Kerisik substitute

Best substitute

Homemade Kerisik From Desiccated Coconut

1 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut yields about ½ cup kerisik paste

Best for rendang

Close match

The actual thing, made from a bag of shredded coconut in about fifteen minutes.

Other kerisik substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Toasted Desiccated Coconut, Not Pounded
Different texture
About 1.25 times the volume of the kerisik called for
The same toasting step without the pounding, for when you have no mortar or blender.
What changes
Best for
rendang, dry curries, kerabu, coconut-crusted dishes
You keep all the toasted, nutty flavour and lose most of the thickening, because it is the pounded oily paste that binds a gravy rather than the flakes. So the rendang comes out looser and speckled with brown shreds rather than dark and clinging, and you may need to reduce it another ten minutes. Perfectly good, visibly different, and the flavour is right, which matters more.
3Toasted Ground Peanuts or Almonds
Different taste
About ¾ the volume of the kerisik
A different nut doing the same double job of thickening and adding roasted flavour.
What changes
Best for
rendang, dry curries, braises, gluten-free thickening
These thicken excellently, arguably better than kerisik, because ground nuts drink up liquid fast. The flavour change is obvious and worth stating: the dish reads as satay or as a peanut curry rather than as coconut, so a rendang made this way is genuinely delicious and clearly not traditional. Toast the nuts first, or you get raw, pasty thickening with no roasted aroma at all.
4Toasted Ground Sesame Seeds
Different taste
About half the volume of the kerisik
Strongly aromatic and effective as a thickener, with a very different accent.
What changes
Best for
dry curries, kerabu, salads, beef braises
Sesame is much more powerful than coconut per spoonful, hence the smaller quantity, and it grinds into an oily paste in the same satisfying way. The dish comes out with a pronounced sesame aroma that pushes it towards Korean or Japanese flavour, and the colour goes grey-brown rather than warm brown. Use white sesame and toast it lightly, since dark-toasted sesame turns bitter quickly.
5Toasted Rice Powder
Different taste
Use 1 tbsp for every ¼ cup of kerisik
The Thai and Lao thickener, made by dry-toasting raw rice and grinding it fine.
What changes
Best for
rendang, dry curries, larb-style dishes, when you have no coconut or nuts
It thickens reliably and adds a genuinely appealing toasted-grain aroma, so this is a real option rather than a desperate one. The difference is fat and colour: rice powder has no oil, so the gravy thickens without becoming rich, and the dish stays lighter in both colour and mouthfeel. Stir it in near the end and give it five minutes, or it can taste raw and starchy.
6Nothing, Plus a Longer Reduction
Different taste
Omit, then simmer uncovered 20 to 30 minutes longer
The honest fallback when there is no coconut and no nuts in the house.
What changes
Best for
rendang, dry curries
You can get a rendang to the right dryness by patience alone, since kerisik's thickening job is really just removing water faster. What you cannot get is the dark toasted nuttiness, so the result tastes like a very reduced, richly spiced curry rather than a rendang, and the colour stays redder and glossier instead of turning deep brown. Watch it and stir often near the end, because a reducing rendang catches and scorches fast.

What is Kerisik?

Kerisik is Kerisik is grated coconut that has been dry-toasted to a deep brown and then pounded until the oil releases and it becomes a dark, glossy paste, also called toasted grated coconut, toasted coconut paste or kelapa gongseng.

Cooking tips

Toast on medium-low and do not walk away from the pan. Coconut goes from pale to golden slowly and from golden to acrid in under a minute, and burnt kerisik makes an entire pot of rendang bitter in a way you cannot fix, so pull it off the heat a shade before it looks done because it keeps darkening in the hot pan.
Pound it while it is still warm. Warm coconut releases its oil readily and turns into a glossy, almost fudge-like paste in a couple of minutes of pounding, whereas cold toasted coconut just breaks into dust and never quite comes together.
Add kerisik in the last ten to fifteen minutes of a rendang, not at the beginning. Its job is to thicken the gravy and to layer toasted flavour on top of the spice paste, and an hour of simmering dulls that toasted aroma into something generically sweet.
Use unsweetened desiccated or freshly grated coconut only. The sweetened shredded coconut sold for baking will scorch far faster because of the sugar, and it will make a savoury braise taste like a macaroon.
Make far more than you need. Kerisik keeps about a month in a sealed jar in the fridge and around six months in the freezer, and since the work is all in the toasting and pounding, doing four batches at once costs almost nothing extra. It is also excellent stirred into kerabu salads and sprinkled over rice.

Frequently asked questions

What job does kerisik actually do in rendang?

Two jobs at once, which is why substituting it is tricky. It thickens, soaking up the loose coconut liquid so the dish turns from a wet curry into a dark paste clinging to the meat, and it adds a deep toasted nutty flavour and brown colour. Plain coconut milk or fresh coconut adds fat and sweetness but neither the toast nor the thickening, which is why a straight coconut swap does not work.

Is kerisik the same as serundeng?

They are closely related but not identical. Kerisik is plain toasted coconut pounded into an oily paste and used as an ingredient inside a dish. Serundeng, sometimes called serunding, is toasted coconut cooked with spices and often kept loose and flaky to be eaten as a condiment or topping. You can use serundeng in place of kerisik if you accept the extra spices it brings, but not the other way round.

Can I use fresh grated coconut instead of desiccated?

Yes, and it makes the best kerisik, because there is more oil in it. Allow considerably longer in the pan, twenty minutes or more, because you have to drive off the moisture before the coconut can brown, and keep the heat low so the outside does not scorch while the inside is still wet.

Can I skip kerisik in rendang?

You can, and the dish will still taste good, but it will be a thick spiced curry rather than a rendang, lighter in colour and missing the nutty depth. If you have any unsweetened coconut in the house, toasting a cup of it takes fifteen minutes and is the single highest-value shortcut in the whole recipe, so it is usually worth doing rather than skipping.

Can I buy kerisik ready-made?

Yes, Malaysian and Singaporean groceries sell it in tubs and packets, sometimes labelled kerisik or toasted coconut paste, and it is a fine product. Check the ingredients, because some versions are pre-seasoned with sugar and spices, which makes them serundeng rather than plain kerisik, and taste before adding the recipe's salt and sugar.

Related substitutes

More seasonings substitutes

Kerisik substitute

Other kerisik substitutes

2Toasted Desiccated Coconut, Not Pounded

3Toasted Ground Peanuts or Almonds

4Toasted Ground Sesame Seeds

5Toasted Rice Powder

6Nothing, Plus a Longer Reduction