Thai pandan-wrapped chicken (gai ob bai toey)

November 19, 2009 • Hello. I am currently out of the country and unable to respond to comments and e-mails. Rest assured, however, that future posts have been scheduled so new recipes will go live almost everyday during my absence. I'll be back soon with lots of stories and photos. Ciao for now! ~ Connie

Boneless chicken cutlets are marinated in sauces and spices, wrapped in aromatic pandan leaves and fried until crisp and browned. These nuggets are so flavorful they don’t need a dipping sauce and they are great as finger food or served with rice as a main dish.

pandan-chicken

There is a pandan chicken recipe in the archive where the pandan-wrapped chicken pieces were broiled rather than fried. Broiling works well when the chicken cutlets include the skin which provides the necessary fat to make the meat moist and tender. But when using skinless chicken cutlets, frying is the best way to go.

Serves 6 to 8.

Ingredients:

  • 1.2 k. of skinless chicken thigh fillets, cut into 2-inch cubes
  • pandan leaves equal to the number of cut chicken pieces
  • toothpicks
  • about 2 c. of cooking oil for deep frying

Marinade:

  • 8 tbsps. of fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp. of finely grated garlic
  • 1 tbsp. of finely grated turmeric (ginger is okay)
  • 2 tbsps. of lime (or lemon) juice
  • 1 tbsp. of sugar
  • 6 to 8 tbsps. of coconut cream
  • 1 tbsp. of oyster sauce
  • 2 red chili peppers, finely chopped (optional)

Place the chicken pieces in a bowl, add all the ingredients for the marinade. Mix well. Cover and let sit in the fridge for at least an hour.

Cut off the root and light green portions of the pandan leaves. Take the dark green portion and blanch in hot water for 30 seconds to release the aroma and to make them more pliable.

Take one piece of chicken, wrap with a pandan leaf and secure with a toothpick. Repeat until all the chicken pieces are wrapped.

Heat the cooking oil in a wok. Fry the pandan-wrapped chicken in batches until they are browned and crisp (about 3 to 4 minutes). Drain on paper towels and serve at once.

August 28, 2009  Print This Post   
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Comments

7 Responses to “Thai pandan-wrapped chicken (gai ob bai toey)”
  1. Tracy says:

    This recipe sounds fantastic. If you can’t find pandan leaves can you make it without or is there a substitute? Thanks!

    • Connie says:

      If you make it without pandan leaves it’s going to be just fried chicken cutlets. It’s the pandan leaves the gives this dish its unique aroma and flavor. And there is no substitute for pandan leaves. Of course, you can try other cooking leaves but the aroma and flavpr won’t be the same.

  2. jeck says:

    is it also ok to marinade the chicken overnight in the fridge?

  3. jeck says:

    thanks for anwering back ms. connie. plan to cook this recipe on my sons 1st bday. more power!

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