Thai Pandan Chicken / Gai Haw Bai Toey
You’ve got to try this aromatic and savory Thai pandan chicken recipe! Gai haw bai toey is a Thai dish of fried chicken wrapped in pandan leaves.
Each piece of chicken is wrapped in pandan or screwpine leaf that give them this wonderful taste and aroma and keeps the meat juicy even after being deep fried. The popularity of this Thai dish has also reached the Philippines in the recent years. Not surprising, since we’re practically neighbors and cooking with pandan or screwpine leaves, which is abundant in most South East Asian countries, has also been a part of Filipino cuisine. It is usually added to steamed rice while cooking to add fragrance or used for stuffing whole chicken. But my favorite, of course, would be the Buko-Pandan Salad, which is a cold dessert made from coconut meat and pandan-flavored gelatin in sweet cream.
I made the dip by mixing soy sauce, vinegar, minced ginger, chili flakes and a bit of sugar. I usually don’t use measurements, it is more like add or take a few this or that until I get the taste I am looking for. But try not to put so much soy sauce, specially if using the dark one, it could get too salty
INGREDIENTS
1 pound chicken breast - - cut into 2x2 inch (5x5 cm) cube
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons fresh ginger - - minced
1 tablespoon vinegar
Pandan (screwpine) leaves
cooking oil - - for frying
INSTRUCTIONS
Wash chicken breast and pat dry with paper towel.
Mix together soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, sugar, ginger and vinegar in a deep bowl. Add the chicken breast to the mixture and mix until all sides are covered. Let it marinate for at least 1 hour. Can also be placed in the fridge overnight covered with plastic wrap.
Wrap each piece in pandan or screwpine leaves using a toothpick to hold them in place.
Deep fry until the golden brown.
Serve while hot.