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1
Wake the Yeast and Mix the Batter
55 Mins
Warm water, about 40°C (104°F)
Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and leave it for 5 minutes until it foams. Whisk the rice flour, salt and 30 g of palm sugar in a large bowl, then pour in the yeasty water, the 250 ml of coconut milk and the egg. Whisk until completely smooth, with no lumps. Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and leave it in a warm spot for 45 minutes, until the batter is full of small bubbles and has risen slightly.
If the yeast does not foam, it is dead — start again with fresh yeast, or the pancakes will be flat.
Done when: A bubbly batter that has risen a little and smells faintly yeasty.
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2
Simmer the Kinca Sauce
10 Mins
Gentle simmer, about 95°C (203°F)
Put the 200 ml of coconut milk, the 100 g of palm sugar, the knotted pandan leaf and a pinch of salt in a small pan. Warm over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar melts, then simmer gently for 5 minutes until the sauce turns glossy and lightly coats a spoon. Fish out the pandan leaf and keep the sauce warm with the lid on.
Do not boil the sauce hard, or the coconut milk can split and turn grainy.
Done when: A glossy, pourable sauce that coats the back of a spoon.
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3
Heat the Pan
5 Mins
Medium heat, about 180°C (350°F)
Brush a small heavy pan, a multi-cavity pancake pan or a small clay serabi pan very lightly with oil and set it over medium heat. Flick in a drop of water: it should sizzle and vanish in a second. If the oil smokes, the pan is too hot — lift it off the heat for a few seconds.
A small pan makes the classic thick serabi; a wide pan makes them thin and dry.
Done when: A hot, lightly oiled pan that sizzles when water hits it.
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4
Cook the Serabi
20 Mins
Medium-low heat, about 160°C (320°F)
Stir the batter once, then ladle about 60 ml into the pan for each pancake, swirling it into a round about 8 cm across. Cook for 2–3 minutes without flipping, until the top is set and full of tiny holes and the underside is golden. Lift out with a thin spatula and keep warm under a cloth. Brush the pan with a little oil before each batch. Makes about 12 pancakes.
Do not flip serabi — they cook on one side only, like a crumpet, and flipping makes them tough.
Done when: Golden underneath, set and pocked with tiny holes on top, soft in the middle.
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5
Serve Warm with Sauce
5 Mins
Serve warm, about 60°C (140°F)
Arrange three pancakes on each plate and spoon the warm kinca sauce generously over the top. Serve at once, while the pancakes are still steamy and the sauce is warm enough to soak into the soft centres.
Warm the sauce again if it has cooled — cold kinca turns thick and dulls the coconut aroma.
Done when: Steaming pancakes with warm, glossy sauce pooling around them.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Serve the serabi warm, never cold, with the kinca sauce poured over at the table so each person can take as much as they like. A few slices of banana or jackfruit on top are the classic Solo finishing touch.
Indonesia
35m
