A long, fragrant tropical leaf used to flavor and scent both sweet and savory Filipino dishes, often described as grassy, vanilla-like, and slightly floral.
Pandan leaves are usually tied into a knot and simmered in liquid to release their aroma, then removed before serving — similar in technique to a bay leaf, though the flavor is entirely different: green, sweet, and faintly reminiscent of vanilla or coconut. It's a defining flavor in buko pandan, and it turns up as a background note in some versions of bibingka and rice dishes.
Outside fresh-leaf availability, pandan extract and pandan paste are common substitutes and are what most recipes outside the Philippines are written around.
Recipes on Pancit.com that call for pandan.
