We all know waffles, right? A light, slightly eggy cake cooked in a waffle iron so that it’s crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. We enjoy it with a pat of butter and real maple syrup. Some people eat waffles with fried chicken as a savory Southern twist.
The Southeast Asians put their own twist on the waffle by adding a bit of pandan extract to the batter. Pandan, or screwpine, is a tropical plant that has fans of long, green leaves that, when cooked, imparts a sweet, pleasingly fragrant aroma to whatever it is cooked with. We used whole pandan leaves to infuse our nasi lemak coconut rice dish.
Here’s a pandan waffle recipe that makes a delicious breakfast, snack or dessert so good, you won’t want to stop eating them. It is a tried and true recipe, something we make quite often. The recipe comes from food blogger Andrea Nguyen of Viet World Kitchen, who is the author of “Into the Vietnamese Kitchen“.
Pandan Waffles (makes 3-4 waffles)
Ingredients:
1 cup bleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda + 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (OR 1 tsp baking powder + 1/4 tsp baking soda)
1 egg, whites separated from the yolk
1 cup coconut milk
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp pandan extract
(You can use vanilla extract if you don’t have the pandan, but then it really wouldn’t be pandan waffles anymore, now would it? Find pandan extract in the baking section of your local Asian market.)
Notes:
*If you double the recipe, most cans of coconut milk will be less than 2 cups, just add water to get correct liquid amount.
*Sugar can be halved for less sweet waffles.
*Self-raising flour can be used in place of flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
Method:
1. Turn on your waffle iron.
2. In one bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the coconut milk, melted butter, egg yolk, and pandan extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and gently stir it in. Switch to a folding motion towards the end to incorporate all the flour. The batter will be a little lumpy and thick, but the important thing is not to overmix it.
3. Whisk the egg white until it forms stiff peaks. Gently fold the egg white into the batter.
4. Now here comes the easy part. When the iron is hot, ladle some of the pandan waffle batter onto the grid. Close the lid and go get a plate and a fork. Breathe in that wonderful pandan aroma (but be careful not to stick your nose into the steam rising from the waffle maker!) Tell your tummy to stop growling already, because in a couple of minutes it’s going to be mighty happy.
5. When the waffle maker signals that your pandan waffle is ready, lift it out with a fork onto your waiting plate. Put the fork down. Resist the urge to pick up the waffle and jam it into your mouth. Wait for it to cool a little. If you don’t, you’ll give yourself first-degree burns on your fingertips and that little piece of skin on the roof of your mouth will hang down and bother you for the next two days. Resist!
Go back to step 4 and prep another waffle. There, that ought to be enough time now. Go for it. Forget the fork. Forget syrup. Just pick it up and devour to your heart’s content.
In our house, we double the recipe, sometimes even triple it. The kids love these pandan waffles and so do we. They freeze well (the waffles, not the kids!) and reheat nicely in the toaster.
Somehow, they don’t last too long in the freezer though. Within a couple of days, they’re all gone. Pandan waffles are great for breakfast, snack or dessert. Try it with some vanilla ice cream or, better yet, some azuki bean ice cream. Yum!
Aloha, Nate
Hi, how long can we keep the waffle mixture in the fridge?
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I get these wonderful waffles from a vendor at one of our local Asian markets and have wanted to find a recipe to make them at home. Made them yesterday and they are so very good. So many more recipes on your site I want to try, everything looks so good!
Julie,
You’re welcome, you’re welcome, you’re welcome! 😉
hello!! I would like to prepare the mixture/batter at night but cook it in the morning. How long is the shelf life of the batter when put in fridge? hoping for your reply, thank you!
Heids,
The batter will keep overnight. Just keep it covered so it doesn’t dry out in the fridge.
Hi! I was wondering how you got the pandan waffles to be so brown/crisp all around ? When I make the batter, not much of it has the brown colouring when it’s done =(
Hi, thanks for your question. It’s a matter of how hot you set your waffle iron.
hi, can i substitute corn starch with corn flour?
thanks! 🙂
Namiko,
corn starch and corn flour are different, so, you can’t substitute one for the other.
Very good recipe! Thanks for sharing.
I got Homemade Ikan Bilis Nasi Lemak Chilli and my boy ate it as a spreas together with the Pandan Waffle….and WOW! Like “Nasi Lemak Waffle”! 😉
Hi.
Can you elaborate more on how much is 1 cup or 1 tsp all that?
How much grams is 1 cup, etc?
Thank you so much!
Does it matter if you use pandan extract vs pandan paste? I used pandan essence. When I made pandan waffles with pandan extract the waffles didn’t turn green and it didn’t taste like pandan waffles. Does it matter if you use salted butter vs unsalted? Does it matter if you use baking soda & cream of tarter vs baking powder & baking soda? Does one use of ingredients taste more like pandan waffles vs the other? Do you have to separate the egg for pandan waffles? Do you use the coconut milk from the can? Can you add coconut flakes to the pandan mix?
Hi there!
Thanks for your recipe-im sure there will be less preservatives than the shop bought waffles made of premix.
I have an important question: what brand and model is your waffle maker?
This is truly a great recipe!!! I make it very often. It’s great and even better with lemon zest.
Hi!
Can i know which round waffle maker is that , price and where you bought it in singapore?
Thanks.
Hi Kavi,
It’s a Cuisinart, and we bought it in the US.
Hi, may i know how hot did you set your cuisinart waffle maker and how much is 1 cup? Thanks!
Tan,
we set it to medium heat.
1 cup has different weight/mass depending on what is being measured.
My son loves pandan waffles
May I know where to buy the waffle mix?
Hi Annie, yr recipe is great, I have been using yr recipe for years till recently I lost my hardcopy recipe due to move hse. I tried other recipe but not as nice as yrs. Search high & low & luckily I did save a soft-copy of it. My family loves yr recipe very much! Thanks again.
Hi. Can I know where to buy pandan extract? And what brand? I
Hi. Bake king all purpose flour is bleached or unbleached?
If I put one in the fridge how long is it good for as I didn’t think to freeze it.
Kelli,
it should be good for a few days in the fridge.