Thai Pandan Chicken Parcels (ไก่ใบเตย)

This popular, bitesize Thai snack features marinated pieces of chicken wrapped in sweet, aromatic pandan leaves and cooked until crispy.

Known as ‘gai bay tuay’ in Thai, these juicy little chicken morsels are deeply savoury in taste and charmingly sweet in aroma. Pieces of marinated chicken are wrapped in pandan leaves and deep-fried, but they’re just as good when cooked in the oven or in the air-fryer. The chicken has a simple marinade, often called the ‘three friends’ (saam sahae) in Thai: white pepper, garlic and coriander root. Coriander root has an earthy but lemony taste. Coriander root can be bought in Asian supermarkets, or if you buy potted coriander from the supermarket you can leave it until it dies off and then pull out the roots. As for pandan leaves, this sweet-scented grass is native to South East Asia. You’ll find it frozen in Asian supermarkets, and its huge blades of grass make a robust, aromatic wrapping. You can grow pandan grass from seed, and in colder climates it will survive quite well as an indoor, potted plant. If you can’t get hold of pandan grass, you could use the leaves of wild garlic or even layers of leek membrane. Of course, the flavour would be different to the true Thai treat, but you’ll get the same joy of unwrapping a truffle-like nugget of sweet, aromatic chicken. Just don’t eat the wrappers! Let’s go!

INGREDIENTS (serves 2x)

• 15x pandan leaves (available frozen at Asian supermarkets)

• 4x boneless chicken thighs, diced into 20x bitesize pieces

• 4x cloves garlic

• 1 tsp white peppercorns

• 1x coriander root (available in Asian supermarkets) or 1/2 tsp ground coriander

• 2 tsp light soy sauce

• 3 tablespoons oyster sauce

• 1 tsp sugar

WALKTHROUGH

1. First, let’s make the marinade. In a pestle and mortar, add the 1 tsp white peppercorns and crush until fine. Add the coriander root (or 1/2 tsp ground coriander) along with 4 cloves of garlic and pound to form a tight paste.

   

   

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the 4x diced chicken thighs with the spice paste, 3 tablespoons of oyster sauce, 2 tsps light soy sauce and 1 tsp sugar. Mix well until the chicken is coated.

3. Now we will wrap the chicken in the pandan leaves. Place a piece of chicken at the tip of a single pandan leaf. Roll the chicken in the leaf, turning the leaf so that it covers the chicken evenly from all angles. Don’t worry if some of the chicken meat is visible out, this is normal. Secure the parcel with a toothpick, set aside and repeat.

   

   

   

4. Once all of the chicken pieces are wrapped, heat a deep-fryer to 180C, or prepare an air-fryer by spraying it with oil.

5. Place the chicken into the air-fryer or deep-fryer and cook at 180C for 15 minutes, or until the pandan leaves are browned any protruding chicken is browned and caramelised. Allow them to cool for 5 minutes before eating.

   

6. To eat, unwrap the pandan leaf parcel and eat the tender, sweet chicken nuggets inside. Discard the pandan leaves. Enjoy!