Content

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1. Why This Recipe Works
2. Ingredients Required
3. How to Prepare Everything Before Cooking
4. Step-by-Step Cooking Instructions
5. A Few Tips From My Kitchen 
6. Common Mistakes to Avoid 
7. Variations
8. More Recipes to Try

Why This Recipe Works

• Stronger pandan flavor – Concentrated pandan extract is added directly to the marinade, giving the chicken a much more noticeable pandan aroma.
• Tender chicken – Steaming the chicken before frying means it only needs a short time in the oil.
• Savory marinade – Garlic, ground coriander, fish sauce, white pepper, light soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil give the chicken a well-seasoned base for the pandan flavor.
• Golden-brown chicken – A short deep-fry gives the exposed chicken its characteristic golden-brown color and fried flavor.
• No dipping sauce needed – Traditional versions can be served with a dipping sauce, but I find this version flavorful enough to enjoy on its own.

Ingredients Breakdown

• Chicken – I use 500 g of mixed boneless chicken thigh and breast meat. After testing both, I prefer thigh because it stays more tender after frying.
• Pandan leaves – Fresh pandan leaves are used both to wrap the chicken and to make the pandan extract.
• Seasoning ingredients – Garlic, ground coriander, fish sauce, white pepper, light soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil form the savory marinade.
• Pandan extract – I blend 6 pandan leaves with 4 tablespoons of water and strain the mixture to make a concentrated extract. Adding it directly to the marinade gives the chicken a much stronger pandan flavor.
• Vegetable oil – Used for deep-frying the wrapped chicken.

How to Prepare Everything Before Cooking

Start with the chicken. Cut 500 g of boneless chicken thigh and breast meat into bite-size pieces of about 4 cm and place them in a bowl ready for marinating.

Next, mince 2 tablespoons of garlic very finely. I find that using the back of a cleaver is quick and convenient when preparing a small amount like this. Fine garlic clings better to the chicken, while larger pieces tend to fall off during frying.

Prepare the marinade by combining the 2 tablespoons minced garlic, 1 tablespoon ground coriander, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, ½ teaspoon ground white pepper, 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, 2 teaspoons sugar, and 1 teaspoon sesame oil.

The pandan extract is what makes this version different from my older recipe. Take 6 fresh pandan leaves, about 25 g, cut them into sections of about ½ inch, and blend them with 4 tablespoons of water until they become a paste. Try not to add more water than necessary, as a diluted extract gives you less concentrated pandan flavor and makes the chicken wetter.

Strain the blended pandan through a cloth bag or fine wire-mesh strainer and collect the liquid. Add the pandan extract to the chicken together with the prepared marinade and mix thoroughly.

Leave the chicken to marinate for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour before wrapping.

The complete ingredient quantities and measurements are provided in the recipe card below.

Step-by-Step Cooking Instructions – Thai Pandan Chicken

1. Marinate the chicken. Once the chicken and marinade are prepared, mix them thoroughly and leave the chicken to marinate for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour.
2. Wrap the chicken in pandan leaves. Take a pandan leaf and make a small knot near the root end. Use this part of the leaf to form a triangular or pyramid-shaped pocket. Place a piece of marinated chicken inside, then fold the longer part of the leaf around the chicken. Tuck the tip between two layers of the folded leaf to secure the parcel. Most of the chicken should be covered, although some of the meat will remain exposed. I find this exposed section useful because I can see when the chicken turns golden brown during frying.
3. Steam the wrapped chicken. Bring water to a rolling boil in a stock pot and place the wrapped chicken on a steaming dish. Cover with the lid and steam for about 8 minutes. Remove the chicken and drain away as much water as possible before frying. This will help reduce vigorous oil splattering.
4. Deep-fry until golden brown. Heat the vegetable oil to about 160°C. Fry the pandan chicken in batches, depending on the size of your pot, and avoid overcrowding so the pieces have enough space to move around and turn. Fry for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until the exposed chicken turns golden brown. The chicken is already cooked from steaming, so this short frying stage is mainly to brown the chicken and develop the fried flavor. Remove it as soon as it reaches the right color and drain on paper towels.

Variations of Pandan Chicken

• Chicken thigh only – You can use all chicken thigh instead of mixing thigh and breast. This is the version I personally prefer.
• Chicken breast only – You can also use all chicken breast. Cut it into approximately 4 cm bite-size pieces and follow the same preparation and cooking method.
• Serve with dipping sauce – If you prefer a more traditional way of serving pandan chicken, you can add a dipping sauce alongside the chicken. I personally enjoy this concentrated pandan version without one.

More Recipes to Try

Thai Glass Noodle Stir Fry (Pad Woon Sen)
If you want to turn the pandan chicken into a more substantial Thai meal, my Thai glass noodle stir fry is a good choice. It adds vegetables, eggs, tofu, and glass noodles for a satisfying contrast to the fried chicken.

Thai Omelet (Khai Jiao)
For something simple to serve alongside the pandan chicken, try my Thai omelet. The crisp edges and soft egg make it an easy addition to a Thai-style meal.

Tom Kha Gai
If you are putting together a larger Thai meal, Tom Kha Gai is a nice contrast to the fried chicken. Its creamy coconut-based broth gives you a completely different style of dish.

Quick Takeaways

This Thai Pandan Chicken recipe finally gives me the pandan flavor I was looking for. The concentrated pandan extract makes a noticeable difference, and I find the chicken flavorful enough to enjoy on its own without a dipping sauce.

If you have made pandan chicken before but felt that the pandan flavor was not strong enough, I hope you will give this version a try. And if you do, I’d love to hear what you think.