PANDAN CHICKEN

Recipe Notes:

• You could substitute chicken thighs with chicken breasts if you prefer. Pork and beef also go well with this recipe.

• You could use frozen Pandan leaves (also known as Screwpine leaves) if fresh leaves are not available. It is recommended to choose the Pandan leaves with a wider surface so it is easier to wrap the chicken pieces.

• You could substitute Sriracha Chili Sauce with other types of chili sauce that you prefer.

• You could substitute the fresh Turmeric with about 2 Tsp Ground Turmeric.

• You could substitute Palm Sugar with Brown Sugar.

INGREDIENTS FOR PANDAN CHICKEN

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(Serves 4-6 peoples)

✅️ ±500 Gm Boneless Chicken Thigh

✅️ 24 Pcs Pandan Leaves

✅️ ±50 Gm Lemongrass, sliced

✅️ ±25 Gm Turmeric, sliced

✅️ 6 Cloves Garlic

✅️ 2 Tbsp Sriracha Chili Sauce

✅️ 2 Tbsp Ginger Juice

✅️ 2 Tbsp Fish Sauce

✅️ 1 Tbsp Ground Coriander

✅️ 1 Tsp Ground Cumin

✅️ ½ Tsp Ground Black Pepper

✅️ 30 Gm Palm Sugar

✅️ 80 ml Coconut Milk

✅️ 1½ Cup Cooking Oil (for frying)

METHOD OF PREPARATION:

1. Pound lemongrass, garlic and turmeric into a paste with a mortar. Transfer the paste into a bowl. Add Ground Coriander, Ground Cumin, Ground Black Pepper, Palm Sugar, Sriracha Chili Sauce, Ginger Juice, Fish Sauce and Coconut Milk into the bowl. Stir the mixture together to mix well and set the bowl aside.

2. Cut the chicken thighs horizontally into halves and further cut each half into bite sizes approx. 2m wide to get 24 chicken pieces. Transfer the chicken pieces into the bowl containing the mixture prepared earlier. Fold the chicken pieces and the mixture together to coat well and set them aside to marinate for 30 mins.

3. Fold each of the prepared Pandan leaves to make a “pocket”. Insert a piece of the marinated chicken into the “pocket” and fold the Pandan leaf to enclose the chicken inside. Repeat the wrapping steps until all the chicken pieces are wrapped with the Pandan leaves. Transfer the Pandan wrapped chicken pieces into a bowl and leave them aside for 30 mins to let the aroma of the Pandan leaves infused into the chicken.

4. After 30 mins, heat up the cooking oil in a pan over MEDIUM heat until it is hot. Fry the Pandan chicken pieces in small batches and in a single layer at any one time over LOW to MEDIUM heat. Fry the Pandan chicken pieces for about 8 to 9 mins until the oil is bubbling less. Flip the Pandan chicken pieces after 4 mins of frying. Only flip them once during the entire cooking time. Remove the Pandan fried chicken with tongs while shaking them to let the oil trap in the wrapping to drip out. Transfer the Pandan fried chicken into a strainer. After frying each batch of Pandan chicken, reduce the heat to LOW and remove the sticky bits and pieces from the oil with a ladle. Continue to fry the Pandan chicken until all the chicken pieces are fried.

5. Transfer the fried Pandan chicken into a serving dish. Enjoy the Pandan fried chicken with sweet chili sauce or sambal.

RECIPE PHOTO GALLERY