2 ways to cook fragrant and appealing pandan rice and pandan chicken rice

Extract pandan leaf juice

Wash the pandan leaves and cut them into pieces.

Next, put the pandan leaves and 100ml of water into a blender. Turn the machine on at high speed, blend for about 15 – 30 seconds, then add about 2 tablespoons of coconut milk to the blender and blend the mixture until smooth.

Then, strain the blended pandan mixture through a sieve to extract the juice, discarding the pulp.

Soak the rice

First, rinse the rice thoroughly and discard the rinse water.

Then, gradually pour the pandan leaf juice and 100ml of fresh coconut water into the rice cooker, stirring well. Adjust the amount of water for soaking the rice so that it is about 1/2 finger joint above the surface of the rice, helping the rice to cook without being too dry or too mushy.

Cook rice

After adding the water mixture to soak with the rice in the rice cooker, you dry the bottom of the pot, cover it, plug it in, and press the cook button for about 30 minutes until the rice is done.

When the rice is cooked, you open the lid and fluff the rice evenly. Then, cover it again and keep the pot on warm mode for about 10 more minutes to complete.

Final product

To make the dish more visually appealing, you can place the pandan leaf rice inside a coconut, sprinkle some pork floss on top, and then invite your family to enjoy it.

Pandan leaf rice has a distinctive smell of pandan leaves. The rice grains are soft and fluffy. When you eat, you will feel the light richness from the coconut milk and a bit of saltiness with the accompanying pork floss. Prepare an extra bowl of soy sauce and chili sauce to drizzle a little over the pandan leaf rice to enhance the flavor and avoid it being too greasy.

Cooking Chicken Broth

Chicken bones should be soaked in a mixture of vinegar and salt for about 3 – 5 minutes, then rinse thoroughly with water.

Next, place a pot on the stove, pour cold water over the chicken bones, and boil until the water in the pot boils at high heat, then turn off the stove and transfer the chicken to another pot.

Continue pouring water over the chicken bones, cover the pot, adjust the heat to low, and cook for about 4 hours to get the chicken broth.

Prepare the ingredients

After purchasing the chicken, use salt to rub it to eliminate the fishy smell. Then rinse it clean with water and let it drain. Cut the chicken into small bite-sized pieces.

Red onion and garlic should be washed, peeled, and minced finely. Do the same with cilantro, wash it clean, and chop it finely.

Wash the pandan leaves clean.

Marinate the chicken

Add 1 teaspoon of chili powder, 1 teaspoon of seasoning powder, 1 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, 2 tablespoons of honey, and the minced onion, garlic, and cilantro into the bowl with the chicken. Mix all the ingredients together and marinate for 20 minutes for the chicken to absorb the flavors.

Cook the rice

Rinse the rice clean with water about 2 times, then drain the water.

Next, pour the rice into the rice cooker, using a little bit of the chicken broth to add to the pot, about 1/2 finger’s length above the rice surface.

Then, tie about 1 – 2 pandan leaves together and place them in the rice cooker to create a fragrance.

Finally, turn on the cook button and cook for about 30 minutes until the rice is done. Open the rice cooker lid, fluff the rice, then cover it again and switch to the warm setting for about another 10 minutes to finish.

Wrap and fry chicken

Fold the pandan leaves diagonally to form a funnel shape. Insert the marinated chicken into the small hole. Then thread each end of the pandan leaves through the hole and pull to tightly wrap and secure the chicken, trimming off any excess leaves.

Repeat this process until all the pandan leaves and chicken are used.

Heat a pan on the stove and add cooking oil. Once the oil is hot, gradually add the wrapped pandan chicken to fry over medium heat until the chicken is golden brown and crispy. Remove and drain the oil.

Final product

The fragrant white rice carries the distinct aroma of pandan leaves. The rice grains are soft, with a slight richness from the chicken broth. The chicken pieces wrapped in pandan leaves are fried to a golden brown and look appetizing. Each piece of chicken is seasoned just right, with the fragrance of pandan and honey blending together, making the dish not only delicious but also aromatic. You can prepare a small bowl of garlic chili soy sauce for dipping, enhancing the overall flavor of the dish.