Pandan, an ingredient used in Southeast Asian cooking has been making its way into cocktails. We take a look at what is pandan, how to make pandan syrup and use it in cocktails.
Pandan Syrup – Photo © Cocktails & Bars
What is Pandan
Also called screwpine, pandan (pandanus amaryllifolius) is a tropical plant that resembles a palm with aromatic, long green blades and pointed ends. The leaves are used in Southeast Asian cooking to add flavour to rice, desserts, cakes and drinks. Often described as the “vanilla of Southeast Asia”, pandan is known to impart a unique aroma, flavour and colour.
If you’ve visited PS40 bar in Sydney, or attended the Mace x PS40 pop up with Nico de Soto, you’ve most likely tasted pandan in one of their cocktails.
What does Pandan Taste Like?
The taste of pandan is not so simple to describe. It’s often referred to as having a vanilla-like character with a nutty note. The flavour of pandan adds complexity to food and drinks with an earthy, grassy note, somewhat sweet, with hints of coconut on the back palate.
Pandan Juice vs Pandan Extract
Before delving into methods of making pandan syrup, it’s important to differentiate between pandan juice and pandan syrup.
Pandan juice is the result of blending pandan leaves with water then staining it through a fine strainer or cheese cloth. Pandan extract is made the same way then left undisturbed in the fridge for about 24 hours for the liquid to split and separate. The green sediment that sinks to the bottom is the pandan extract. It is more concentrated than pandan juice and has a slightly bitter taste. Both pandan juice and pandan extract should be stored in the fridge and last up to 5 days.
Pandan Syrup
There are several ways to make pandan syrup, each with its own advantage. The first two methods are very alike in approach. The first involves bringing equal parts of sugar, water and pandan leaves to the boil, simmering for a few minutes, removing from heat and allowing it to step for 6 hours before fine straining and bottling. The second method involves making the simple syrup first (equal parts sugar and water) then adding the pandan leaves, turning off the heat and steeping overnight before straining and bottling. Both methods yield a similar result and a syrup with a very pale green tinge as seen in the photo above on the right.
The third method involves making pandan juice then turning it into a syrup. Pandan leaves are blended with a little water to create pandan juice then strained. The pandan pulp is returned to the blender with a little more water added and the process is repeated. The pandan juice is then measured and an equal amount of sugar is added to make the syrup. This method yields a bright green syrup (shown above on the left) and needs to be fine strained a couple of times preferably through a coffee filter to remove any remaining solids as these can alter the flavour of the syrup over time.
Another method is to make the syrup with the pandan leaves, leave it to steep for a few hours then blend it and strain through a fine strainer.
A variation on Pandan Syrup is the Coconut Pandan Syrup made by bringing 250 ml coconut water, 125 g sugar and 4 pandan leaves to the boil, simmering for a few minutes then leaving it to cool before fine straining.
Below is our preferred method for making pandan syrup.
How to Make Pandan Syrup
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 pandan leaves, cut into strips
Equipment: scissors, small pan, fine strainer, funnel, swing top glass bottle
Method
- Wash the pandan leaves to remove any dirt
- Using scissors, cut the pandan leaves into thin strips.
- In a small pan, bring 1 cup of water, 1 cup of sugar and pandan strips to the boil and leave to simmer for two minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and leave to steep for 6 hours.
- Using a fine strainer, strain the syrup into a swing top glass bottle and store in the fridge. It keeps for approximately 2 weeks.
How to Use Pandan Syrup in Cocktails
Pandan syrup has many applications in cocktails. It plays well in a variety of white and dark spirits and goes well in the likes of a Mojito, Gin Sour and Old Fashioned. Pandan leaves can also be infused with base spirits then fine strained and used in cocktails.
Next in the pandan series… Pandan Gimlet, Coco Pandan, Pandan Old Fashioned
