Pandan is the long, bright green leaf of a tropical screwpine, used across Southeast and South Asia to give rice, cakes and sweets a nutty, grassy, vanilla-like fragrance and a green colour.
What it is¶
Pandan is a tropical plant with long, narrow, glossy green leaves that grow in a spiral from a central stem. It is a small relative of the screwpines (Pandanus), a genus of trees and shrubs found throughout the Pacific and Indian Ocean. The leaves are not eaten but are tied into knots and simmered, or pounded and squeezed, to extract their scent and colour.
Its fragrance is unique: sweet, nutty, grassy and warm, often compared to vanilla, cooked rice and new-mown hay. It is used across Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka in both savoury and sweet cooking, and it is the green in most of the region's green cakes and desserts.
Pandan should not be confused with kewra, the fragrant water used in Indian sweets and biryani, which comes from the flowers of a different screwpine, Pandanus odorifer.
Origins and history¶
Pandanus amaryllifolius is known only in cultivation and almost never flowers (only male plants are known), so it is propagated entirely from offshoots. Its exact origin is uncertain; it is thought to have originated in the Moluccas or elsewhere in maritime Southeast Asia and to have spread with human cultivation throughout the region, reaching Sri Lanka and southern India.
It is a standard flavour in Malaysian, Indonesian, Singaporean, Thai, Filipino, Vietnamese and Sri Lankan cooking. Pandan chiffon cake, a light, green sponge, became popular in Southeast Asia during the 20th century and is now widely sold outside the region.
Flavour and aroma¶
The key aroma compound is 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, the same compound responsible for the characteristic scent of jasmine and basmati rice, and a contributor to the aroma of fresh bread crust. It gives pandan its warm, nutty, popcorn-like note. Other compounds contribute grassy, sweet notes.
Fresh leaves are the most aromatic; frozen leaves are very good. Commercial pandan extract and paste are often artificially coloured and flavoured, and taste noticeably different.
In the kitchen¶
There are two main ways to use pandan: infusing whole leaves and extracting juice.
Knotting. Tie 2–3 leaves into a loose knot to fit the pot, which bruises them, and add to rice, coconut milk or syrup. For rice, add one knotted leaf to the pot for every 300 g of rice; for nasi lemak, cook rice in coconut milk with pandan and a little salt.
Pandan juice. For colour and a stronger flavour, cut 10 leaves into short pieces, blend with 100 ml water, then squeeze through muslin or a fine sieve. Leave the juice in the fridge overnight and a darker, concentrated layer settles at the bottom; pour off the lighter liquid and use the concentrate.
- Sweets. Pandan flavours kaya (coconut and egg jam), Malaysian and Nyonya kuih (steamed cakes), onde-onde (glutinous rice balls with palm sugar), cendol (green jelly noodles) and pandan chiffon cake.
- Savoury. In Thailand, marinated chicken is wrapped in pandan leaves and fried (gai hor bai toey). Sri Lankan cooks add a piece of leaf (rampe) to curries, often with curry leaves.
- Drinks. Pandan is infused in sugar syrups, coconut drinks and teas.
💡 Thaw frozen leaves quickly
Frozen pandan leaves, from Asian grocers, are much better than extract. Rinse them under warm water to thaw, then knot or blend as fresh.
Buying and storing¶
Fresh leaves are sold in bundles at Southeast Asian grocers; choose bright green, unblemished leaves. Wrapped in a bag in the fridge, they keep for about a week.
Pandan freezes very well: wash, dry, cut into lengths and freeze in a sealed bag for up to six months. Pandan juice can be frozen in ice-cube trays. Powdered, dried pandan and extract have longer shelf lives but a weaker, less natural flavour. See freezing herbs.
Substitutes¶
There is no true substitute. In sweet dishes, vanilla provides a different but complementary sweetness. For the nutty rice aroma, use jasmine or basmati rice. For the green colour, a little spinach juice works, but without the flavour.
Pairs well with¶
Coconut milk, palm sugar, glutinous rice, jasmine rice, eggs, vanilla, lemongrass, ginger, curry leaves, green cardamom, chicken, bananas and mango.
Growing your own¶
Pandan is a tropical plant that needs warmth and humidity; in Britain it must be grown indoors.
- Starting. Plants are occasionally available from specialist nurseries. Rooted offshoots are the main method of propagation; the plant produces side shoots from its base, which can be separated and potted once they have roots.
- Conditions. Grow in a large pot of rich, moist compost in a warm, bright, humid place: ideally above 15°C at all times and never below about 10°C. A conservatory or heated greenhouse is best.
- Watering. Keep the compost moist but not waterlogged; mist the leaves in dry indoor air.
- Harvesting. Cut outer leaves at the base as needed; the plant regrows from the centre.
It is slow in cool conditions. See growing herbs indoors.