Chicken In Pandan Leaves

I think this is the most real time entry I have ever made in my almost 2 years of (inconsistent) blogging :)

We had this for lunch last Monday and the little boy liked it that he ate it again the following day (there were some leftovers hihi.)

I was introduced to Thai restos back in college. I used to eat with my dad in Dusit Thani and my cousins in SukoThai. My all time favorite in the menu of both restos are the chicken pandan and bagoong rice. I would very much like to make my bagoong rice soon as it is a great pair for the chicken!

Since the sesame sauce needs tamarind paste, I wasn't able to try it yet a few years ago. There were limited to no Asian ingredients available in groceries back then and they are only available in specialty stores. Now I am happy to say that both supermarkets of SM and Robinson's near our place already offer Asian ingredients (yey!) Sheila and I spotted the Tamarind paste while we were doing our grocery and of course we grabbed it right away. :)

This came from my ever reliable Yummy Mag from the May 2009 ish. It can also be found online. The original recipe used chicken breasts fillets, but I used thigh fillets instead since I like it that it absorbs more flavor than white meat. Maybe that's why the little boy liked it as it's so tasty! Of course, I liked it just as much! :)

For the chicken you will need:

1/2 kilo chicken thigh fillets cut into squares (2X2 inches)
Pandan leaves for wrapping chicken, washed and towel dried
vegetable oil for frying

For the marinade:

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons sesame seeds

For the sesame sauce:

3/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup tamarind paste
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Procedure:

In a bowl, combine ingredients for the marinade. Add chicken and marinate for at least 20 minutes or overnight. (I marinated it for about 2 hours and it was really tasty, maybe because of chicken thighs?)

While the chicken is marinating, I already prepared the sauce: In a small saucepan, pour warm water over tamarind paste and let it sit for 5 minutes and add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for 10 minutes. Serve on the side.

After the marinating process, wrap the marinated chicken in pandan leaves. It's actually good to use long pandan leaves so you can tie both ends to lock it. Deep-fry in medium hot oil until golden brown.

I loved the smell of the kitchen while i was frying the chickies. The sweet smell of pandan really rocks!

Best served with hot rice... better yet, bagoong rice! :) Enjoy!