Pandanus amaryllifolius
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| Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb. |
Pandanus amaryllifolius is a tropical plant in the screwpine genus which is known commonly as pandan and used widely in South East Asian cooking. It is an erect green plant with fan-shaped sprays of long, narrow, bladelike leaves and woody aerial roots.
The plant is rare in the wild but cultivated widely for use as a flavoring in cooking. The leaves are used fresh or wilted. They have a nutty, botanical fragrance which enhances the flavor of Thai, Malaysian, and Indonesian foods, especially rice dishes. 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.
The plant is sterile, flowers only very rarely, and is propagated by cuttings.
[edit] External links
- Spices: P. amaryllifolius
- Van Wyk, Ben-Erik (2005). Food Plants of the World. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press, Inc. ISBN 0-88192-743-0
Pandan leaves are also used in The Philippine Islands.
