leaf.
7. Once the caramel is bubbling, pour in some coconut cream or milk and stir well.
8. Add the freshly cooked, hot glutinous rice directly into the bubbling caramel mixture.
9. Stir continuously over heat until the mixture thickens, becomes glossy, and pulls away from the pan.
10. Transfer the mixture into the prepared banana leaf-lined mold, press it down evenly, and set aside to cool completely.
11. Unmold the wajik, remove the banana leaf, and slice into diamond shapes using a paring knife before serving.