What is the recipe for making green waffles that are frequently sold
in Vietnamese bakeries and sandwich shops usually located in San Jose
and Southern California?

cyp123...

Well, this has been a challenge. Such recipes aren't found under
a search for "green waffles", but an article hinting at the contents,
on KillerRobot.com notes:

"The green waffles, in case you haven't had one, are usually made
 fresh and are flavored with coconut and screw pine, the latter
 I didn't know about. The green color is probably food coloring,
 but they look nicer that way."
http://www.killerrobot.com/wes/eats_bakeries.html


Screw pine, whose latin name is Pandanus utilis, per this page
at the Tropical Plants Library Online website, produces a fruit
whic does not seem likely to be an ingredient in the waffles:
http://mgonline.com/screwpine.html

This page on FloriData.com suggests that the fruit tastes like,
and resembles pineapple:
http://www.floridata.com/ref/p/pandanus.cfm


These green waffles are better known as pandan waffles, per
the last post on this page of reviews at Yelp.com:

"I used to love going to this bakery for their green waffles and
 Vietnamese sandwiches, but since they raised their prices again,
 I find it difficult to get their sandwiches there when Lee's can
 do it for cheaper and better. I still love the waffles and
 haven't found another place that makes pandan waffles.."
http://www.yelp.com/reviews/6_San_Jose_CA/page_3160.html


The fact that they're known as pandan waffles may explain why
the first quote associated them with screw pine, or Pandanus
utilis, but there is also a leafy herb know as pandan, which 
is described on About.com, and can be purchased as leaves or
a paste:

"Pandan is a kind of herb with long green leaves, lending a
 unique taste and aroma to many Thai desserts and some drinks.
 It can also be used as a natural replacement for food-coloring,
 imbuing desserts with a bright shade of green."
http://thaifood.about.com/od/glossary/g/pandanleaf.htm

This seems the more likely ingredient in pandan waffles.


Recipes for these waffles are not easily located, even under
the correct name, so you may have to experiment a bit with,
e.g., the batter for this pandan cake on Indo.com, using
pandan instead of food coloring, and making waffles, rather
than baking:

"Ingredients: 8 egg yokes, 6 egg whites, 175 gr sugar, 180 gr
 flour, 3/4 cup thick coconut milk, 1/4 tea spoon of salt, 
 3 spoon suji extract, green food coloring.

 Direction:

 - Boil coconut milk, salt, suji extract in low heat
 - Beat egg yokes and egg whites and sugar
 - Add food coloring
 - Slowly add the coooked coconut milk, mixing it evenly.
 - Butter the cake pan, put the mix inside
 - Bake until done"
http://www.indo.com/restaurants/recipe.html#pandancake


Suji seems to mean semolina or cracked wheat, and I presume
you'll find this extract at the same store that sells pandan
paste. It seems to be such a steady ingredient in the recipe
that searching for it produces good recipes for sandan pastries:

"suji extract"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22suji+extract%22

This authentic recipe on SpiceCuisine.com using pandan leaves
tops the list:

"Pandanus Cake"

"a Indonesian food recipe from Indonesia for 1 Cake

 Ingredients:
 200 gms Coconut Milk, Thick
 5 gms Salt
 3 tbs Suji Extract
 50 gms Pandanus Leaves, Sliced
 8 pcs Egg Yolks
 6 pcs Egg Whites
 175 gms Sugar

 Preparation:

 - Slow boil coconut milk with salt, suji and pandanus leaves
   for 20 minutes, strain and set aside.
 - Beat egg yolks with sugar, pour coconut mixture on top.
 - Beat egg whites stiff and fold into mixture. Add coloring.
 - Pour mixture into a buttered mold and bake at 160 C for app 20
   minutes until done."
http://www.spicecuisine.com/pandanus_cake.php

Just adjust the batter for a waffle consistency and pour into
a buttered waffle iron.

sublime1-ga


Additional information may be found from an exploration of
the links resulting from the Google searches outlined below.

Searches done, via Google:

vietnamese "green waffles"
://www.google.com/search?q=vietnamese+%22green+waffles%22

"pandan waffles" recipe
://www.google.com/search?q=%22pandan+waffles%22+recipe

"pandan" recipe
://www.google.com/search?q=%22pandan%22+recipe

"screw pine"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22screw+pine%22

"screw pine fruit"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22screw+pine+fruit%22

"suji extract"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22suji+extract%22

suji
://www.google.com/search?q=suji

Thank you for the answer. The links provided has been extremely
helpful. I will certainly make good use of the recipes.