Green Botanica · Spice Guide

Thai Cardamom

Wurfbainia testacea

Krawan · กระวาน · Siam cardamom

Thai cardamom is the round, pale pod of a ginger-family plant that grows in the shade of hill forests in Thailand and its neighbours. It is not the green cardamom of Arabic coffee and Nordic buns: its aroma is cooler and more camphor-like, closer to eucalyptus than to flowers. In Thailand, a few pods go into massaman curry and beef broths; in China, the round pods are bai dou kou, a spice for braises and stocks.

Scientific name: Wurfbainia testacea (Ridl.) Škorničk. & A.D.Poulsen; syn. Amomum testaceum; often traded as Amomum krervanh
Family: Zingiberaceae (ginger family)
Other names: Thai krawan (กระวาน), krawan chan; Siam cardamom, round cardamom; Khmer krâvanh; Chinese bai dou kou (白豆蔻)
Origin: Southern China to Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo; in Thailand, the hill forests of the east and south
Flavour profile: Cool · camphor · eucalyptus · gently peppery
Part used: The dried ripe pod; the aroma sits in the seeds inside
Not to be confused with: Green cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) and black cardamom (Amomum subulatum)

Meet the spice

What is Thai cardamom?

Thai cardamom comes from Wurfbainia testacea, a perennial of the ginger family. Leafy stems 1.5–3 m tall rise from a creeping rhizome, and the plant likes deep shade and the humid floor of the forest.

The flowers do not grow on the leafy stems. Short spikes rise straight from the rhizome at ground level, and after flowering they carry clusters of round fruits. Each fruit is a pod 0.7–1.8 cm across, with a thin, cream to pale brown shell, three chambers and 12–18 hard, dark seeds in each.

The pods are picked in the rainy season and dried. The young shoots are eaten too: in Chanthaburi they are cooked as a vegetable.

The botany of the round cardamoms is still being sorted out. Names such as Amomum krervanh and Amomum testaceum have moved to the genus Wurfbainia, and botanists still debate which name belongs to which plant. The Thai standard uses Wurfbainia testacea.

Dried Thai cardamom pods: round, pale and lightly grooved

	Thai cardamom	Green cardamom	Black cardamom
Latin name	Wurfbainia testacea	Elettaria cardamomum	Amomum subulatum
Pod	Round, cream to pale brown	Oval, green	Large, dark, wrinkled
Aroma	Cool, camphor, eucalyptus	Sweet, floral, a little camphor	Smoky, from drying over fire
Typical use	Massaman, broths, Chinese braises	Arabic coffee, Nordic baking, curry powders	Indian savoury dishes

The story

A short history of Thai cardamom

1830s – 1840s
A tribute for kings
Cardamom from the forests of western Cambodia was sent as tribute to the Siamese king, and later to the Cambodian court. The courts sold it on to China.
1884
Salt for cardamoms
American missionaries described Kabin, east of Bangkok, where Chinese merchants met elephant trains from Battambang and Laos, trading salt and wares for “horns, hides, silk, oil and cardamoms”.
1906
A name in Paris
The French botanist François Gagnepain published the name Amomum krervanh, still used in the spice trade today.
1969
Chanthaburi and Hong Kong
A Japanese study described cardamom grown in the Chanthaburi area, and Thai round cardamom on sale in the markets of Hong Kong.
2018
A new genus
A study of the ginger family split the large genus Amomum, and the round cardamoms moved to the revived genus Wurfbainia.

Place and food culture

In Thailand, krawan is one of the dry spices of massaman, the curry that came with Persian and Indian traders: the seeds are toasted and ground into the paste with cumin, coriander, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg, and whole pods simmer in the curry. Whole pods also flavour beef noodle broths.

In China, the round pods are bai dou kou (白豆蔻), used whole in braises, stocks and hot pots. In Cambodia, krâvanh flavours the kitchen too, and in Vietnam round cardamom seasons the broth of some versions of pho.

The science of flavour

What Thai cardamom tastes like

Crack a pod and the smell is cool and clean: camphor and eucalyptus first, then a gentle, peppery warmth. The Thai Herbal Pharmacopoeia describes the smell as camphorous and the taste as “pungent and cool”. Green cardamom smells sweeter and more floral; the two are relatives, not the same spice.

Cool and camphor-like

Most of the aroma is 1,8-cineole, the compound that also gives eucalyptus its cooling note.

Not green cardamom

Green cardamom has far less cineole and a large share of sweet, floral α-terpinyl acetate, so it smells softer.

Seeds hold the aroma

The essential oil sits in the seeds. The shell protects them, so whole pods keep their scent far longer than ground seeds.

Where the aroma comes from

Thai cardamom is rich in essential oil: the Thai standard asks for at least 4 % in the dried fruit, and a regional handbook gives 3–4 %. Most of the oil is a single compound, 1,8-cineole: 60–80 % by the handbook, and 72–79 % in analyses of Thai and Cambodian pods.

1,8-Cineole

Fresh, cooling, eucalyptus-like; 60–80 % of the oil.

β-Pinene

Fresh, woody, pine-like; about 8 % in one Cambodian sample.

α-Terpineol

Sweet, floral, lilac-like; about 4 % in the same sample.

Borneol

Camphor-like and woody; named in the Thai standard among the main compounds.

Thai and green cardamom compared

	Thai	Green
Pod	Round, pale	Oval, green
Main compound	1,8-cineole	α-terpinyl acetate, 38–42 %
1,8-Cineole	60–80 %	25–28 %
Aroma	Cool, camphor, eucalyptus	Sweet, floral, softer

Cooks can use one in place of the other, but the dish will taste different.

In the kitchen

Cooking with Thai cardamom

Cool: Camphor and eucalyptus
Fresh: A clean, minty lift
Warm: A gentle pepperiness
Strong: A few pods go far

How to use the pods

Whole. Crack the pods lightly and add them to broths, braises and curries. Lift them out before serving.
Toasted seeds. For a curry paste, shell the pods, toast the seeds briefly in a dry pan with the other spices and grind them fine.
Start small. Three to five pods flavour a curry or a pot of broth for 4–8 people. Add them towards the end of long cooking for a fresher aroma.

Ways to use it

Massaman and other curry pastes
Beef noodle broths and bone stocks
Slow-cooked meat stews
Chinese braises and hot pots
In place of green cardamom in savoury dishes

Cardamom and its relatives

Spice · species	Pod	In the kitchen
Thai cardamom / Wurfbainia testacea	Round, pale, 0.7–1.8 cm	Massaman, broths, Chinese braises
Java round cardamom / Wurfbainia compacta	Round, pale	Indonesian cooking, as kapulaga
Green cardamom / Elettaria cardamomum	Oval, green	Arabic coffee, Nordic baking, curry powders
Black cardamom / Amomum subulatum	Large, dark, wrinkled	Smoky; Indian savoury dishes

Recipes

Two pots with Thai cardamom

A curry from the Thai Muslim kitchen and a beef broth for noodle soup. In one the seeds are toasted and ground; in the other the pods simmer whole.

Kaeng matsaman kai — chicken massaman

After KRUA.CO — serves 6–8

Paste: seeds from 4 Thai cardamom pods, 1½ tsp coriander seeds, ½ tsp cumin, 4 cloves, 2.5 cm cinnamon, 1 nutmeg
9 large dried chillies, seeded and soaked; ½ tsp sea salt, ½ tsp white peppercorns; 1 tbsp galangal, 2 lemongrass stalks, 1 tsp makrut lime peel, 30 small Thai garlic cloves, 5 shallots, 1 tsp shrimp paste
1 kg chicken thighs
5 cups thin coconut milk, 1 cup thick coconut cream
8 tbsp palm sugar, 8 tbsp tamarind water, 5½ tbsp fish sauce, 1 tsp salt
2 tbsp roasted peanuts, 1 large onion, 3 toasted Thai cardamom pods

Toast the coriander, cumin, cloves, cardamom seeds, cinnamon and nutmeg over low heat until fragrant, and pound them fine. Pound the chillies with the salt, then the peppercorns, galangal, lemongrass, lime peel, garlic and shallots, then the shrimp paste and the spices. Simmer the chicken in the thin coconut milk for about 20 minutes. Fry the paste in the thick coconut cream until fragrant and the oil separates, and stir it into the chicken. Season with sugar, tamarind, fish sauce and salt. Add the peanuts, onion and whole pods, and simmer until the onion is cooked.

Beef broth for noodle soup

After Hot Thai Kitchen (Pailin Chongchitnant) — one large pot

900 g beef or veal bones
3 litres water
1 onion, halved; 6 garlic cloves
½ tsp black peppercorns, cracked
3 coriander roots or 8 coriander stems
5 Thai cardamom pods; a few slices of galangal, if you like
2–3 tbsp fish sauce, 2–3 tbsp soy sauce, 1–2 tsp sugar

Rinse the bones, cover them with cold water and simmer for 1½ hours, skimming as needed. Add the onion, garlic, coriander, pepper, cardamom and galangal, and simmer uncovered for another 1–1½ hours. Lift out the bones and aromatics, then season with fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar. Serve over rice noodles with thinly sliced beef, bean sprouts and fried garlic.

Our Thai cardamom, some pods cracked open

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Beyond flavour

Tradition and research

Thai cardamom is first of all a kitchen spice, but it also has a long place in traditional medicine.

What researchers are exploring now

No trial has tested Thai cardamom in people. The closest studies used cardamom that is most likely the green kind, a different plant:

Nutrition Research · 2024

Systematic review · meta-analysis

Cardamom consumption may improve cardiovascular metabolic biomarkers in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

A review of 12 small trials with 989 adults. With cardamom, total cholesterol fell by about 8.6 mg/dl and triglycerides by about 14 mg/dl; LDL and HDL did not change. The authors call for larger, better-designed trials. The species is not named in the summary.

Avicenna J Nurs Midwifery Care · 2014

Human study · placebo-controlled

Effect of cardamom aromas on the chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in cancer patients

In Iran, 66 people with nausea from chemotherapy took deep breaths from a pad with cardamom oil or with distilled water, twice, five minutes apart. Nausea was milder with cardamom, but how often people felt sick, retched or vomited did not change.

Educational product information. Not medical advice. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding or taking medication, consult your doctor before using a new botanical product.