Tam Khanun

Northern Thai pounded young jackfruit: boiled jackfruit pounded and stir-fried with minced pork and a paste of dried chilli, garlic, galangal, lemongrass, and shrimp paste, with tomatoes and kaffir lime leaves, heaped with fried garlic and chillies

Origin: Chiang Mai & Northern Thailand

From the journey of Jackfruit.

Tam khanun, pounded jackfruit, which the north also calls tam banun, is the other great jackfruit dish of Lanna. The young fruit, chosen with white flesh and seeds that have barely formed, is boiled until tender and pounded in a mortar, then stir-fried with minced pork and a paste of dried bird's eye chillies, garlic, shallots, galangal, lemongrass, shrimp paste, and pla ra, the fermented fish of the north, with tomatoes and kaffir lime leaves. It comes to the table heaped with fried garlic, fried dried chillies, coriander, and spring onion, with sticky rice and crisp pork rinds alongside. The recipe here follows the one published by the Northern Thai Information Center of Chiang Mai University. Like kaeng khanun, the jackfruit curry of the north, it carries the pun of its name: khanun plays on nun, to support, which makes the jackfruit a tree of good omen.

Ingredients

Chilli Paste

15 dried bird's eye chillies, dry-roasted
10 garlic cloves
5 shallots
1 tbsp galangal, sliced
1 tbsp lemongrass, sliced
1 tbsp shrimp paste (kapi)
1 tbsp boiled fermented fish (pla ra), or 1 tsp fish sauce
0.5 tsp salt

Tam Khanun

400 g young green jackfruit, peeled and cut into large pieces, or 2 x 400 g tins of young jackfruit in brine, drained
100 g minced pork
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp garlic, chopped
4 small tomatoes, quartered
5 kaffir lime leaves, torn

To Serve

1 tbsp fried garlic
10 dried bird's eye chillies, fried crisp
1 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
1 tbsp spring onion, chopped

Method

Oil your hands and knife before handling fresh jackfruit. Boil the pieces for 45 minutes to an hour, until very tender. Drain and cool.
Pound the roasted chillies, garlic, shallots, galangal, lemongrass, and salt in a mortar to a paste, then pound in the shrimp paste and pla ra.
Pound the jackfruit in the mortar, in batches, until it breaks down into fine, fluffy shreds.
Heat the oil and fry the chopped garlic until golden. Add the pork and cook until it loses its colour, then add the chilli paste and fry until fragrant.
Add the pounded jackfruit and stir-fry until everything is combined, then add the tomatoes and kaffir lime leaves, crushing the tomatoes lightly, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes more.
Pile onto a plate and scatter with the fried garlic, fried chillies, coriander, and spring onion. Serve with sticky rice, crisp pork rinds, and raw vegetables.

Notes

Pla ra, the fermented fish of the north and the north-east, is sold in jars in Thai shops; it is pungent, and a little goes a long way. The same young jackfruit is cooked in the north as the curry kaeng khanun, which the atlas also carries.

The Gastrographer

Name: Tam Khanun
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Chiang Mai & Northern Thailand
Ingredients: 15 dried bird's eye chillies, dry-roasted; 10 garlic cloves; 5 shallots; 1 tbsp galangal, sliced; 1 tbsp lemongrass, sliced; 1 tbsp shrimp paste (kapi); 1 tbsp boiled fermented fish (pla ra), or 1 tsp fish sauce; 0.5 tsp salt; 400 g young green jackfruit, peeled and cut into large pieces, or 2 x 400 g tins of young jackfruit in brine, drained; 100 g minced pork; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 tbsp garlic, chopped; 4 small tomatoes, quartered; 5 kaffir lime leaves, torn; 1 tbsp fried garlic; 10 dried bird's eye chillies, fried crisp; 1 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped; 1 tbsp spring onion, chopped

Mapping Culinary History

To explore — select an ingredient below.

To explore — select an ingredient below · click any location dot on the map for recipes and stories · browse the information panel on the right · trace the full journey on the timeline.

Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control