A taste of Pandan

If you're born and raised in the South East Asia countries, you'll be very familiar with the term ‘pandan’.

But if you’re not, you’re obviously missing out here. Hehe, just joking. But in all seriousness, here’s a little "educational post" on pandan. 

Firstly, what is pandan? Pandan, short for pandanus amaryllifolius (also known as screwpine leaves) is a tropical plant widely used in South East Asian cooking as a flavouring or for its medicinal properties.

I’m not exactly sure of pandan’s medicinal uses, but I’m rather familiar with its culinary properties, if I may say so myself.

Pandan releases a very characteristic and fragrant aroma when harvested and crushed or cut.

Some recipes call for the actual pandan leaves, but some just the pandan juice which you can obtain by blending the leaves with water.

But fret not if you can’t get your hands on the actual pandan leaves, you can easily purchase pandan paste (highly recommended to get the Aroma Pasta Koepoe Koepoe brand) or pandan essence from supermarket or Asian grocery stores and they work equally well too. 

In my kitchen (or Mum’s), we like to tie the pandan leaves into knots like the above and add them into the boiling process of Malaysian drinks (ie. barley water) or even into rice!

We also use fresh pandan leaves to wrap meat (ie. chicken/fish) so as to infuse its beautiful, fragrant flavour during the cooking process.

Grilled pandan wrapped chicken is like my all-time favourite! I'm looking at this pandan chicken recipe and thinking "Hmmm... I need to make this soon!"

The vivid green colour from the pandan leaf can also be used as a natural food colouring – you can either crush the leaves or simply purchase pandan paste from Asian grocery stores for use in agar-agar (jelly), Nyonya kuih-muih or cakes.

I personally use pandan a lot in my cooking and baking. And if I have intrigued you already, here are a couple of recipes on my blog which calls for pandan as an ingredient:

• Pandan Chiffon Cake
• Pandan Layer Cake
• Pandan Sponge Cupcakes
• Pandan Swiss Roll
• Steamed Pandan Bolu

I recently also cooked Pandan Nasi Lemak with Pandan Roast Chicken (recipe courtesy of Msihua) which was SO YUMMY you have no idea.

The Brudder and Boyfriend were both very impressed, and so was I.

I was beaming with pride and my tastebuds were going "WAH! WOW! HMMM! YUM!" the whole time. ;)

I did make a couple of minor tweaks here and there, but I kinda followed Msihua's detailed recipe to a tee. I doubt I'll blog about it, but we'll see. I might want to just because I was so happy with the finished product. Yeah, I'm thick skinned like that.

Anyhoos, back to pandan. Yes, apart from its culinary uses, the pleasing aroma of pandan also means that it has been used as an air freshener for small areas as well as an ingredient in Asian potpourri.

And believe it or not, these pandan leaves can also be dried and used to manufacture a range of handicraft goods such as handbags and mats. I know right… How versatile is pandan?

But in my opinion, they’re best for all things food related. Or at least for me, they are. Om nom nom nom! ;)

So tell me, have you tried pandan before? Do you like it? Or maybe I should be asking if you love pandan as much as I do? 

If you have any pandan recipes to share with me, I'm all ears!

An old flame

I remember how my heart raced everytime I laid eyes on you.

Years later, today, I still have that exact same feelings - exhilaration.

I can't remember the last time I held you so close and dear to me.

But I knew the touch was magical.

I remember smiling just looking at you.

You brighten up my dull black and white world with pretty colours.

I want to go back to yesteryears...

To taste that same innocence, and pure happiness.

You're like a gem to me. And you always will be. Then, now, forever.

I miss you so much. I can't seem to get you off my mind.

Especially in these couple of weeks when I'm feeling all homesick.

I keep having vivid images of you playing at the back of my mind.

I've been thinking about you, and the times we shared together.

And I wonder, if I'll get to see you again in the coming few months.

Or do I have to wait til end year to be able to hold you in my hands?

But God was kind. He knew I needed you. And He sent you to me. :)

You have no idea how happy I was, when I saw you sitting there.

I couldn't help it. My instant reflex just rushed over from afar.

And I held you so tight in my embrace, I was afraid I might crush you.

Yes you, my childhood love.

*********

P/S: I stumbled upon this old post that I wrote back then in 2008, posted those years ago then re-saved as a draft. So, I figured it needed to see daylight again. (:

How many of you remember these colourful babies? Did you also love eating these fancy gems?

I want a pink KitchenAid!!!

By now, you should know how much I adore baking, hence the blog name, The Bakeanista.

However, because I am rather thrifty, I just make do with a cheap kitchen mixer from Aldi. It works, and I still get my batters mixed quite well. But deep down, I've always wanted a Kitchen Aid.

A pink Kitchen Aid, to be precise. My eyes always light up whenever I walk past one of them.

But the hefty price of $749 has refrained me from getting one, although time and again I get so tempted when I hop onto Kitchenware Direct to find that it's on sale at $689.

It's difficult though, living in a tiny apartment with so many different tools (ie. blender, food processor, ThermoChef, etc.) already sitting around. There isn't enough space!

I always tell myself, one day Mich, one day you'll own one. And I'm still very hopeful, and will always be until I actually own one.

But I don't think I'll ever buy myself one, so I need to wait until I move into a bigger home with a bigger kitchen, and I can probably add that to my gift register. :P

Or even better if I can win this competition hosted by Le Delicieux and Kitchenware Direct. *fingers crossed*

I've never really won any competition before, but being able to win a Kitchen Aid would be like a dream come true!

May the odds be ever in my favor. :)

Where art thou?

Gosh, it's been a really really long time since I last blogged. I've just been so busy with... life. At that point in time, as much as I wanted to, I couldn't find time to blog.

Work bogged me down, I got into a new relationship, and then off I went on a 5-weeks long holiday to Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.

Of course, it's fair to say that those are merely just my excuses, although they are indeed true to a certain extent. But I have to admit, I did lose my interest in blogging. In fact, the thought of locking this blog down did cross my mind.

Yet at the same time, I thought about how much effort I've put into this project of mine. So instead, I just left my poor abandoned blog to sit here in its own lonesome.

But I've been thinking bout it for quite a while and you know what? I really do miss blogging. And I think I will try to get my mojo back. :)

I still take pictures of food whenever I'm out, probably not as much as before, but give me a little time, and I will be back. :)