Pandan Leaves

When the Pandan Cake became a common item in any bakery in Sibu, most Chinese housewives became interested in growing pandan. Before then, they were a little bit unsure of this local flavouring plant.

It is called Palang Niok in Foochow.

the local Sarawakians have been using the Pandan since time immemorial.

After the arrival of Pandan Cake in Foochow households, Foochow women began to be more aware of the benefits of the pandan leaves. They started using them to make chang (the bamboo leaves had to be bought) whereas Pandan leaves could be obtained free of charge.

Not long after that, our Indonesian born Pastor's wife introduced a sweet drink flavoured by pandan leaves. Mrs. Chiew Ing Seng boiled Pandan leaves and added some red colouring. That was a very economical drink for our MYFers. AT that time I had a very sweet tooth and her special pink drink was just to my liking.

Pandanus amaryllifolius is a tropical plant and is a type of edible screwpine genus. In Malaysia it is known commonly as pandan and used widely in Southeast Asian cooking. It is an erect green plant with fan-shaped sprays of long, narrow, bladelike leaves and woody aerial roots. The plant is sterile, flowers only very rarely, and is propagated by cuttings.

 The leaves are used fresh or wilted, and are commercially available in frozen form in Asian grocery stores in nations where the plant does not grow. They have a nutty, botanical fragrance which enhances the flavor of Indonesian, Filipino, Malaysian, Thai, Vietnamese and Burmese foods, especially rice dishes and cakes. The leaves are sometimes steeped in coconut milk, which is then added to the dish. They may be tied in a bunch and cooked with the food. They also may be woven into a basket which is used as a pot for cooking rice. Pandan chicken, or gai ob bai toey, is a Thai dish with chicken wrapped in pandan leaves and fried. The leaves are also used as a flavoring for desserts such as pandan cake and sweet beverages.

You can find bottled extract of the pandan in most supermarkets world wide.