斑兰
bānlán
斑兰 (bānlán) is the Chinese word for pandan, a tropical plant whose fragrant leaves are used in Southeast Asian cooking and desserts.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is bānlán.
Did you know?
- In mainland China, the plant is formally known as 露兜树 (lùdōushù), meaning 'dew-pocket tree', which sounds more like a botanical classification than a culinary ingredient.
- In many Chinese-speaking Southeast Asian communities, the term 斑兰 is used as a sensory descriptor to create a specific category of 'pandan-scented' aromas, which is treated as a distinct culinary profile separate from floral or fruity scents.
- The character 斑 (bān) in 斑兰 means 'spots' or 'stripes', creating a visual link to the variegated patterns found on some cultivars of the screw pine.
Examples in context
- 我喜欢斑兰香粽子。I like pandan-flavored sticky rice dumplings.
- 昨天我尝了一种很好吃的班兰糕。Yesterday, I tried a delicious pandan cake.
- 这种蛋糕里有斑兰的味道。Zhè zhǒng dàngāo lǐ yǒu bānlán de wèidào.This kind of cake has the taste of pandan.
- 我想买一些新鲜的斑兰叶。Wǒ xiǎng mǎi yīxiē xīnxiān de bānlán yè.I want to buy some fresh pandan leaves.
- 斑兰叶可以用来做甜点。Bānlán yè kěyǐ yòng lái zuò tiándiǎn.Pandan leaves can be used to make desserts.
Example conversation
Wei and Jiayi are looking at a recipe in a cookbook.
- 伟 Wei这个食谱里需要用斑兰吗？Zhè ge shípǔ lǐ xūyào yòng bānlán ma?Does this recipe require pandan?
- 佳怡 Jiayi是的，它可以增加香味。Shì de, tā kěyǐ zēngjiā xiāngwèi.Yes, it can add fragrance.
- 伟 Wei那我去超市买一点吧。Nà wǒ qù chāoshì mǎi yīdiǎn ba.Then I will go to the supermarket to buy some.
- 佳怡 Jiayi好的，伟，谢谢你。Hǎo de, Wěi, xièxiè nǐ.Okay, Wei, thank you.
