Pandanus is indigenous to the Indo-Pacific — growing across Thailand, Southeast Asia, coastal India, and the Pacific Islands. It is completely unavailable as a substitute in any other ingredient (vanilla extract is commonly suggested as a pandan substitute; it shares none of pandan's aromatic chemistry and the suggestion misunderstands the nature of both ingredients). Fresh pandan leaves are increasingly available in Asian grocery stores in North America.
Pandanus amaryllifolius — the pandan leaf (bai toey in Thai) — is the most widely used aromatic leaf in Southeast Asian desserts and savoury cooking. Its characteristic aroma compound (2-acetyl-1-pyrroline) is the same compound found in jasmine rice, basmati rice, and toasted bread crust — producing a warm, slightly floral, slightly nutty aromatic that the Thai kitchen uses as: a natural green colouring agent (from the chlorophyll of the blended leaves), a flavour infusion for coconut milk and sugar syrup, and a vessel for steaming and grilling (food wrapped in pandan leaf takes on its aromatic during cooking).
**Three forms of pandan use:** **1. Infusion in coconut milk:** Bruise 4–5 pandan leaves (crush between the hands, then knot) and simmer in the coconut milk for 5–10 minutes. Remove before adding other ingredients. The coconut milk takes on the aromatic and a very faint green tinge. **2. Juice for colouring and flavouring:** Blend 8–10 fresh pandan leaves with a small amount of water. Strain through a fine cloth — the resulting liquid is an intense green, concentrated pandan extract. Used in khanom thuay (Entry TH-53), in pandan layer cakes, and wherever a distinct pandan aromatic and green colour are both required. Concentration: start with 2 tablespoons per 300ml liquid and taste — adjust. **3. Leaf wrapping (haw bai toey):** Wrap pieces of marinated chicken, pork, or tofu in pandan leaves, secure with toothpicks, and deep-fry. The leaf does not burn in the hot oil (it steams from its own moisture content) and the aromatic compound infuses into the protein during frying. The preparation is unmistakably pandan-fragrant when the leaf is opened at the table.
David Thompson, *Thai Food* (2002); *Thai Street Food* (2010)