Recipe
🍰 DESSERT
Penyaram
A chewy fried cake of rice flour and palm sugar with lacy, crisp edges, a traditional Bruneian and Bornean sweet.
Bruneian · medium · serves 8
prep 15 min · cook 25 min
~279 cal · 2g protein · 59g carbs · 4g fat · 1g fiber · 32g sugars · 3g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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AI-generated illustration
Penyaram, sometimes called a UFO cake for its shape, is a traditional fried sweet of Brunei and the wider Bornean and Malay world, made especially for weddings, celebrations, and Hari Raya. Its distinctive disc shape with thin, lacy, crisp edges and a dense chewy centre makes it instantly recognisable.
The batter could hardly be simpler: rice flour and dark palm sugar (or brown sugar) mixed with a little and water into a thick pour. Ladled into deep hot oil, it spreads into a wide, thin-edged disc that cooks to a caramel-brown, crisp at the rim and satisfyingly chewy at the middle. Sweet and unfussy, it is the taste of a Bruneian celebration.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 8
2 cups rice flour
1 1/4 cups palm sugar or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup
1 cup water
1 pinch salt
for frying oil, for deep frying
Instructions
1
Melt the palm sugar in the water, then cool and mix with the rice flour, coconut milk, and salt into a thick batter; rest a few hours.
2
Heat a good depth of oil in a small pan until hot.
3
Ladle in the batter so it spreads into a disc, and spoon hot oil over the edges to lace them.
✎ Chef’s note
Spoon hot oil over the thin edges as it fries; that is what creates the signature crisp, lacy rim around the chewy centre.
4
Fry until deep caramel-brown, then lift out and drain.
Bruneian celebration tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Bandar Seri Begawan. The dish is Brunei's national one but not Brunei's alone; Sarawak, Sabah and Labuan eat the same thing under the names linut or pinantung. The starch comes from inside the trunk of the sago palm, which is felled, split and washed out rather than harvested like a grain.
🗺️
Brunei. The dish is not Brunei's alone. The same sago paste is eaten across northern Borneo in Sarawak, Sabah and Labuan, where it is called linut or pinantung, so the sultanate shares it with its neighbours. Sago itself comes from the pith of a palm rather than from a grain, which is why it grows where rice paddies will not.
🌍
Asia. Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, and its food spans the delicate seasonality of Japanese washoku, the chili-fired curries of India and Thailand, and the wheat-and-lamb traditions of Central Asia. Rice, noodles, soy, and fermentation recur across its regions, while ancient spice routes and religious traditions shaped distinct grammars of flavor. Whether from a street-cart wok or a monastery kitchen, eating is deeply communal and ritual-rich.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Brunei
AmbuyatA glassy sago starch eaten with bamboo forks and dipped in a tart, pungent cacah sauce.
KatilapamSoft steamed rice-flour cakes lightly spiced and faintly sweet, a Bruneian teatime and breakfast bite.
Nasi KatokA simple plate of rice, fried chicken, and fiery sambal, Brunei's famously cheap everyday meal.
Browse all Brunei recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Fried food is best eaten fresh while crisp. Re-crisp leftovers in a hot oven or air fryer; the microwave makes them soft.
Make it a Brunei meal
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Air KatiraDrink
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Frequently asked questions
What is Penyaram?
A chewy fried cake of rice flour and palm sugar with lacy, crisp edges, a traditional Bruneian and Bornean sweet.
Where does Penyaram come from?
Penyaram is a Bruneian dish from Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.
Can Penyaram be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Penyaram recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Penyaram safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Penyaram take to make?
About 40 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 25 minutes cooking), serving 8.
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