Pandan Leaves (La Dua)

Asian ingredients can confuse with all the various names in their native languages and then the English term(s) for them. This afternoon, Phu emailed asking for the English name for lá dứa, a common southern Viet ingredient. They’re called pandan leaf in English. They’re also called screwpine leaf, which isn’t very nice sounding!

Dứa is also the name for pineapple in Vietnamese and I once caught my father explaining to my non-Viet husband that lá dứa were the leaves of the pineapple. That’s wrong, Daddy. Stop. They’re not related! A pretty full listing of names for pandan is at wikipedia.com.

Pandan leaves (Pandanus latifolius, P. amaryllifolius) look like gladiola leaves. They’re narrow, long and pointed at the tip. When attached to their stems, they resemble giant green feather dusters. (See the top photo taken at a neighborhood wet market in Saigon last March 2008.)

They have a grassy herby flavor and can be tied in a knot and added to rice, both long grain and sticky rice. Cooks also use them in desserts by extracting their liquid, traditionally done by pounding on the leaves but I do it in the blender or mini-chopper with a little water. The green result is striking in color, kind of like super wheat grass in smell and looks. Once cooked, the color turns to a celadon green, and there’s a subtle hint of the herby quality. Below is strained pandan juice that I got from cutting up 4 to 6 large leaves into 1-inch pieces and whirring with 1/2 cup water.

Many cooks add a little green food coloring to cheer up the pandan extract but the result is a little Christmas-y to me. Pandan leaves can also be used to wrap food up in and then grilled, though I’ve not been overly impressed with that application. Pandan can be woven into small containers too.

In the Vietnamese kitchen, pandan is basically a southern ingredient. I’ve seen reference to it in old cookbooks that call for lining steamer trays with the leaves and then steaming sticky rice over it for flavor. In fact, an alternative name for lá dứa is cây cơm nếp (tree for sticky rice). Abroad, pandan is mostly available frozen, though I can get fresh in San Jose and Orange County, California. Floridians have told me that the plant grows very well there.

 Aside from culinary uses, it seems that pandan may be good for controlling diabetes too. That’s the latest from the Vietnamese community, per Phu who was asking about the English name for lá dứa. Drinking a tea made with pandan leaf has helped a few people combat or reduce the threat of diabetes – a growing problem among Vietnamese Americans whose diets have gotten richer and lives more sendetary since their arrival in the States. Phu will be trying it out and reporting back!

Though I watch what I eat, I frankly focus on the food more. I was raised by a mom who hailed from northern Vietnam so I'm relatively new to pandan. Over the past year or so, I've been experimenting and here are some tips:

• When using pandan for sweets, I’ve found that it marries exceptionally well with coconut milk, especially when a touch of vanilla is added to bring out the herbal quality of both the coconut milk and the pandan. Make sure to add some sugar and 1 to 2 pinches of salt.
• Use a lot of leaves or the result will just be so subtle you’ll think the leaves weren't worth the trouble.
• Try to avoid the bottled extract, which is chemically.
• Smash the leaf a little before knotting it and adding it to cook rice, etc, to ensure that the essence releases.

What are your favorite ways or tips for using the green leaf?

Comments

[Jaden, Steamy Kitchen]

I can only find frozen pandan leaves at my market and tried making pandan cake without using the artificial stuff, but the flavor was too subtle. Generally I just throw it in my rice cooker and steam my rice with a couple knots.

[Annie]

We use it in Malaysia for all kinds of applications. We use it for desserts (all the soupy desserts tend to call for at least 4-5 knotted leaves), in chendol, in cakes (matter of fact, I'm going to bake a pandan chiffon cake today--using the paste), and in savory dishes (mostly in the rice). I miss fresh pandan very much and have been tempted to buy a pot (but the asking price was just a little too hefty--$40 for a small plant). So I mostly buy the frozen kind. Sigh...not quite the same.

[[eatingclub] vancouver]

Can't seem to find pandan leaves here, but maybe I haven't been looking too hard. I've seen frozen banana leaves, but not frozen pandan. Pandan has quite a heady aroma.

[Lips]

we use it to ward off cockroaches too, instead of using moth balls.

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[Andrea Nguyen]

Jaden, I'm surprised that you can't get fresh pandan in Florida! Seems like of all places that it would be available there.

Annie, when you baked your chiffon cake, how'd you use the pandan? If the recipe is on your blog, do give us the link!

[Wandering Chopsticks]

Well, Southerners call pineapple trai thom so there's no confusion. :)

[Annie]

Andrea, haven't posted the recipe yet but it has coconut milk and vanilla and pandan (just like you said you'd use it in desserts). Will send the link once we post it. The cake got wolfed down so quick but I'm not 100% satisfied with it (think I didn't beat the whites stiff enough) so I'm going to bake another one. Maybe I should have you over for dessert one day! ^_^

[Jacqueline Church]

Just discovered your blog. Good job! I have a pandan question/observation. I tried ice cream that was pandan leaf flavor and it tasted nutty to me. In fact, since I have developed a very unfortunate nut allergy, this is one of my nut-craving relief dishes.

Second question: (cheeky of me, when I've only just said hello and introduced myself, huh?) I had a delicious meal in SF tenderloin district and the menu said it was traditional "Ha Noi Food." Turtle Tower - I believe.?

Can you tell me the difference between Ha Noi and other regions?

[Tuty]

Andrea, whenever I made your wonderful cassava cake I use several pandan leaves to infuse its flavour while steaming the mung bean. I also steep the coconut milk with pandan before mixing it with the grated cassava. I really like how it turns out.

[Nate]

Hi Andrea,

Our Pandan Chiffon Cake recipe is up!

http://chezannies.blogspot.com/2009/01/pandan-chiffon-cake.html

[Andrea Nguyen]

Nate, I've been waiting for this cake of yours. So glad to know that the recipe is now available.

[Beth]

I can only find pandan extract. My recipe calls for one leaf. How much extract should I use? Thanks.

[Jessica]

Andrea, do you have the recipe for the pandan waffles they sell in Vietnamese bakeries? I love to make them at home. Is it possible for you to do a posting about it? Or you could email me.

Thanks :-)

[Andrea Nguyen]

Jessica, just tweak this recipe for coconut waffles!

http://vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2007/08/vietnamese-coco.html

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