What in the PANDAN-MONIUM is pandan you may ask?
Pandan is a elongated, narrow, green fragrant leaf native to Southeast Asia. It is often used in savory as well as sweet dishes. The leaf itself produces a sweet, vanilla and coconutty flavor and is used in Asia as much as vanilla is used in Western cuisine. The leaf itself can be used to wrap certain Asian dishes but that is something I have yet to try and definitely is on my cooking bucket list.
It’s extremely rare for you to run into fresh pandan leaves as the are hard to find unless you’re in a warm climate state. Growing up in Minnesota I have never found these fresh so imagine what a treat it was when I found some in my local Asian Market. I believe in Orange County Pandan Leaves came in at about 11.99 per lb but of course I didn’t buy that many. Instead a bought a few leaves costing about .50 cents per leaf for this recipe. You can also buy them and freeze them or buy them frozen as well.
There’s also the option of getting an extract if neither is available. My favorite brand would have to be the butterfly brand of pandan extract.
I used it often in baking and many times before I got my hands on the real deal.
And it works just wonders! You can also add some to this soymilk recipe if the pandan coloring isn’t enough (depending on how old the leaf can be) or after freezing them.
Until Next Time!
Pandan Soymilk With Fresh Pandan
Course: Blog, Recipes, Vegetarian4
servings5
minutes20
minutesIngredients
2 cups dried soybeans (soaked in water overnight)
7-8 pandan leaves
1-2 bars of Chinese Brown Sugar
10 cups water
Directions
- Soak soybeans in room temp water overnight. Add 1/2 the beans into a blender.
- Take 3-4 pandan leaves (rinse them) then cut them into the blender. Add 5 cups of water and blend for 4-5 mins on high.
- Place a strainer and cheese cloth over the pot. Pour in the mixture and strain out the milk (you may need to do this multiple times). Discard the leftover pulp. Repeat the process until you have no more soybeans/pandan. (OPTIONAL: you can also mix in 2-3 drops of pandan extract)
- Boil the mixture on med heat for 18-20 mins. Add in the sugar (to taste). Serve hot or cold.
