Pandan

Hullo to readers old and new!

This is the Cambridge, MA Companion to Singaporean Food, a weekly, ongoing series about all those words I italicize in essays, like lou bak, and rempah, and kopitiam. It’s modeled on one of the most beloved books on my shelf, Alan Davidson’s Oxford Companion to Food, a reference text that’s warm, erudite, and opinionated, but also as solid as basalt. The goal is to be more entertaining than wikipedia, but more informative than Tiktok. This series is primarily a benefit for paid subscribers, though I’ve left the first and second entries free to give a sense of what these are like.

If you’d like to have access to these, a month’s subscription costs less than coffee in a big city – and your subscriptions enable me to continue writing for you.

As always, comments and corrections are very welcome – I claim no special qualification for writing this other than a willingness to pursue harebrained schemes.

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Pandan

Also: Pandan wangi (Malay)

Pandan is the vernacular name for Pandanus amaryllifolius, a monocotyledonous plant whose fragrant leaves are a common aromatic in Singaporean cooking. It’s most frequently encountered as a flavoring in kueh, which has led to its use in numerous other desserts, e.g. cakes, custards, and ice creams. It’s as often used for color as for flavor – the reason green kuehs and pastries are ubiquitous.