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Thai Pandan Leaf Chicken 泰式香兰鸡

by Angie Liew
Thai Pandan Leaf Chicken
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Thai Pandan Leaf Chicken

Spiced Chicken Wrapped in Pandan Leaves

Thai Pandan Leaf Chicken is a very popular dish and a favourite to many, especially in Asian countries. To put it simply, Pandan Leaf Chicken is actually fried chicken wrapped in pandan leaves. The star of this dish is of course the pandan leaves, also known as screw pine leaves.

Many Benefits of Fragrant Pandan Leaves

Known as bai toey hom in Thailand, daun pandan in Malaysia and takonoki in Japan, pandan leaves is one widely used ingredient in Asian cooking. Crowned as the Vanilla of Asia, pandan leaves have a beautiful green colour and signature sweet floral-like fragrance which is infused in the food it is cooked with. Pandan also has many health benefits. For instance, natural detoxification, lowering blood sugar levels and aiding nervous system.

Thai Pandan Leaf Chicken

A Thai Style Fried Chicken with Unique Combination of Aroma and Spice

To make this dish, first marinate the bite size chicken thigh or breast meat in fresh spices. Then, wrap the marinated chicken pieces in aromatic green pandan leaves. For a juicier texture, chicken thigh is recommended. When fried, the pandan leaves infuse the chicken meat with its naturally sweet taste and soft nutty aroma.

Aside from the beautifully wrapped appearance, the pandan leaves certainly heightens the taste of the succulent fried chicken wrapped in it. The combination of freshly grounded spices and fragrant pandan leaves makes a unique blend of aroma and spices, all in one.

Thai Pandan Leaf Chicken
Thai Pandan Leaf Chicken

Best served hot, this fried chicken dish can be eaten as an appetizer, or as a part of a main meal served with hot aromatic white rice. You can also prepare this dish ahead of time. Simply wrap them and place in the refrigerator, then deep fry to piping hot perfection before serving.

As usual, enjoy!


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Thai Pandan Leaf Chicken Recipe 泰式香兰鸡

Recipe by Huang Kitchen, Angie Liew
Thai Pandan Leaf Chicken is a very popular dish and a favourite to many, especially in Asian countries. Pandan Leaf Chicken is actually fried chicken marinated in fresh spices, then wrapped in aromatic green pandan leaves. When fried, the pandan leaves infuse the chicken meat with its naturally sweet taste and soft nutty aroma. Served with a warm bowl of rice or as an appetizer on its own, simply delicious!
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time2 hours 40 minutes

Tap or Hover to Adjust Servings

Ingredients
 

Ingredients

  • 500 gm chicken meat, chicken thigh or breast meat
  • 1 piece ginger, grated
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 30 pieces pandan leaves/screwpine leaves, big leaves, washed
  • 3 cups oil, for deep frying

Marinade:(Blend together)

  • 6 pieces shallots, sliced
  • 3 pips garlic, sliced
  • 2 stick lemongrass, sliced the top
  • 1 inch ginger, young ginger
  • ½ inch fresh turmeric, sliced
  • 2 stalk coriander roots, chopped

Seasonings:

  • 1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • ½ tsp white pepper
  • 1 tsp brown sugar, or palm sugar
  • 1 tsp cornflour
  • 2 tbsp coconut milk powder

    Instructions
     

    Marinate Pandan Chicken

    • Marinate with salt and ginger
      Cut chicken meat into small but thick pieces as the meat will get smaller when fried. Then mix well with salt, grated ginger and set aside 30 minutes.
    • Slice ingredients
      Meanwhile, cut shallots, garlic, lemongrass, ginger, turmeric and coriander roots into smaller pieces.
    • Blend ingredients to marinate chicken
      In a blender, place the cut ingredients and blend into a paste.
    • Add seasonings into paste
      Mix well the paste with the seasonings.
    • Then add coconut milk powder and mix well.
    • Marinate chicken cubes
      Next, add the paste into the chicken pieces and make sure its thoroughly mixed.
    • Leave aside
      Set aside to marinade for 2 hours. Then prepare to wrap the marinated chicken meat.

    Wrap Pandan Chicken

    • Wash and wipe dry pandan leaves
      Before wrapping, clean the pandan leaves in cold water and wipe dry.
    • To wrap the pandan chicken, hold leaf so that the flat side of the pandan leaf is on your left hand side and the pointed side of the pandan leaf is on your right hand side. Press a little along the leaf.
    • Hold and press pandan leaf
      Then flip it over so that the side that is not shiny faces upwards.
    • Fold the ends upwards.
      Now fold the ends upwards, making sure the flat side is much shorter than the pointed side. Cross the long side UNDER the short side to create a pocket.
    • Tuck chicken inside pocket
      Tuck a piece of marinated chicken into the pocket.
    • Pull the leaf through the loop
      Make sure the back of the pocket is supported while we pull the leaf through the loop. Bring the long (pointed) end of the leaf down and thread it through the loop. Use the thumb or index finger to help thread the leaf through.
    • Pull gently to secure.
      Pull gently to make sure the chicken meat is secured in the pocket.
    • Tuck the chicken in properly
      On the other side, tuck the chicken meat in if it is protruding.
    • Wrap over again.
      Wrap the long end of the leaf back over and pull the leaf through the loop again to secure.
    • Cut of excess leaf
      Cut off a little of the excess leaf from the pointed side. Keep the base side long as it can be used to help lower the wraps into the hot oil when you deep fry.
    • Wrapped Pandan Chicken
      Continue to wrap the balance of the marinated chicken meat with the pandan leaves. And we're ready to deep fry the pandan chicken.

    Deep Fry Pandan Chicken

    • Heat up oil to medium heat
      To fry the chicken, first heat up the oil to medium heat. A wooden chopstick inserted into the oil will just have bubbles around it.
    • Fry about 2 minutes on each side
      Slowly, lower the wrapped pandan chicken into the hot oil. Deep fry in batches, about 4 minutes on each side. Chicken is done when the oil stops sizzling and the exposed area of the meat turns golden brown.
    • Drain on kitchen towel before serving
      Remove from the frying pan and place the fried pandan chicken on paper towel to drain off excess oil.
    • Thai Pandan Leaf Chicken
      Serve the fried pandan chicken hot and Enjoy!

Enjoy!

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Notes

Pandan chicken can be wrapped and keep in the fridge. Only deep fry in hot oil before serving.
It can also be baked for a healthy way of cooking
Another way to check if oil is ready for deep fry is to test with a strip of pandan leaf in the oil. It sizzles when ready.
Using coconut milk powder instead of coconut milk to ensure the mix of the marinade becomes too runny.

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6 comments

PL April 29, 2020 - 11:36 pm

Can I use santan to replace the coconut milk powder?

Reply
Angie Liew April 30, 2020 - 11:33 pm

Yes, you can use liquid coconut milk (Santan) to replace the powder. But do not put too much as it will cause the marinated pandan chicken to be wet. The reason I use powder form is just for that reason. You can use santan as it gives the same flavour. Thanks

Reply
Judy March 29, 2020 - 9:05 pm

Lovely photography n simple to follow

Reply
miko April 16, 2020 - 6:05 pm

Thanks, enjoy!

Reply
Masako Kuroda March 29, 2020 - 7:33 pm

Thank you for the step-by-step explanation & photos.

Reply
miko April 16, 2020 - 6:05 pm

Thank you. Do stay tuned for more recipes like this 🙂

Reply
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