What is Pandan?
Nigella Lawson may have harped on about how it will become “the next matcha” in Europe, but here in Southeast Asia, Pandan leaves have been - well – almost everything to the people: natural food colouring, natural flavouring, insect repellant, air freshener, food wrapping, even a token of love. Malaysians as Daun Pandan, Thais call it bai toey hom, the Japanese as takonoki, but the fragrant screw pine, as they are known by the western world, all offer the same benefit – its subtle, soothing aroma.
We will be launching our Pandan and Butterfly Pea PURE ESSENCE very soon. Grab these for Mum as Mother's Day Gift! She'll appreciate not having to tediously juice the Pandan leaves and keep them both in the fridge, for the space is good to keep for other food's especially if you are running a commercial kitchen.
Pandanus or Pandan
MAKING SCENTS OF PANDAN
Very little is known about how or when the herbaceous tropical plant arrived into South East Asia, but pandan has been used in Malaysian and Thai cooking for a very long time.
Growing as commonly as weed, the sweet-smelling leaves would’ve been easily accessible from anywhere. You needn’t have green thumbs to have a garden full of Pandan! While still on the plant, the leaves have little fragrance, but once extracted and crushed, the soothing scents are released, leaving anyone catching a whiff of it totally entranced.
COOKING WITH PANDAN
Pandan is sometimes called “the vanilla of Southeast Asian cooking” with the glaring difference being the price tags and of course, tropical weather permits. While a pot of Pandan will cost you AUD$35 to sometimes up to $120.00 for larger pots while you still need to pray that it will tolerate Australia's erratic weather.
Here are some solutions, where modern technology is able to reap the benefits of the sweet and mild aroma of Pandan in a variety of ways but most importantly its health benefits and nutrients. You are able to grab FREEZED DRIED Pandan Powder or SOLUBLE Pandan Powder and PYRE Pandan ESSENCE on our store - www.mybluetea.com.au
3-tone Rice with Pandan as the green layer, Blue Butterfly the Blue Layer and of coz, white rice.
FRAGRANT RICE
A common practice in the olden days and still used today when boiling rice is to tie a pandan leaf into a knot and throw it into the rice cooker to render the grains that subtle, sweet aroma.
Nowadays, just add one teaspoon of Pandan Powder into 2 cups of rice with coconut milk and salt to taste. Viola, easy peasy!
PANDAN TEA
Pandan Tea is one of the most refreshing thirst quenchers. Traditionally you grab some pandan leaves, boil them in water for several minutes and strain the water through a cheesecloth. Chill and drink on a hot day and Bob’s your uncle. Note: pandan-flavoured water is usually good to drink for about 3 days before it goes off.
But now with time against you, all you need to do is just add a teaspoon of Pandan Powder or Pandan Essence into your teapot or water bottle shake it and drink it. That way you are able to get all the natural nutrients from Pandan because boiling the pandan leaves will diminish its nutrients in high temperature.
Pandan Tea
AS GARNISH
Pandan leaves are perfect as food wrapping and popularly used in dishes such as gai kor bai toey (chicken wrapped in pandan leaves). Not only do they add fragrance to the meat during the cooking process, they also retain the meat’s moisture leaving them nice and juicy when cooked. The leaves are also used as little cups in Thai desserts such as taco. Whatever you do, don’t make the rookie mistake of eating the pandan leaves! There would be pandan-monium.
However, with our Pandan Powder you get to ingest the leaves and use it to marinade.
Savoury Pandan Dishes - Pandan Powder Chicken
You do not need to wrap the chicken with Pandan leaves but to use it as a garnish as MY BLUE TEA's Pandan Powder has marinated the chicken thoroughly
MAKING DESSERTS
Pandan leaves can be made into a paste with the juice extracted to flavour many Asian desserts such as Pandan Chiffon cake, Kueh Lapis,..... and in Thailand kanom chun and kanom tom bai toey
You only need 2 teaspoon of MY BLUE TEA's Pandan Powder to bake a standard size
Pandan Chiffon Cake! So yum! So aromatic!
Butterfly Pea Tea - so refreshing - adds a bit of fun with its colour changing properties
NATURAL AIR FRESHENER
If you ride in some cabs in Asia especially in Malaysia and Thailand often enough, you’ll eventually see a bunch of fresh pandan leaves in the back of the passenger seats. Don’t worry, they’re not the driver’s groceries. The leaves are intended as natural fragrance to keep the car smelling, well, less like a cab.
Pandan Velvet Cupcakes recipe - its yum! Try it today!
ROACH REPELLANT
Although not commonly used as insect repellant in South East Asia, fresh pandan leaves are used to keep roaches at bay. Since the roaches breathe through their skin, fragrance particles from the fresh leaves can clog their skin, suffocating them. For this reason, a constant supply of fresh pandan leaves left in the kitchen is the natural cockroach repellant Thais swear by.
PANDAN ROSETTE
Long before text messaging, WhatsApp and Instagram, there was pandan. That’s right, it took the most creative (and bravest) of men to fold dozens of pandan leaves to look like roses, arrange them into a bouquet and offer them to a loved one. Makes the dating game in the modern world seem like a cakewalk!
Green Goddess Smoothie - just sprinkle with all our Organic Pandan Powder for this beauty -
recipe in our website Blog.
Taking a leaf from the book of traditional medicine
As the cherry on top, pandan leaves also contain numerous health benefits. Thai people have been relying on the natural healing properties of pandan leaves for decades. The roots and leaves are boiled to make tea and works wonders as relief for chest pains, cramps, spasms, headaches or even to lower blood pressure. The dried, crushed leaves are made into a powder, mixed with water to form a paste and massaged onto the scalp to heal dandruff. There are numerous pandan-based medicines in traditional Thai pharmacies that offer treatment for skin fungus, arthritis, even some forms of cancer - the list goes on.
- HEALTH & BEAUTY
Pandan Bathbombs, Pandan Bath Salts & Pandan Sugar Baths with My Blue Tea by Sheer Lush, Australia
What are the side effects of Pandan?
Though no side effects have come to the fore, it is always recommended that everything in moderation so as to not to prolong the consumption of Pandan. If you are pregnant or are breastfeeding, it is advised to take your doctor’s opinion before you include blue butterfly pea tea in your diet.
Photos and recipes are proprietary of MY BLUE TEA P/L - DO subscribe to our Recipe BLUE BLOG - or get creative and submit your recipes and photos to us to collaborate.
REFERENCES
http://the-benefits.com/pandan-leaves
/https://guide.michelin.com/th/en/bangkok/features/all-you-need-to-know-about-pandan/news
https://drhealthbenefits.com/herbal/leaves/health-benefits-of-pandan-leaves