Khanohm jeen yee poon is an appetizer consisting of a small roll of fermented rice noodles laid on a green lettuce leaf and topped with a slice of cucumber and cooked shrimp and pork belly, dressed with sour-sweet and salty fried chili jam, sprinkled with roasted peanuts and decorated with coriander leaf and a thin julienne of fresh red chili pepper. A squeeze of fresh lime juice is applied just before eating the dish.
Literally, “khanohm jeen yee poon” is translated as “Japanese-style fermented rice noodles”. But there is no evident Japanese motif in the dish that explains its name, and if we were to name the dish ourselves we would probably call it miiang khanohm jeen (เมี่ยงขนมจีน).
Miiang (or miang) is a general term for bite-sized dishes that contain several ingredients, each offering a distinct element of flavor, color or texture to create a perfect mouthful.
We came across this peculiarly-named appetizer in Lady Gleep Mahithaawn’s book “Recipes for Teaching Children and Grandchildren” (หนังสือกับข้าวสอนลูกหลาน), printed for her 72nd birthday celebration on January 7, 1949.
We wondered: Why did Lady Gleep label this hors d’oeuvre recipe as “Japanese-style”?
In seeking an answer to the question, we examined Lady Plean Passakornrawong’s earlier writings (c1908), and found a similar dish with similarly sounding name called khanohm jin bpoon (ขนมจิ่นปุ่น). The dish, spelled somewhat differently, also features Lady Plean’s additions of pickled garlic, young ginger, roasted mung beans and bitter orange (ส้มส้า, sohm saa, som.za), and uses naam phrik laao (น้ำพริกลาว) instead of fried chili jam.
We were excited to come across her footnote comment to the recipe, in which she writes, “The dish khanohm jin bpoon (ขนมจิ่นปุ่น) was formerly called khao bpoon laao (เข้าปุ้นลาว); these days [c1908], the name has changed to khanohm jin yi bpoon (ขนมจิ่นยิ่ปุ่น) probably for reason of progress.”
ตำราแม่ครัวหัวป่าก์ เล่ม 3 หน้า 142
Lady Plean offers no definitive explanation for the origins of the name, so we will probably never know the real reason behind calling this truly Thai recipe a Japanese-style fermented rice noodle hors d’oeuvre.
However, we decided to take this opportunity to discuss old Thai dishes and their names.
Old Thai dishes names fall into four main groups. The first group includes dishes with straightforward names that indicate both the preparation method and the main ingredient used. For example:
The second group includes dishes with names that give no indication of the dish’s origin, character, ingredients or cooking method.
Gaaeng bpuh (แกงเปอะ) – Curry of bamboo shoots
Gaaeng liiang (แกงเลียง) – Curry of mixed vegetables
Gaaeng buaan (แกงบวน) – Old-style curry
Gaaeng jao dtao (แกงเจ้าเต่า) – Old-style curry
Dtohm khlo:hng (ต้มโคล้ง) – Sour soup of smoked dry fish
During the reigns of King Rama VI and VII and as international trade flourished, many new ingredients became available to the cooking masters of those times; these chefs were creative and open-minded, and challenged themselves to invent new recipes with evocative, poetic names:
Wiwaa pra samoot (วิวาห์พระสมุทร) – The Wedding of the God of the Sea
Maang faa yiiam haawng (นางฟ้าเยี่ยมห้อง) – The Angel’s Visit
Naa raai ban thohm sin (นารายณ์บรรทมสินธุ์) – The Reclining Vishnu
Yam waawn phohng (ยำวรพงษ์) – Woraphong Salad
Naam phrik na khaawn baan (น้ำพริกนครบาล) – The Cosmopolitan Dipping Sauce
Mee raat thuut (หมี่ราชทูต) – The King’s Envoy Noodles
The final group includes dishes introduced to the Thai culinary repertoire by direct or indirect foreign influence. In some cases, they are still called by their original name, modified for Thai pronunciation.
Khaao booree (ข้าวบุหรี่) – Thai-style Persian biryani rice
Sadteh (สะเต๊ะ) – Satay, Skewered and grilled meat
Our cooking tips for khanohm jeen yee poon
When cooking the pork belly, add couple of pandan leaves; These will introduce a pleasant aroma to the pork meat.
Cut the cooked shrimp into lengthwise strips. Cut the pork to a matching size.
Fermented Rice Noodles, Shrimp and Pork Appetizer Dressed with Fried Chili Jam and Peanuts Recipe สูตรทำขนมจีนญี่ปุ่น
Hanuman and Chef Thapakorn Lertviriyavit (Gorn)
Khanohm jeen yee poon is an appetizer consisting of a small roll of fermented rice noodles laid on a green lettuce leaf and topped with a slice of cucumber and cooked shrimp and pork belly, dressed with sour-sweet and salty fried chili jam, sprinkled with roasted peanuts and decorated with coriander leaf and a thin julienne of fresh red chili pepper. A squeeze of fresh lime juice is applied just before eating the dish.
Cook the pork on medium heat, add pandan leaf for fragrance.
Slice the pork into bite-size pieces.
Clean the shrimp, remove their heads, and peel and devein them before cooking until just done. Do not overcook.
Slice the shrimp lengthwise into thin strips.
Roast the peanuts, and then coarsely crush with a pestle and mortar.
Making Fried Chili Jam
De-seed the dry chili, cut into small pieces, rinse and let it dry.
Deep fry sliced shallots and sliced garlic.
Deep fry the dry shrimps until crisp.
Turn off the heat, and heat-fry the dry chilies in the residual oil.
Fry the chilies until they get crisp and turn dark red. Be careful not to burn them.
Place some salt in the mortar.
Add the fried dried chilies.
Pound the chilies.
Add fried dry shrimp.
Pound the chilies and fried dry shrimp together.
Add the deep fried garlic and shallots.
Pound everything into a smooth paste.
Return the paste to the wok, and fry with residual oil left from frying each of the ingredients. Season with palm sugar.
Season with fish sauce.
Season with thick tamarind paste.
Continue frying until the color becomes shiny. Taste and adjust flavors to sour-sweet-salty.
Add roasted peanuts to the fried chili jam
To Serve
Serve. Place a roll of the rice noodles on a piece of green leaf lettuce, add a slice of cucumber, shrimp and pork, dress with the chili jam, sprinkle roasted peanuts and decorate with coriander leaf and a thin julienne of fresh red chili pepper. Squeeze some lime juice on the dish just before eating.
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For the khanohm jeen saao naam version that we present today, we turn again to the writing of Thanpuying (Lady) Gleep Mahithaawn for her unique take on the dish. Her version is quite similar to the common recipe encountered nowadays, but Lady Gleep enhances it with more ingredients, elevating the dish yet another notch to the level of a majestic masterpiece.
Khao mao bueang and khao Mao Mee (ข้าวเม่าหมี่) are the only two known savory dishes from antiquity made from pounded unripe rice grains (ข้าวเม่า; khao mao). While khao mao mee (ข้าวเม่าหมี่) is still a well-known and widely available dish, very few people remember khao mao bueang. Therefore, we are pleased to reintroduce into the Thai culinary repertoire the delicious khao mao bueang.
The sweet leading sour coconut cream based sauce, enriched and thickened with fragrant freshly roasted peanuts and golden beans are a wonderful coat to dress the sweet shrimp meat. The aromatics are being extracted in every possible way, by roasting, and frying, boiling and reducing, pounding and grounding. All the culinary methods are being fully employed to guarantee an absolute real first class dish.
If you want to start some real Thai cooking going at your home, have the time and access to all the ingredients, than I really want you to try this dish. The building blocks of flavors work so well here and it will open you a great window to see the beginning of what is possible in Thai cuisine.
Gaaeng Ranjuaan is spicy, sour, sweet and salty beef curry seasoned with no more than fermented shrimp paste chili sauce. It should be served steaming hot, and must possess three distinct flavors, similar to fish Tom Yam soup. These modest ingredients and an intensely-flavored curry emerge from a story about love, things lost in translation and…leftovers.
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Practical and kitchen-tested recipes with a mix of theory, history, psychology, and Siamese culture tidbits.
Access to Thaifoodmaster’s constantly growing library of prime professional classes, articles, recipes and videos on Siamese culinary topics, available nowhere else in English.
Gain access to NEW MONTHLY masterclasses as they become available.
1-1 support from Hanuman to help you achieve your professional Thai culinary goals
The opportunity to join a monthly live two-hour videoconference where I can answer your questions.
one year access for the price of 3 days in-person training.
You will get everything you need to:
When you design or build a new menu for an event or restaurant or even prepare for dinner with friends.
Finally !
Master your Thai cooking skills and expand your repertoire.