How to Make Cambodian Num Ansom Chek
In Cambodia, Khmer New Year is one of our greatest national holiday. It is three to four days of festivities, so therefore, cooking is a large part of our whole morning routine. I remember my mother cutting and prepping everything overnight and waking up earlier than the birds (at 4am) to start making all the dishes she wants to serve at the local wat (temple) to appease the spirits of our ancestors. And the one thing that took a really long time to make was Num Ansom Chet and Num Ansom Chrouk (pork version). Not because it was difficult to …
Cambodian Spicy Papaya Beef Salad Recipe (Lahong Plea Sach Ko)
Plea sach ko (khmer beef tartar) and bok lahong (khmer green papaya salad), were my dad’s favourite dishes. Plea sach ko is a Cambodian dish which consists of lime-cured beef and prahok tossed with fresh herbs, shallots, finely shaved radish and sprinkled with crushed roasted peanuts. It is a very popular main dish which can be served hot or cold. Bok lahong is a dish of Laos origin that is served at many food stalls throughout southeast Asia, and is especially popular in Thailand and Cambodia. This dish combines the five main tastes of southeast Asian cuisine -sourness from lime or tamarind, spiciness …
Kroeung - the basis of Cambodian food
Cambodian Kroeung which directly translates to “ingredients” is the herb paste that gives Cambodian dishes their distinctly exotic flavours and aromas which distinguishes Khmer dishes from neighboring countries such as Thailand and Vietnam. This is a basic recipe for yellow kroeung, but there are many variations available, such as red kroeung and green kroeung. Yellow kroeung is the holy grail of Cambodian cooking. Every family probably have a recipe that have been passed on from generation to generation. My grandma passed this recipe to my mom and my mom knocked this recipe into my head, literally. I had the attention span of a …
