Cuisine of Cambodia
Encyclopedia
Khmer cuisine is another name for the foods and cuisine widely consumed in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
. The food of Cambodia includes tropical fruits, rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, noodle
Noodle
The noodle is a type of food, made from any of a variety of doughs, formed into long thin ribbons, strips, curly-cues, waves, helices, pipes, tubes, strings, or other various shapes, sometimes folded. They are usually cooked in a mixture of boiling water and/or oil. Depending upon the type, noodles...
s, drinks, dessert and various soups.
The staple food for Cambodians is rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
. Almost every meal includes a bowl of rice, although noodles are also popular. A wide range of curries, soups and stir fries are served with rice. Many rice varieties are available in Cambodia, including aromatic rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
and glutinous or sticky rice. The latter is more commonly found in desserts with fruits like durian
Durian
The durian is the fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus Durio and the Malvaceae family . Widely known and revered in southeast Asia as the "king of fruits", the durian is distinctive for its large size, unique odour, and formidable thorn-covered husk...
.
Khmer Cuisine shares much in common with the food of neighbouring Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, although it is generally not as spicy; and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, with whom it shares and adopts many common dishes and a colonial history, both being part of the French colonial empire
French colonial empire
The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...
in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
. It has also drawn upon influences from the cuisines of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, both of whom are powerful players in Cambodian history. Curry
Curry
Curry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...
dishes, known as kari (in Khmer) show a trace of cultural influence from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The many variations of rice noodles
Chinese noodles
Noodles are an essential ingredient and staple in Chinese cuisine. There is a great variety of Chinese noodles, which vary according to their region of production, ingredients, shape or width, and manner of preparation...
show the influences from Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
. Preserved lemon
Preserved lemon
Preserved lemon or lemon pickle is a condiment that is common in Indian Cuisine , especially South Indian cuisine and also in North African cuisine, especially Moroccan cuisine. It is also known as "country lemon" and leems. Diced, quartered, halved, or whole lemons are pickled in a brine of...
s are another unusual ingredient not commonly found in the cooking of Cambodia's neighbours, which is used in some Khmer dishes. Coconut milk
Coconut milk
Coconut milk is the water that comes from the grated meat of a coconut. The colour and rich taste of the milk can be attributed to the high oil content. In many parts of the world, the term coconut milk is also used to refer to coconut water, the naturally occurring liquid found inside the hollow...
is the main ingredient of many Khmer curries
Curry
Curry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...
and dessert
Dessert
In cultures around the world, dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food. The word comes from the French language as dessert and this from Old French desservir, "to clear the table" and "to serve." Common Western desserts include cakes, biscuits,...
s.
A legacy of the French
French cuisine
French cuisine is a style of food preparation originating from France that has developed from centuries of social change. In the Middle Ages, Guillaume Tirel , a court chef, authored Le Viandier, one of the earliest recipe collections of Medieval France...
is the baguette
Baguette
A baguette is "a long thin loaf of French bread" that is commonly made from basic lean dough...
, which the Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
ns often eat with pâté
Pâté
Pâté is a mixture of ground meat and fat minced into a spreadable paste. Common additions include vegetables, herbs, spices, and either wine or cognac, armagnac or brandy...
, tinned sardines or eggs. One of these with a cup of strong coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
, sweetened with condensed milk, is an example of a common Cambodian breakfast
Breakfast
Breakfast is the first meal taken after rising from a night's sleep, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work...
.
Typically, Cambodians eat their meals with at least three or four separate dishes. A meal will usually include a soup, or samlor, served alongside the main courses. Each individual dish will be either sweet, sour, salty or bitter. Chili is served on the side, and left up to individual diners and to their taste. In this way Cambodians ensure that they get a bit of every flavor to satisfy their palates.
Several cooking courses are now run in popular tourist areas, giving visitors the chance to share the culinary secret of the Khmers
Khmer people
Khmer people are the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia, accounting for approximately 90% of the 14.8 million people in the country. They speak the Khmer language, which is part of the larger Mon–Khmer language family found throughout Southeast Asia...
.
Ingredients
Prahok
A common ingredient, almost a national institution, is a pungent type of fermentedFermentation (food)
Fermentation in food processing typically is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide or organic acids using yeasts, bacteria, or a combination thereof, under anaerobic conditions. Fermentation in simple terms is the chemical conversion of sugars into ethanol...
fish paste
Fish paste
-Fermented products:* Ngapi: a fish paste used in the Cuisine of Burma* Petis Ikan: a salty dark fish paste used in the Cuisine of Indonesia, mostly Madurese....
used in many dishes, a distinctive flavoring known as prahok
Prahok
Prahok is a crushed, salted and fermented fish paste that is used in Cambodian cuisine as a seasoning or a condiment. It originated as a way of preserving fish during the longer months when fresh fish was not available in abundant supply...
. It's an acquired taste for most Westerners
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
, but is an integral part of Khmer cuisine and is included in many dishes or used as a dipping sauce. The liberal use of prahok
Prahok
Prahok is a crushed, salted and fermented fish paste that is used in Cambodian cuisine as a seasoning or a condiment. It originated as a way of preserving fish during the longer months when fresh fish was not available in abundant supply...
, which adds a salty tang to many dishes, is a characteristic which distinguishes Khmer cuisine from that of its neighbours. Prahok can be prepared many ways and eaten as a dish on its own right. Prahok jien (ប្រហុកចៀន), is fried and 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 (ប្រហុកកប់) or (ប្រហុកអាំង) is covered with banana leaves and left to cook under a fire under pieces of rock or over the coals.
When prahok
Prahok
Prahok is a crushed, salted and fermented fish paste that is used in Cambodian cuisine as a seasoning or a condiment. It originated as a way of preserving fish during the longer months when fresh fish was not available in abundant supply...
is not used, kapǐ , a kind of fermented shrimp paste is used instead. Khmer cuisine also uses fish sauce
Fish sauce
Fish sauce is a condiment that is derived from fish that have been allowed to ferment. It is an essential ingredient in many curries and sauces. Fish sauce is a staple ingredient in numerous cultures in Southeast Asia and the coastal regions of East Asia, and features heavily in Thai and Vietnamese...
widely in soups and stir-fried dishes, and as a dipping sauce.
Spices
Chili pepper
Chili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...
arrived with the Portuguese. More years still passed before the chili pepper reached Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, and to this day it lacks a certain status in Khmer cooking and is not extensively used, unlike neighbouring Thailand, Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
or Malaysia. Black pepper is the preferred choice when heat is required in a dish. Tamarind is commonly employed as a soup base for dishes such as samlar machu
Samlar machu
Samlar machu is the Khmer term for a category of sour soups popularly known in English as simply "Cambodian sour soup." The soup derived from the Vietnamese sour soup canh chua....
. Star anise
Star anise
Illicium verum, commonly called Star anise, star aniseed, or Chinese star anise, is a spice that closely resembles anise in flavor, obtained from the star-shaped pericarp of Illicium verum, a small native evergreen tree of northeast Vietnam and southwest China...
is a must when caramelizing meat in palm sugar
Palm sugar
Palm sugar was originally made from the sugary sap of the Palmyra palm, the date palm or sugar date palm . Now it is also made from the sap of the sago, arenga pinnata and coconut palms, and may be sold as "arenga sugar" or "coconut sugar".-Description:It is quickly gaining popularity in the...
like pork in the dish known as pak lov. Turmeric
Turmeric
Turmeric is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. It is native to tropical South Asia and needs temperatures between 20 °C and 30 °C and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive...
, galangal
Galangal
Galangal is a rhizome of plants of the genus Alpinia or Kaempferia in the ginger family Zingiberaceae, with culinary and medicinal uses originated from Indonesia...
, ginger, lemongrass and kaffir lime
Kaffir lime
The kaffir lime, Citrus × hystrix, Rutaceae), is also known as combava, kieffer lime, limau purut, jeruk purut or makrut lime,...
leaves are essential spices in Khmer cooking, Khmer stews, and nearly all curries.
As the country has an extensive network of waterways, freshwater fish
Fish (food)
Fish is a food consumed by many species, including humans. The word "fish" refers to both the animal and to the food prepared from it. Fish has been an important source of protein for humans throughout recorded history.-Terminology:...
plays a large part in the diet of most Cambodian
Khmer people
Khmer people are the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia, accounting for approximately 90% of the 14.8 million people in the country. They speak the Khmer language, which is part of the larger Mon–Khmer language family found throughout Southeast Asia...
s, making its way into many recipes. Daily fresh catches come from the Mekong River, Bassac River
Bassac River
The Bassac River is a distributary of the Tonle Sap and Mekong River. The river starts in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and flows southerly, crossing the border into Vietnam near Châu Đốc....
and the vast Tonlé Sap
Tonlé Sap
The Tonlé Sap is a combined lake and river system of major importance to Cambodia.The Tonlé Sap is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia and is an ecological hot spot that was designated as a UNESCO biosphere in 1997....
. While freshwater fish is the most commonly-used meat in the Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
n diet, pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
and chicken
Chicken (food)
Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world, and is prepared as food in a wide variety of ways, varying by region and culture.- History :...
are also popular. Though not as common as in neighboring Vietnam, vegetarian food is still a part of Khmer cuisine and often favored by more observant Buddhists.
Kroeung
From India, by way of JavaJava
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
, Cambodians have been taught the art of blending spices into a paste using many ingredients like cardamom
Cardamom
Cardamom refers to several plants of the genera Elettaria and Amomum in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to India and Bhutan; they are recognised by their small seed pod, triangular in cross-section and spindle-shaped, with a thin papery outer shell and small black seeds...
, star anise
Star anise
Illicium verum, commonly called Star anise, star aniseed, or Chinese star anise, is a spice that closely resembles anise in flavor, obtained from the star-shaped pericarp of Illicium verum, a small native evergreen tree of northeast Vietnam and southwest China...
, clove
Clove
Cloves are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae. Cloves are native to the Maluku islands in Indonesia and used as a spice in cuisines all over the world...
s, cinnamon
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods...
, nutmeg
Nutmeg
The nutmeg tree is any of several species of trees in genus Myristica. The most important commercial species is Myristica fragrans, an evergreen tree indigenous to the Banda Islands in the Moluccas of Indonesia...
, ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
and turmeric
Turmeric
Turmeric is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. It is native to tropical South Asia and needs temperatures between 20 °C and 30 °C and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive...
. Other native ingredients like lemongrass, galangal
Galangal
Galangal is a rhizome of plants of the genus Alpinia or Kaempferia in the ginger family Zingiberaceae, with culinary and medicinal uses originated from Indonesia...
, garlic
Garlic
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
, shallot
Shallot
The shallot is the botanical variety of Allium cepa to which the multiplier onion also belongs. It was formerly classified as the species A. ascalonicum, a name now considered a synonym of the correct name...
s, cilantro, and kaffir lime
Kaffir lime
The kaffir lime, Citrus × hystrix, Rutaceae), is also known as combava, kieffer lime, limau purut, jeruk purut or makrut lime,...
leaves are added to this mix to make a distinctive and complex spice blend called "kroeung." Other ingredients for kroeung used by Khmers in America are lemongrass, turmeric powder, garlic, prahok, and lemon leaf. This is an important aromatic paste commonly used in Cambodian cooking.
Vegetables
Many vegetables used in Khmer cuisine are also used in Chinese cuisine. Unusual vegetables such as winter melonWinter melon
The winter melon, also called white gourd, ash gourd, or "fuzzy melon", is a vine grown for its very large fruit, eaten as a vegetable when mature. It is the only member of the genus Benincasa. The fruit is fuzzy when young. The immature melon has thick white flesh that is sweet when eaten...
, bitter melon
Bitter melon
Momordica charantia, called bitter melon or bitter gourd in English, is a tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae, widely grown in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean for its edible fruit, which is among the most bitter of all fruits...
, luffa
Luffa
The luffa, loofah, or lufah are tropical and subtropical vines comprising the genus Luffa, the only genus of the subtribe Luffinae of the plant family Cucurbitaceae...
, and yardlong bean
Yardlong bean
Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis, the yardlong bean, is also known as bora, the long-podded cowpea, asparagus bean, snake bean, or Chinese long bean...
s can be found in soups and stews. Oriental squash
Squash (fruit)
Squashes generally refer to four species of the genus Cucurbita, also called marrows depending on variety or the nationality of the speaker...
can be stewed, stir fried or sweetened and steamed with coconut milk as a dessert. Vegetables like mushrooms, cabbage
Cabbage
Cabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable...
, baby corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, bamboo shoot
Bamboo shoot
Bamboo shoots or bamboo sprouts are the edible shoots of many bamboo species including Bambusa vulgaris and Phyllostachys edulis. They are used in numerous Asian dishes and broths...
s, fresh ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
, kai-lan
Kai-lan
Kai-lan, also known as Chinese broccoli, is a leaf vegetable featuring thick, flat, glossy blue-green leaves with thick stems and a small number of tiny, almost vestigial flower heads similar to those of broccoli. Broccoli and kai-lan belong to the same species Brassica oleracea, but kai-lan is in...
("Chinese broccoli"), snow peas, and bok choy are commonly used in many different stir fry dishes. Together these are known by the generic term chha (ឆា). Banana blossoms
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
are sliced and added to some noodle dishes like nom banh chok.
Fruits
Fruits in Cambodia are so popular that they have their own royal court. The durianDurian
The durian is the fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus Durio and the Malvaceae family . Widely known and revered in southeast Asia as the "king of fruits", the durian is distinctive for its large size, unique odour, and formidable thorn-covered husk...
is considered the "king," the mangosteen
Mangosteen
The purple mangosteen , colloquially known simply as mangosteen, is a tropical evergreen tree believed to have originated in the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas of Indonesia. The tree grows from 7 to 25 m tall...
the "queen," sapodilla
Sapodilla
Manilkara zapota, commonly known as the sapodilla, is a long-lived, evergreen tree native to southern Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. An example natural occurrence is in coastal Yucatan in the Petenes mangroves ecoregion, where it is a subdominant plant species...
the "prince" and the milk fruit (phlai teuk doh ko) the "princess." Other popular fruits include: the jan fruit, kuy fruit
Willughbeia edulis
Willughbeia edulis aka Willughbeia cochinchinensis is a tropical fruit of the genus Willughbeia. It is a yellow sour edible fruit...
, romduol, pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
, star apple, rose apple
Syzygium
Syzygium is a genus of flowering plants that belongs to the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. The genus comprises about 1100 species, and has a native range that extends from Africa and Madagascar through southern Asia east through the Pacific...
, coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
, palmyra fruit
Borassus flabellifer
Borassus flabellifer, the Asian Palmyra palm, Toddy palm, Sugar palm, or Cambodian palm, is native to South and Southeast Asia, in the Indomalaya ecozone...
, jackfruit
Jackfruit
The jackfruit is a species of tree in the Artocarpus genus of the mulberry family . It is native to parts of Southern and Southeast Asia. It is the national fruit of Bangladesh, . The jackfruit tree is believed to be indigenous to the southwestern rain forests of India...
, papaya
Papaya
The papaya , papaw, or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, the sole species in the genus Carica of the plant family Caricaceae...
, watermelon
Watermelon
Watermelon is a vine-like flowering plant originally from southern Africa. Its fruit, which is also called watermelon, is a special kind referred to by botanists as a pepo, a berry which has a thick rind and fleshy center...
, banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
, mango
Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
and rambutans. Although fruits are usually considered desserts, some fruits such as ripe mangoes, watermelon
Watermelon
Watermelon is a vine-like flowering plant originally from southern Africa. Its fruit, which is also called watermelon, is a special kind referred to by botanists as a pepo, a berry which has a thick rind and fleshy center...
, and pineapples are eaten commonly with heavily salted fish with plain rice. Fruits are also made into beverages called tuk kolok , mostly shakes. Popular fruits for shakes are durian
Durian
The durian is the fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus Durio and the Malvaceae family . Widely known and revered in southeast Asia as the "king of fruits", the durian is distinctive for its large size, unique odour, and formidable thorn-covered husk...
, mango
Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
es, banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s.
Meat
Fish is the most common form of meat in Khmer cuisine; much of it is freshwater fishFreshwater fish
Freshwater fish are fish that spend some or all of their lives in freshwater, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 0.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, the most obvious being the difference in levels of salinity...
derived from the Tonlé Sap
Tonlé Sap
The Tonlé Sap is a combined lake and river system of major importance to Cambodia.The Tonlé Sap is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia and is an ecological hot spot that was designated as a UNESCO biosphere in 1997....
, which fish forms 60% of the Cambodian intake of protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
s. Dried salted fish known as trei ngeat 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. Pork is quite popular in making sweet Khmer sausages known as twah ko . Beef and chicken are stewed, grilled or stir fried. Seafood includes an array of shellfish like clams, cockle
Cockle (bivalve)
Cockle is the common name for a group of small, edible, saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae.Various species of cockles live in sandy sheltered beaches throughout the world....
s, crayfish
Crayfish
Crayfish, crawfish, or crawdads – members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea – are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are related...
, shrimp and squid. Lobsters are not commonly eaten because of their price, but middle class and rich Cambodians enjoy eating them at Sihanoukville
Sihanoukville
Sihanoukville , also known as Kampong Saom, is a province in southern Cambodia on the Gulf of Thailand. This port city is a growing Cambodian urban center, located southwest of the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh. The province is named after King Father Norodom Sihanouk and grew up around the...
. Duck
Duck (food)
Duck refers to the meat of several species of bird in the Anatidae family, found in both fresh and salt water. Duck is eaten in many cuisines around the world.-Types of ducks:The most common duck meat consumed in the United States is the Pekin duck...
roasted in Chinese char siu
Char siu
Char siu , otherwise known as barbecued meat in China or Chinese-flavored barbecued meat outside China, is a popular way to flavor and prepare pork in Cantonese cuisine. It is classified as a type of siu mei, Cantonese roasted meat...
style is popular during festivals. More unusual varieties of meat include frog, turtle, and various arthropods like tarantulas
Fried spider
Fried spider is a regional delicacy in Cambodia. In the Cambodian town of Skuon, the vending of fried spiders as a specialty snack is a popular attraction for tourists passing through this town. Spiders are also available elsewhere in Cambodia — in Phnom Penh for instance — but Skuon, a...
; these would be difficult to find in Khmer cuisine abroad, but are used in everyday dishes in Cambodia.
Noodles
Many elements of Cambodian noodle dishes were inspired by Chinese and Vietnamese cooking despite maintaining a distinct Khmer variation. PrahokPrahok
Prahok is a crushed, salted and fermented fish paste that is used in Cambodian cuisine as a seasoning or a condiment. It originated as a way of preserving fish during the longer months when fresh fish was not available in abundant supply...
is never used with noodle dishes. Rice stick noodles are used in mee katang , which is a Cambodian variation of chǎo fěn with gravy. Unlike the Chinese styled chǎo fěn, the noodles are plated under the stir fry beef and vegetables and topped off with scrambled eggs. Burmese style noodles ( - Mee Kola) is a vegetarian dish made 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
Fish sauce
Fish sauce is a condiment that is derived from fish that have been allowed to ferment. It is an essential ingredient in many curries and sauces. Fish sauce is a staple ingredient in numerous cultures in Southeast Asia and the coastal regions of East Asia, and features heavily in Thai and Vietnamese...
garnished with crushed peanuts. Mi Cha is stir fried egg noodles.
Popular dishes
- Amok treyAmok treyAmok trei , or steamed curried fish, is a traditional dish of Cambodian cuisine. It is fish coated in a thick coconut milk with kroeung, either steamed or baked in a cup made from banana leaves. It is often eaten during the Water Festival, which celebrates the reversal of the Tonle Sap River....
- Fish covered with kroeung and coconut milk, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. - Ansom chek - A cylindrical rice cake wrapped in banana leaves and filled with bananas (sweet). There is also a savoury version filled with pork and mung bean paste called ansom chrook .
- Babar - A type of congee or rice porridge, plain or usually with chicken or pork served with fresh bean sprouts and green onions. (Babar Praey - salted Congee)
- Bai chaBai cha'Not to be confused with white teaBi cha is a Khmer variation of fried rice which often includes Chinese sausage, garlic, soy sauce, various vegetables and herbs. The rice is fried in soy sauce giving the dish its brownish colour. Bi cha is a versatile dish and there are many different recipes with...
- A Khmer variation of fried riceFried riceFried rice is a popular component of Asian cuisine, especially Chinese food. It is made from steamed rice stir-fried in a wok, often with other ingredients such as eggs, vegetables, and meat. It is sometimes served as the penultimate dish in Chinese banquets...
which includes Chinese sausages, garlic, soy sauce, and herbs, usually eaten with pork. - Banh chiao - The Khmer version of the Vietnamese dish bánh xèoBánh XèoBánh xèo are Vietnamese savoury fried pancakes made of rice flour, water, turmeric powder, stuffed with slivers of fatty pork, shrimp, diced green onion, and bean sprouts. Southern-styled banh xeo contains coconut milk and certain Central region skips the turmeric powder altogether...
. - Ban hoaw - Steamed rice vermicelli noodles with mint, crushed peanuts, pickled vegetables, and deep fried egg rollEgg rollAn egg roll is an appetizer and dinner, a variant of spring roll that has spread throughout the world as a staple of Asian cuisine. Egg rolls with fillings are commonly served in Vietnamese cuisine.-Description:...
s, cut into bite sized pieces, lathered in sweet fish sauce. - Bok L'hongBok l'hongBok l'hong is the Khmer version of a dish popularly known in English as papaya salad. The word l'hong means papaya in Khmer. The word bok refers to the ingredients being beaten with a mortar and pestle.Despite the use of papaya, which one may think of as sweet, this salad is actually savoury...
- Khmer green papaya salad, pounded in a mortar and pestle. Related to Laotian Tam mak hoongTam mak hoongTam mak hoong is a spicy traditional Laotian salad made from shredded unripened papaya. Tam mak hoong is often served with sticky rice and ping gai...
, the salad may include the herb kantrop, asian basil, string beans, roasted peanuts, cherry tomatoCherry tomatoA cherry tomato is a small variety of tomato that has been cultivated since at least the early 1800s and thought to have originated in Peru and Northern Chile. Cherry tomatoes range in size from a thumbtip up to the size of a golf ball, and can range from being spherical to slightly oblong in shape...
es, salted preserved small crabs, smoked or dried fish, and chili peppers. Mixed with a savory dressing of lime juice, fish sauce and/or prahokPrahokPrahok is a crushed, salted and fermented fish paste that is used in Cambodian cuisine as a seasoning or a condiment. It originated as a way of preserving fish during the longer months when fresh fish was not available in abundant supply...
. - Caw - A braised pork or chicken and egg stew flavored in caramelized palm sugar. It may contain tofuTofuis a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is part of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and others. There are many different varieties of tofu, including fresh tofu and tofu...
or bamboo shoots. A typical Khmer KromKhmer KromThe Khmer Krom are Khmer people living in the Mekong Delta and the Lower Mekong River area. Under the Khmer Rouge regime- according to the conservative estimates are that 150,000. Under the rule of Vietnam from 1979-93, Cambodia may have lost 20,000 Khmer Krom...
dish, who are ethnic Khmer indigenous to southern Vietnam, this dish is similar to the Vietnamese dish of Thịt Kho and the Filipino dish called Humba. - Cha knyey - A spicy dish of meat stir fried with julienne ginger root, black pepper, and fresh jalapeños or fresh peppers.
- Jroak sway - Unripe juliennedJulienningJulienne is a culinary knife cut in which the food item is cut into long thin strips, not unlike matchsticks. Sometimes called 'shoe string', e.g. 'shoestring fries'...
mango salad flavored with fish sauce and peppers. Usually served as a side dish with fried or baked fish and rice. - Ka tieu - This traditional pork broth based noodle soup dish is a popular dish in Cambodia. It is served with the garnishes of fresh bean sprouts, chopped green onionsScallionScallions , are the edible plants of various Allium species, all of which are "onion-like", having hollow green leaves and lacking a fully developed root bulb.-Etymology:The words...
and cilantro. - KralanKralanKralan is a Cambodian dish often described as a cake. It is made of steamed rice mixed with beans or peas, grated coconut and coconut milk. The mixture is stuffed inside a bamboo stick inside which it is then slowly roasted....
- A cake made from steamed rice mixed with beans or peas, grated coconut and coconut milk. - Loc Lac - Stir-fried cubed beef served with fresh red onionRed onionRed onions, sometimes called purple onions, are cultivars of the onion with purplish red skin and white flesh tinged with red.These onions tend to be medium to large in size and have a mild to sweet flavor. They are often consumed raw, grilled or lightly cooked with other foods, or added as color...
s, served on a bed of lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes and dipped in a sauce consisting of lime juice and/or black pepper. It is the Cambodian version of the Vietnamese Bò lúc lắc. - Lou - Cambodian thick short noodles, with added eggs and chicken, eaten mainly with fish sauce.
- Mee Katang - Wide rice noodles in an oyster sauce typically stir fried with eggs, baby corn, carrots, Chinese broccoli, mushrooms and a choice of meat, usually beef. This dish is similar to the Thai dish rad na.
- Mee M'poang - crispy yellow noodles served under a gravy sauce of eggs, carrots, Chinese broccoli, bok choy and a meat.
- Ngam nguv - A chicken soup flavored with whole preserved lemons.
- Num Yip- yellow star like dessert made of egg yolk, flour, and sugar.
- Pleah - Partially cooked beef salad with beef tripe, flavored with prahok and tossed with onions and fresh herbs.
- Samlor kari - A traditional spicy coconut chicken curryCurryCurry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...
with a soupy consistency, often cooked with sweet potatoSweet potatoThe sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...
es, juliennedJulienningJulienne is a culinary knife cut in which the food item is cut into long thin strips, not unlike matchsticks. Sometimes called 'shoe string', e.g. 'shoestring fries'...
onionOnionThe onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
, and bamboo shootBamboo shootBamboo shoots or bamboo sprouts are the edible shoots of many bamboo species including Bambusa vulgaris and Phyllostachys edulis. They are used in numerous Asian dishes and broths...
. The soup is also used as a dipping sauce for fresh baguetteBaguetteA baguette is "a long thin loaf of French bread" that is commonly made from basic lean dough...
s. - Samlor machuSamlar machuSamlar machu is the Khmer term for a category of sour soups popularly known in English as simply "Cambodian sour soup." The soup derived from the Vietnamese sour soup canh chua....
- A popular sour soup with a tamarind base. Includes meat such as chicken or fish, tomatoes, lotus roots, water greens, herbs and may be flavored with prahokPrahokPrahok is a crushed, salted and fermented fish paste that is used in Cambodian cuisine as a seasoning or a condiment. It originated as a way of preserving fish during the longer months when fresh fish was not available in abundant supply...
. It is derived from the Vietnamese sour soup canh chuaCanh chuaCanh chua is a sour soup indigenous to the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam. It is typically made with fish from the Mekong River Delta, pineapple, tomatoes , and bean sprouts, in a tamarind-flavored broth...
. - Sankya Lapov - A dessert made of pumpkin and coconut flan.
- Yao hon or yaohon - A Khmer-style hot potHot potHot pot , less commonly Chinese fondue or steamboat, refers to several East Asian varieties of stew, consisting of a simmering metal pot of stock at the center of the dining table. While the hot pot is kept simmering, ingredients are placed into the pot and are cooked at the table...
for dipping beef, shrimp, spinach, dill, napa cabbage, rice noodles and mushrooms. It is similar to the Japanese sukiyakiSukiyakiSukiyaki is a Japanese dish in the nabemono style.It consists of meat which is slowly cooked or simmered at the table, alongside vegetables and other ingredients, in a shallow iron pot in a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, and mirin...
, however, it is derived from Chinese hot potHot potHot pot , less commonly Chinese fondue or steamboat, refers to several East Asian varieties of stew, consisting of a simmering metal pot of stock at the center of the dining table. While the hot pot is kept simmering, ingredients are placed into the pot and are cooked at the table...
. - Num Ppang Chen (literally Chinese Bread): Spring onion bread often referred as Chinese pizza. It combines Chineses and French styles foods. It is flat and bake and fry simultaneously rather than simply being fry like its Chinese counterpart.