Pandan-Wrapped Chicken (Gai Hor Bai Toey)

Ingredients

• For the marinade
• 500 g chicken thighs, boneless, skinless, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 60 ml coconut milk
• 4 cloves garlic, finely pounded
• 3 roots coriander root, scraped and finely pounded
• 1 tbsp palm sugar, shaved
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• ½ tsp white pepper, freshly ground
• For the wrapping
• 16 leaves pandan leaves, long, fresh, flexible — one per parcel
• 16 toothpicks, to secure each parcel
• For frying
• 1 litre neutral oil, for deep-frying

Method

1. 1
   Combine coconut milk, pounded garlic, pounded coriander root, palm sugar, oyster sauce, sesame oil and white pepper in a bowl, stirring until the palm sugar fully dissolves so its sweetness distributes evenly rather than sitting in pockets on the chicken. Add the chicken pieces and turn to coat thoroughly — the marinade should cling visibly to each piece. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours, overnight preferred, so the aromatics have time to work into the meat rather than resting only on its surface.
2. 2
   Remove the chicken from the refrigerator. Take one fresh pandan leaf and wrap it firmly around a piece of chicken so that the leaf surface is in full contact with the chicken throughout, securing with a toothpick — any gap between leaf and chicken means the aromatic steam the leaf releases during frying escapes into the oil rather than passing into the meat. The wrap must be tight. Repeat for all pieces.
3. 3
   Heat the oil in a deep vessel to exactly 170°C and verify this with a thermometer before the first batch enters the oil. This is where the dish lives or dies: at 170°C the pandan leaf darkens gradually at its edges over 6–8 minutes while shielding the chicken from direct heat, giving the leaf's smoky-floral character time to transfer to the chicken surface; at 190°C the leaf burns through completely and the chicken dries before any of that character has time to pass. Hold the temperature there throughout frying.
4. 4
   Lower the wrapped parcels into the oil in batches without crowding, so the oil temperature does not drop and the parcels fry rather than stew. Fry at 170°C for 6–8 minutes; the pandan leaves will darken and char lightly at their edges, which is correct and expected. The parcels are done when the leaf edges show that light charring and the chicken, tested by pressing a parcel, feels firm throughout with no give at the centre.
5. 5
   Remove the parcels and drain briefly on a rack. Serve immediately — the smoky-floral scent of the charred leaf fades as the parcels cool, so the table should be ready before the oil is. Instruct guests to unwrap and discard the pandan leaf before eating; it is an aromatic wrapper and cooking vessel, not a food, and the chicken surface beneath will carry its faint, smoky-floral scent.