How to Make Kerisik (Toasted Coconut Paste)

Kerisik is toasted, ground coconut that adds a rich, nutty flavour to rendang and other dishes in Singapore and Malaysia (and elsewhere). Here’s how to make it at home with fresh, frozen or desiccated coconut, with tips for getting the colour and texture right.

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

What is Kerisik?

Kerisik is made by toasting grated coconut in a dry pan, then pounding or grinding it. As the coconut browns, its flavour becomes deeper and toastier. Grind it further and it releases its oil, further enhancing its flavour and aroma.

It’s an ingredient you’ll come across in Malay cooking in Singapore and Malaysia, particularly in rendang. Related preparations are also used in Indonesia, so it certainly isn’t confined to our two countries.

And although you’ll sometimes see kerisik described as coconut butter, ordinary white coconut butter hasn’t been toasted and doesn’t have the same flavour.

What Does Kerisik Do to Rendang?

Kerisik adds a deep, toasted coconut flavour to rendang, along with richness and body. It helps give the sauce that thick texture that clings to the meat, and its nutty flavour is an important part of the rendang recipes I share here.

Kerisik is usually used alongside coconut milk. The coconut milk provides the rich cooking liquid, while the kerisik adds the flavour and texture of coconut that has been toasted separately and then ground.

Rendang Without Added Kerisik

Some rendang recipes develop their coconut flavour without adding kerisik. As the coconut milk slowly cooks down, its water evaporates and the coconut oil separates. With continued cooking, the remaining coconut solids and spices fry and brown in that oil, developing a deeper flavour and darker colour.

This slow reduction of coconut milk is central to traditional Minangkabau rendang cooking in West Sumatra. Indonesian rendang recipes without separately added kerisik belong to that established tradition.

Rendang without kerisik is also found in Malaysian home cooking, including some versions of rendang ayam Kelantan. The choice varies between recipes and households, so it’s more accurate to describe the particular rendang than to draw a firm line between Indonesian and Malaysian methods.

For a recipe that calls for kerisik, however, it makes a real difference. Leaving it out changes the flavour and texture, and extra coconut milk isn’t a direct substitute for its concentrated, toasted character.

The Recipe

Making kerisik involves two stages: toasting the coconut, then pounding it until it’s finely crushed and beginning to release its oil.

To me, a crumbly, slightly sticky mixture with a light sheen of oil is just right. It doesn’t have to become a smooth, wet paste. That’s how my family has always made kerisik, and I’ve never felt the need to take it any further.

You can use freshly grated coconut, thawed frozen coconut or unsweetened desiccated coconut. The method’s the same, but desiccated coconut generally toasts more quickly because it’s already dry.

So for those of us who don’t have access to freshly grated coconut, the frozen variety or desiccated coconut work just as well. In the video, I’m using desiccated coconut.

For the quantities below, use these approximate toasting times:

Watch the coconut rather than the clock. You’re looking for an even, deep golden brown and a pleasantly nutty, toasted smell. Lower the heat if it starts colouring too quickly.

Once toasted, pound it while it’s still warm. Light pounding produces crumbly kerisik; keep going for the moist, oily paste we’re making here.

Ingredients

The main ingredient is mature coconut. Here are your options:

Using desiccated coconut

Yes, you can make kerisik with desiccated coconut. Choose plain, unsweetened, full-fat coconut, preferably finely desiccated.

Avoid sweetened coconut, reduced-fat products and coconut flour. Coconut flour behaves quite differently, and we need the coconut’s natural fat for the paste.

There’s no need to soak the coconut for this method. Some recipes moisten it first, but here we’re toasting it directly over gentle heat. Because it’s already dry, it can brown quickly.

Fresh coconut is my first choice when it’s readily available, but desiccated coconut is a perfectly useful option. You can still make your rendang, with no loss of flavour whatesoever.

Using Frozen Shredded Coconut

Frozen shredded coconut often comes in longer, coarser shreds, so it’s best to give it a few short pulses in a food chopper once thawed and drained. You want finer, fairly even pieces – stop before it becomes a wet paste.

As you can see in the photo below, the larger pieces remain lighter in colour because they take longer to brown. If you leave the shreds whole, the smaller pieces can start to burn while you’re waiting for the larger ones to catch up.

Desiccated coconut browns more uniformly, as does the finely grated fresh coconut we buy from grocers.

Using frozen coconut chunks

If the frozen coconut you can find comes in large pieces, you can reduce them in a food processor before toasting.

1. Thaw the coconut in the fridge, following the packet instructions. Use firm, mature coconut flesh rather than soft young coconut.
2. Drain any loose liquid and pat the pieces dry. There’s no need to squeeze the moisture out of the flesh.
3. Cut large pieces smaller so your processor can handle them.
4. Pulse in small batches, stopping to scrape down the bowl, until you have fine, fairly even crumbs. Pick out any stubborn larger pieces and process them again.
5. Toast the crumbs as you would grated coconut. Don’t add water to help the machine along.

A processor chops the coconut rather than producing neat strands, but that’s fine for kerisik. Evenness is more useful here than appearance: big chunks and fine crumbs won’t brown at the same speed.