Ingredients

Chicken Breast

• 4-6 skinless chicken breast, cut into pieces around 4x4cm

Marinate

• 400ml coconut milk
• 4cm ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 4 tbsp coriander, finely chopped
• 2 lime leaves, shredded
• 1 lemon grass stalk, finely chopped
• 2 large chilies, finely chopped
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp soft or grated palm sugar or soft brown sugar
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil

To Cook

• 12-16 pandan leaves, rinsed and cut into 8cm long pieces
• toothpicks

To Serve

• Boiled jasmine rice or saffron aromatic rice (see recipe below)

Method

1. To Marinate: Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl until well combined. Toss the chicken in the marinade, cover the bowl with cling film and place into the fridge to marinate for 5-8 hours.
2. Pandan Leaves: Wrap the chicken pieces in the pandan leaves by taking one piece and wrapping them one way and then wrap them in the opposite way with a second piece. Secure the pandan leaves with toothpicks (if you are going to barbecue the chicken soak the toothpicks in water first.
3. To Cook: Bring some water to the boil in the base of a large steamer or wok or saucepan. Place the pandan chicken in the top half of a steamer or in a bamboo steaming basket on a rack in a wok or on top of a saucepan. Cook the chicken for 15-20 minutes until it is firm and cooked through. Remove the pandan chicken from the steamer and serve immediately or store them in a low oven until ready to serve.
4. To Serve: Serve the pandan chicken with steamed or aromatic saffron rice (see below) and Thai sweet chilli sauce (optional).

Aromatic Saffron Rice:

• Soak jasmine rice in water for an hour, then rinse it well or rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Cook the rice with 1-2 tsp cumin seeds, a generous pinch of saffron and 3 cardamom pods. Cook the rice in boiling water until it is just tender. Remove the cardamom pods and serve.