Every backyard in Malaysia is sure to have one or more Pandan shrubs.
The leaves of the Pandanus plant is used in many types if dishes, even
sweet dishes. The taste that the pandan leaves produce in unlike
anything that a Westerner may have tasted. When used in chicken, the
indescribable taste produced gives it a distinctive Malaysian signature.
Pandan chicken is the Malay version of the world famous Thai marinated
chicken in screwpine leaves. Pandan chicken is perfect appetizer or
entrée. It is very easy to make. One is therefore sure to make a great
impact without much effort. Screwpine or pandan leaves is a very common
ingredient in Malaysia where it is used to confer aroma to meat. With
chicken, the flavor developed is simply wonderful—especially after the
chicken wings are fried.
Ingredients:
2 stalks of Lemon grass (white part of the stalk)
1 peeled, small onion
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon spice powder mix
1 tablespoon Malay curry powder
2 tablespoon Coconut milk
1 teaspoon Tumeric
2 teaspoon Sugar
2 pieces of skinless and boneless chicken breasts sliced into
small pieces of about 2” by 1”
10 Pandan leaves
Vegetable oil
Steps:
The lemon grass, onion, garlic, spices, curry powder, coconut
milk, turmeric and sugar are blended together until a thick paste is
obtained.
The chicken is marinated in this paste and allowed to rest
overnight in the refrigerator.
A pandan leaf is cut into two 8” sized bits.
Place some marinated chicken in the middle of the leaf and wrap
the leaf around it so as to form a neat square about 3 inches wide.
The wrapping of the Pandan leaf around the chicken follows a
distinctive pattern that secures the chicken pieces during the deep
frying process, protecting them from being over-fried.
This square is pinned into position using two toothpicks. This
is done for all chicken pieces.
Heat the oil is a wok.
Place the wrapped chicken pieces in the boiling oil and deep fry
for about five minutes until they turn deep brown.
Remove and serve in a plate. Let the guests remove the picks
themselves and unwrap their “gift” for a nice and unusual taste.
Serve hot.
This simple Malay dish makes use of traditional ingredients that lend
in their rare and exotic taste to chicken which would otherwise be a
very normal dish. Preparation is very simple and therefore can be tried
by anybody, even the novice. Pandan chicken can also be prepared by
baking, if one wants a healthier dish. The chicken may be marinated,
wrapped in the pandan leaves and kept for some time in the refrigerator.
They can thus be retrieved at short notice and deep-fried before
serving. The Pandan Chicken is this very useful when catering for
unexpected guests. All in all, the Pandan Chicken is a great Malay dish
that fits all palates well.
