They are most useful in baked goods (cakes, pancakes, etc) buy them from Asian supermarkets. Pandan essence and pandan paste mimic the flavour of real pandan. You can also freeze any leftover fresh pandan leaves you might have and make sure you use them within a month for the best flavour. If the frozen leaves come pre-cut into lengths use three to four pieces instead of a fresh leaf, or to taste as different brands and packaging vary. Avoid frozen leaves that are discoloured as this will adversely affect their taste. When using frozen leaves, thaw them at room temperature then rinse them under cold water and dry well before using. Freezing does reduce their flavour so you'll need to use two or even three times more leaves than a recipe for fresh leaves suggests. Frozen pandan leaves are sometimes available from Asian/South East Asian/Indian grocers and can be substituted for fresh. Kewra, used in sub-continental cooking, is made from pandanus flowers.įreezing does reduce their flavour so you'll need to use two or even three times more leaves than a recipe for fresh leaves suggests.Īvailable in fresh, dried or frozen form from Asian supermarkets, it’s the fresh leaves that give the best results. As basmati is expensive, infusing regular rice with pandan is a trick cooks use to mimic the flavour of basmati. In Malaysia and Sri Lanka, it pops up in curries (such as the one below) while in India, it’s used to flavour pilafs and biryanis made using ordinary rice it shares an aroma compound (2-acetyl-1-pyrroline) with basmati rice. In Thailand, for example, pandan is used to make the classic dish gai ob bai toey, where chicken pieces are deep-fried in a pandan wrapping. It's sweet,vanillary presence regularly perfumes rice flour, and other, Asian sweet treats.Īlso called screw-pine, the juice is extracted from the leaves by processing it with liquid the leaves are also used whole to infuse steamed or simmered dishes, or as a wrapping. It’s the spiky, slender, deep green leaves of the plant that are used, both for the colour and the fragrance they impart to a whole raft of dishes.Ĭooks across South East and Southern Asia use pandan anyone familiar with Thai, Vietnamese, Malay, Indonesian or even Philippine sweets will be familiar with its tell-tale hallmarks. From deep-fried chicken to fragrant desserts, versatile pandan is an ingredient embraced across much of Southern Asia. Pandanus is a genus of plant covering some 750 or so species but the one of interest for the cook is Pandanus amaryllifolius.

Pandan syrup