Cambodian cuisine
Cambodian cuisine is sometimes regarded as one of the most underrated and misunderstood cuisines in Asia. At the core of it lies Khmer cuisine, but Cambodian cuisine also encompasses the culinary traditions of the country's ethnic minorities, such as the Chinese Cambodians, Cham Muslims, Kola, Lao, Viets, Samre, and Jarai. Over time, Khmer cuisine has been influenced by Indian, Chinese, in particular Teochew cuisine, and more recently French cuisine.
Because of the shared influences and historic interaction, it has many similarities with the neighbouring Thai, Lao, and Vietnamese cuisines, but, overall, Khmer dishes are more aromatic, less spicy and less sweet than Thai food and less salty than Vietnamese food. Rooted in the broader Southeast Asian food culture and the freshwater produce of the Mekong River Basin, Khmer cooking is about balancing the contrasting qualities of two of its quintessential ingredients – the pungency of the prahok fish paste and aromatic freshness of the kroeung herb pastes.
Understand
Some think of the Cambodian kitchen as a simplified mixture of its neighbours, and the preference for many Cambodian restaurants abroad to serve the better-known Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese dishes has definitely reinforced this stereotype. Meanwhile, the tendency for businesses in mainstream tourist areas in Cambodia to cater to visitors already familiar with the Thai and Vietnamese flavours has meant that many travellers have not actually had authentic Khmer food even while in Cambodia.
Under the Khmer Rouge, much of the country's culinary documentation was destroyed and many educated Cambodians, including chefs, were killed or fled the country, while the Cambodian food culture was reduced to daily sustenance. Even though the next generations of Cambodian chefs both in Cambodia and abroad have been slowly rediscovering their culinary heritage, Cambodian cuisine still has a lot to do to establish itself among its culinary heavyweight neighbours.
Dishes
Traditionally, Khmer dishes are served and eaten all at once and not in courses, however, for French-influenced dishes or restaurants serving tourists, divisions into courses may exist. Khmer meals strive to achieve a flavour balance through the combination of individual dishes, therefore a standard Khmer meal may consist of a sour soup, savoury fish, bitter vegetables and steamed plain rice.
Starters
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- Kuyteav (គុយទាវ) - This is primarily a classic for breakfast. The rice noodle soup is somewhat similar to the well-known Vietnamese phở. It is usually served with beef (សាច់គោ, seik ko). Pork (សាច់ជ្រូក, seik tschiru) is rarely served with it. The soup is supplemented with some vegetables and a lettuce leaf. You can get them in the countless street restaurants. For three quarters of a dollar this is a good start to the day.
- Num banchok (នំបញ្ចុក) - The soup consists of noodles in a coconut sauce. Added to this are vegetables and spring onions. If desired, the dish can also be supplemented with chicken or beef.
Mains
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- Amok (អាម៉ុក) - a Khmer steamed curry served in banana leaves or a hollowed-out coconut and often considered one of the national dishes of Cambodia. Although traditionally made with certain kinds of fish, modern renditions may also include chicken, beef or even tofu. A proper amok's texture should resemble that of a mousse or a souffle.
- Lok lak (ឡុកឡាក់) - One of the most common meals in the country is this beef dish. Small pieces of beef are fried in a special sauce and arranged over lettuce leaves on a bed of onions. This also includes a fried egg. The dish comes with a bowl of lemon juice mixed with black peppers.
- Saik Moan Ang - chicken is marinated with various spices and grilled.
- Saik Ko Tirk Krote - Spicy dish made from roasted beef with fresh salad and a sweet and spicy orange sauce.
- Saiong Jayk Mien Snoul - Fried pork and chicken wrapped in banana flowers.
- Salor Kari Sap - Vegetarian curry with tofu, eggplant, potatoes and lemongrass with coconut milk.
Desserts
- Num Pra Pey Ny - These little cakes are made from fruity sticky rice (such as coconut, banana) and wrapped in banana leaves.
Spices
- Prahok (ប្រហុក) - salted and fermented fish paste used as a popular ingredient, seasoning and condiment. Despite its importance in Cambodia, it is usually the first thing to be reduced or omitted from Khmer dishes served to tourists due to its strong flavour that may leave unfamiliar eaters thinking the dish is "off".
- Kampot pepper - This special pepper grows in the region around Kampot and Kep and offers a particularly aromatic taste experience. Fish and seafood really flourish with it. With these dishes available on every corner in Kampot and Kep, it takes quite a bit of searching in Phnom Penh to find a restaurant that has it on the menu.
Ingredients
Prahok
A common ingredient, and perhaps one of the most unique about Cambodian cuisine, is a pungent type of fermented fish paste used in many dishes, a distinctive flavouring known as prahok. It is an acquired taste for most Westerners, but is an integral part of Khmer cuisine and is included in many dishes or used as a dipping sauce. The use of prahok adds a salty tang to many dishes, which is a characteristic that distinguishes Khmer cuisine from that of its neighbours. Prahok can be prepared many ways and eaten as a dish on its own right. Fried prahok (prahok jian) is usually mixed with meat (usually beef or pork) and chilli. It can also be eaten with dips, vegetables like cucumbers or eggplants, and rice. Prahok gop or prahok ang (ប្រហុក កប់) or (ប្រហុក អាំង) is covered with banana leaves and left to cook under fire under pieces of rock or over the coals.
When prahok is not used, kapǐ (កាពិ), a kind of fermented shrimp paste is used instead. Cambodian cuisine also uses fish sauce widely in soups and stir-fried dishes, and as a dipping sauce.
Vegetables
Vegetables such as winter melon, bitter melon, luffa, water spinach and yardlong beans can be found in soups and stews. Oriental squash can be stewed, stir-fried or sweetened and steamed with coconut milk as a dessert. Vegetables like mushrooms, cabbage, baby corn, bamboo shoots, fresh ginger, kai-lan ("Chinese broccoli"), snow peas, and bok choy are commonly used in many different stir fry dishes. Together these stir fry dishes are known by the generic term chhar (ឆា). Banana blossoms are sliced and added to some noodle dishes like num banhchok.
Fruits
Fruits in Cambodia are so popular that they have their own royal court. The durian is considered the "king," the mangosteen the "queen," sapodilla the "prince" and the milk fruit (phlai teuk doh ko) the "princess." Other popular fruits include: the jan fruit, kuy fruit, romduol, pineapple, star apple, rose apple, coconut, palmyra fruit, jackfruit, papaya, watermelon, banana, mango and rambutan. Although fruits are usually considered desserts, some fruits such as ripe mangoes, watermelon and pineapples are eaten commonly with heavily salted fish with plain rice. Fruits are also made into beverages called tuk kolok (water for sale), mostly into shakes. Popular fruits for shakes are durian, mangoes, bananas.
Fish and meat
As the country has an extensive network of waterways, freshwater fish plays a large part in the diet of most Cambodians, making its way into many recipes. Daily fresh catches come from the Mekong River, Bassac River and the vast Tonlé Sap and fish is far more common than meat in Khmer cuisine and fish forms 60% of the Cambodian intake of proteins. Prahok itself is based on fish. Many of the fish types eaten in Cambodia are freshwater fish from the Tonlé Sap or from the Mekong. Dried salted fish known as trei ngeat (ត្រីងៀត) are a favourite with plain rice porridge. The popular Khmer dish called amok uses a kind of catfish steamed in a savoury coconut-based curry. The small fish known as Trey Dang Dau are very common and are often eaten deep-fried.
While freshwater fish is the most commonly used meat in the Cambodian diet, pork and chicken are also popular. Though not as common as in neighbouring Vietnam, vegetarian food is a part of Khmer cuisine and is often favoured by more observant Buddhists.
Pork is quite popular in making sweet Khmer sausages known as twah ko (ត្វា រ គោ). Beef and chicken are stewed, grilled or stir fried. Seafood includes an array of shellfish such as clams, cockles, crayfish, prawns and squid. Lobsters are not commonly eaten because of their price, but middle-class and rich Cambodians enjoy eating them at Sihanoukville. Duck roasted in Chinese char siu style is popular during festivals. More unusual varieties of meat include frog, turtle, and arthropods (including tarantulas); these would be difficult to find in Khmer cuisine abroad but are sometimes used in Cambodia.
Noodles
Many elements of Cambodian noodle dishes were inspired by Chinese and Vietnamese cooking despite maintaining a distinct Khmer variation though prahok is never used with noodle dishes. Rice stick noodles are used in mee katang (មីកា តាំង), which is a Cambodian variation of chǎo fěn with gravy. Unlike the Chinese styled chěo fěn, the noodles are plated under the stir fry beef and vegetables and topped off with scrambled eggs. Kola noodles (មីកុឡា; mee kola) is a vegetarian dish made by the Kola people from thin rice stick noodles, steamed and cooked with soy sauce and garlic chives. This is served with pickled vegetables Jroak), julienned eggs, and sweet garlic fish sauce garnished with crushed peanuts. Mi Cha is stir-fried egg noodles.
Dining out
Food stalls
Almost everywhere in the towns, there are small local or mobile stands that offer food. The choice is diverse. From fruit to baguettes to fried noodles or baked or fried delicacies. For a few riel, you can get something to satisfy your hunger on every corner.
Street restaurants
In many places, you will find simple restaurants typical of the country. What they have in common is a mostly sterile, tiled ambience and a permanently running television. During peak times in the morning and midday, they are usually well frequented by the locals. Cutlery and standard condiments such as chilli jam, pickled green chillies, sugar, garlic flakes, fish sauce and soy sauce are on the table. A pot of simple tea is usually included free of charge. The Cambodian custom of throwing all rubbish on the floor is rather unfamiliar to Europeans. After mealtimes, such a restaurant is littered with used paper napkins. As a result, the rather sober tile ambience pays off. In a minute the floors are swept and they are ready for the next guests.
Large restaurants
Cambodians don't attach much importance to a stylish ambience. The large restaurants are more like a train station concourse. An important part of such a restaurant is the stage for live music and karaoke. Dinner is not complete without entertainment. The rather large number of employees is striking. In this way, you are generally looked after throughout your visit. After just a few sips, the glasses are refilled with beer and ice. The range of dishes is quite large. Fish, pork, beef, chicken or frog. It's usually all on sale. Also the Cambodian barbecue.
Western restaurants
In the well-known cities, there is also a wide range of restaurants offering Western cuisine. Many of these restaurants have a standard selection of dishes. You will always find a few typical Khmer dishes, sandwiches, pizza, pasta and a few meat dishes on the menu. If you are looking for something outside of this standard offer, you will not find it so quickly. There are a number of good specialty restaurants in Phnom Penh. For example, you can eat very good Nepalese food there. However, these restaurants are not always located at tourist hot spots. In Siem Reap, you can find a few on Pub Street and Walking Alley.