Open the leaf, and steam from the sticky rice carries the scent of shredded chicken
The moment you unwrap the banana leaf, the steam from the sticky rice mingles with the scent of coconut milk and lemongrass. Inside is sweet and savory shredded chicken. It looks like an onigiri, but the cling of the rice grains, the aroma of the leaf and the dry umami of the chicken are different. Lemper is a dish in which Indonesian snack culture is packed into a small parcel you can eat with one hand.
Lemper is an Indonesian snack of sticky rice seasoned through and wrapped around a filling such as chicken, fish, abon or serundeng. The version with shredded chicken is called lemper ayam. From market sweets to potluck dishes, celebrations and a bite on the road, it sits between a meal and a snack.
What troubles you in a home kitchen is the moisture of the sticky rice and how dry the filling is. If the rice is too soft it gets crushed when wrapped, and if the chicken is too wet the cut surface weeps. In this article the rice is steamed once, infused with hot coconut milk and steamed again so the grains settle. The chicken is not just simmered; it is cooked down until no liquid remains at the bottom of the pan.
If nasi uduk is a breakfast in which coconut perfumes the whole rice, lemper is a snack that shuts shredded chicken inside sticky rice. It is not a fragrant grilled skewer like sate ayam; it carries its aroma by leaf and steam. At home it is also nice that leftover banana leaf and lemongrass from ayam betutu can be reused.
In Indonesian, ketan is sticky rice and ayam is chicken. Lemper ayam means lemper wrapped around shredded chicken. The filling varies by region and household, but this article focuses on a lemper made with chicken breast, which is easy to make at home.
Background: a sticky rice culture in a small parcel
Lemper is introduced as a snack seen all over Indonesia. English-language food descriptions classify it as a dish in which sticky rice is filled with chicken, fish, meat floss or toasted coconut and wrapped in banana leaf. It may look like Japanese onigiri, but in method it is closer to a steamed dish than to cooked rice, and the step of infusing the rice with coconut milk sets the flavor.
The recipe by SBS Indonesian steams soaked sticky rice once, mixes in coconut milk with salt and lemongrass, and steams it again. The chicken filling is simmered with shallot, garlic, candlenuts, pepper, coriander, coconut milk and kaffir lime leaves, and cooked until the liquid is gone. These two stages are the big hint for cooking at home.
Part of the fun of lemper is the wrapping. Banana leaf is not a leaf for eating; it is a tool for protecting aroma and humidity. On days when you cannot get leaves, parchment paper will give you the shape, but the green scent when you open the parcel is weaker. You do not need to gather every local ingredient perfectly the first time. Still, keeping these four makes it more like lemper: sticky rice, coconut milk, dry shredded chicken and the aroma of the leaf.
Ingredients (makes 8)
This dish involves chicken, nuts, and, depending on the product, seasonings containing wheat or soy. If you react to candlenuts or the substitute cashews, do not use them, and make up only the body with 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds. Keep the chicken's cooking liquid and utensils separate before and after cooking.
Shopping: look only at the leaves, the aromatics and the tools for chopping
Chicken and sticky rice are fine from an ordinary supermarket. What is worth seeking out are the leaves for wrapping, the aromatics, and a tool to chop the aromatics finely. Look for banana leaves at shops that sell frozen Asian ingredients. Leftover leaves can be divided and frozen, and used for ayam pansuh and com lam too.
The priority is not to use authentic products for everything, but to keep the ingredients that make the aroma rise when you wrap the sticky rice.
| What to buy | Priority | Role in lemper |
|---|---|---|
| Banana leaves | High | Give the green aroma and humidity when the parcel is opened |
| Kaffir lime leaves | High | Add a citrus outline to the chicken and keep the sweet-savory note from getting heavy |
| Galangal | Medium | Adds a firm, fresh aroma that ginger alone does not give |
| Lemongrass | Medium | Carries a green aroma through both the rice and the filling |
| Small food processor | Medium | Chops aromatics and nuts coarsely and evenly, smoothing the mouthfeel of the filling |
Kaffir lime leaves are a small ingredient that keeps the shredded chicken from drifting too far toward a sweet-savory soboro. They give off their aroma just by removing the rib and tearing, and a bag of frozen leaves can also be used for soto ayam and tom yum goong.
Lemongrass in both the rice and the shredded chicken keeps the aroma from wavering. You can make it with dried if you have no fresh or frozen, but the portion that goes in the rice spreads its aroma even in small amounts, so do not overdo it. On days you use dried, warm the coconut milk with it in a tea-strainer bag so no fibers get mixed into the rice.
Galangal pushes the aroma of the shredded chicken toward Indonesian even in small amounts. With ginger alone it moves closer to the familiar sweet-savory soboro, so it is worth adding this one thing if you can get it.
If you chop the aromatics only with a knife, the filling tends to come out coarse. With a small food processor, it also helps with the sauce for gado-gado and with a sambal substitute, not only lemper.
Nutrition guide
| Guide per roll | Value |
|---|---|
| Energy | about 270 kcal |
| Protein | about 11 g |
| Fat | about 9 g |
| Carbohydrate | about 36 g |
| Fiber | about 1 g |
| Salt equivalent | about 1.4 g |
Lemper looks like a snack, but with sticky rice and coconut milk it is quite filling. For lunch, 2 rolls and a small dish of vegetables; as a snack, 1 roll is enough. Because salt goes into both the filling and the rice, add only a little if you add sambal or sweet soy sauce at the end.
Method: infuse the rice, and dry the filling before wrapping
Rather than cooking sticky rice all at once in a rice cooker, steaming and then letting it absorb coconut milk keeps the grains from being crushed. The shredded chicken should be dried, not moist, to a state where "it holds together when pressed but releases no liquid."
A branching table for getting closer to the local version at home
| Ingredient or step in doubt | Closer to local | Realistic at home | Direction to avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rice | Steamed sticky rice, ketan | Japanese or Thai sticky rice | Making it with regular rice only |
| Rice seasoning | Coconut milk, salt, lemongrass | Thin canned coconut milk and let the rice absorb it | Cooking in a rice cooker with water only |
| Filling | Chicken, fish, abon and so on | The first time, shredded chicken breast | Putting in a wet filling |
| Wrapping leaf | Banana leaf | Frozen banana leaf. If none, parchment and foil | Steaming in plastic wrap and giving up the aroma |
| Aromatics | Lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal | Add two from whatever you can get | Moving it toward Japanese style with only soy sauce and sugar |
| Finish | Steam, or lightly grill | Steam, then briefly pan-sear | Cooking from the raw rice state by grilling alone |
Lemper can be made even without banana leaves. Wrap in parchment, wrap the outside lightly in aluminum foil and steam. The aroma will be weaker, so it holds together better if you do not skip the lemongrass in the rice. The next time you use banana leaves, the impression at the table should change even with the same rice and filling.
Where it goes wrong: where to stop the moisture
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Sticky rice is gluey | Not drained enough after soaking, too much coconut liquid | Return to the steamer and steam 5 minutes over medium heat to drive off moisture |
| Rice has a hard core | Not soaked enough, weak steam | Sprinkle on 2 tbsp boiling water and re-steam 8 minutes over medium heat |
| Filling weeps | Liquid left in the shredded chicken | Return to the pan and cook 5 minutes over medium-low heat until the bottom of the pan is dry |
| Cracks when wrapping | Sticky rice got too cool | Warm 30 seconds at 600 W, brush your hands thinly with oil and roll |
| Leaf tears | Folded while cold, hard midrib | Warm with boiling water or the microwave, avoid the midrib and double it |
| Bitter when grilled | Scorched the leaf over high heat | Lower to medium and stop at a pale char |
The important thing is not to try to fix the rice and the filling at the same time. If the rice is soft, steam it back; if the filling is wet, return it to the pan. Pressing it hard when wrapping only makes it heavy to eat. Lemper is a small dish, but adjusting the rice, the filling and the leaf separately reduces failures.
How to eat, store and reheat
Lemper can be eaten warm, or at room temperature once the heat has gone off. For breakfast, sweet tea or coffee; for lunch, add cucumber, tomato and a boiled egg and it comes together as a light meal. If you want heat, rather than putting it inside the parcel, serve a sambal substitute in a small dish so each person can adjust.
For an Indonesian menu, put lemper on the staple side, with soto ayam as the soup and a small portion of gado-gado for vegetables. On days you add a rich meat dish like rendang (in Japanese), keeping to just 1 lemper keeps it from getting heavy.
Storage is up to 2 days in the refrigerator. Wrap in plastic wrap leaf and all, and keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To freeze, wrap one at a time in plastic wrap and use within 2 weeks. The most natural way to reheat is 8 minutes over medium heat in a steamer, leaf still on. In the microwave, put it on a heatproof plate without removing the leaf, sprinkle with 1 tsp water, and heat at 600 W for 50 seconds to 1 minute 20 seconds. Frozen portions should be thawed in the refrigerator for half a day and then steamed, so the center of the rice is less likely to be hard.
FAQ
Can I cook the sticky rice in a rice cooker?
You can, but the grains tend to get soft and get crushed when wrapped. If you use a rice cooker, use less water and spread out the rice as soon as it is done to let the heat go. To get the grain feel of lemper, I recommend steaming and then letting it absorb the coconut liquid.
Is it still lemper without banana leaves?
As a home version, you can make it. Wrap in parchment, lightly wrap the outside in aluminum foil and steam. But the aroma when you open the leaf will be weaker. On days without leaves, put lemongrass in both the rice and the filling to make up the direction of the aroma.
Can I make it with something other than chicken breast?
It also works with tenderloin, chicken thigh, or a fish filling. Chicken thigh releases fat easily, so cook it down a little longer. If you use fish, boil and flake cod or tuna and increase the kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass, and the smell is less likely to come through.
Are candlenuts essential?
They are not. Candlenuts give the filling body. If you cannot find them, cashews or macadamia nuts can replace them. If you want to avoid nuts, leave them out and make up for it with a careful reduction and the density of the shredded chicken.
Is it good cold?
You can eat it cold, but just after it comes out of the refrigerator the sticky rice is hard. Warm it in a steamer before eating, or restore it in the microwave with a little added moisture, and the texture improves. A short reheat is safer than leaving it out at room temperature to come back.
