I had some leftover leaves after making pandan simple syrup, so I found a delicious sounding recipe for chicken wrapped in pandan leaves. I marinated boneless, skinless, chicken thigh pieces in chili sauce, ginger, shallot, fish sauce, coconut milk and brown sugar for about 30 minutes. Then I wrapped the pieces up in the pandan leaves, ran them under the broiler until done and served them over rice cooked with a little coconut milk.
Despite the very brief marinating period, the chicken came out full flavored, rich and delicious. The pandan leaves imparted a wonderful, almost floral scent to the chicken which paired nicely with the slightly sweet and fishy marinade. Next time I want to grill them, as I’m betting they’d be absolutely sublime.
I can smell the Pandan through the photo! DEEEELISH. Have you ever made Pandan cake? I did a search for some recipes and this one looked quite delicious- translator required but totally adorable site.
http://www.leisure-cat.com/frm_1194.htm
then there is this one:
http://jodelibakery.netfirms.com/SAE/ pandan%20kaya%20layer%20cake/pandan%20kaya%20layer%20cake.htm
that looks most delicious. i remember having pandan chicken that is marinated like that, wrapped with the leave and then fried or grilled. yum!! :) thanks for sharing.
A&F, Thanks for the links! Those cakes are incredibly beautiful—and GREEN! Now I’m thinking I might need to make one for the pig roast this weekend…
See you there!
Stef, I bet it would be amazing fried! I might have to try that next time.
I haven’t used screwpine leaves much at all, but I’m guessing your dish might make a killer kabob/satay. What do you think?
PC – Definitely! That would be a great idea… I had a little bit of trouble keeping the chicken inside the leaf packets, so that would be a perfect solution. Especially for the grill!
I love those flavors. I’m ashamed that I haven’t spent more time studying Thai/Malaysian kinds of sauces.
Have you ever done a list of basic pantry items for this kind of cuisine? You know, the more shelf stable ingredients that people who don’t cook this type of food very often could keep around and not have to throw out all the time.
That’s a really good question. I’m Chinese, so I do a lot of Chinese cooking, but I’ve been broadening my horizons as well. It seems like for the pantry, the must haves would include coconut milk, a good curry, palm sugar (or brown sugar), tamarind concentrate and coriander. For the fridge: soy sauce, fish sauce, Sriracha and chili paste and then fresh ingredients: ginger, limes, kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass, chili peppers and Thai basil.
I’m making myself hungry… lunch time!!
Hi Meg,
That looks delish! I’m trying to broaden my repetoire as well. The ingredient list is great. Do you have any recommendations on Thai or Vietnamese cookbooks?
Conny, I don’t own any Thai or Vietnamese cookbooks, but have had fairly good luck with finding recipes off the internet. However, if you’re looking for a Sichuanese cookbook, I can highly recommend “Land of Plenty” by Fuchsia Dunlop!
Ahh, no, you must deep-fry it otherwise it wouldn’t taste as good. Add tumeric (kunyit) – it would be better.
Mmmm. Thanks for the tips Rajan. I’ll have to try this recipe again!
Thanks! I’ve been looking for a chicken marinade that would work well wrapped in pandan & grilled. I’m trying it tonight.