By VOA Khmer, Yann Ker
Video Editor: Manilene Ek
06 May 2009
Cambodian cuisine may not have the global profile of Thai or Vietnamese food, but it's certainly not from lack of flavour, sophistication or influence. Most visitors to Cambodia discover local food on the street, prepared and sold from the numerous outdoor restaurants and food stalls. And compared to its neighbours, many tourists say that Cambodian street food is quite bland. That's because it contains few of the herbs and spices commonly found on the streets of both Thailand and Vietnam
But don't be fooled, says ex-pat restaurant owner and food critic, Frits Mulder, great Cambodian cooking does exist, but to experience it you have to visit a real Cambodian restaurant. The best way to learn about Cambodian cuisine is in a hands-on cooking class like this one, offered to tourists by Frizz restaurant in Phnom Penh.
Frits Mulder: "In Thailand tourists eat the food on the streets where it's quite good, but in Cambodia, street food is basic and not really very tasty. That's why Cambodian food has a bad reputation. But when they come to a proper Cambodian restaurant many of them discover that they prefer Cambodian food to Thai food. It's less spicy so the flavours come through better."
The class begins at the local food market where participants select the raw ingredients they will need to prepare a three course meal.
Hun Li Heng: "Ok this one everyone, they call it 'saw-mint' because you can see this, outside here, it's like a saw when your cutting, so we call it 'saw-mint'.
All of the ingredients must be fresh, says cooking instructor Hun Li Heng, a former street child, who trained as a chef and discovered a knack for passing on what he had learned to others.
Hun Li Heng: "Khmer people like to eat fresh so it's good for your health. Because Cambodian people don't have a fridge at home, everyday they buy fresh ingredients and they eat them straigt away."
A popular dish across Asia and the world, spring-rolls are prepared as an appetiser. They are served with a sweet dipping sauce made from sugar cane paste, garlic and mild chili.
All of the ingredients are crushed together using a pestle and mortar which helps to bring out the flavours, explains Hun Li Heng. Although the class lasts just one day, participants quickly begin to understand the effects of each ingredient, figuring out what substitutes could be made back in their respective countries, if they can't find taro root or galangal in their local supermarket.
Hun Li Heng: "In Cambodia we use all our ingredients and we making paste. So everything mostly- or the garlic we normally- we grind it up because it produces flavours. It gives nice textures and nice flavours when we pound it."
Kathy Sattler, one of the students, says that fresh herbs are essential in Cambodian cooking.
Kathy Sattler: "Cambodian food has many different spices and flavours that makes it very exciting. And the texture of it is very interesting and because it's all powedered and really made from the real ingredients makes it very good, very good, and very tasty and colorful, yeah."
Khmer recipes go back centuries - long before chili peppers were introduced in the region by the Portuguese. Consequently, Khmer food tends to be less spicy than Thai food
But the mildness of Cambodian food allows the full flavour of the ingredients to shine through.
Scott Sattler: "We have powdered spices and we don't see the real fresh roots. And to grind them in a mortard pestle and to smell the flavours released are just wonderful. And at the same time to have an opportunity in a class like this to get to know the cook and to get know this Cambodian background and other peopel who are in the class make it a great adventure."
After preparing the appetiser, work begins on the main course - fish amok, a Cambodian curry combining fresh water fish, peanuts and coconut milk. Banana leaves are softened over an open flame and to be used as serving bowls. The dish is topped off with a garnish of fresh herbs.
After every dish, there's plenty of time to relax and talk with the other participants as they eat their own culinary creations. It's an intimate and laid-back class where students have plenty of time ask questions and get to know their fellow classmates. Each says that they enjoyed the class and would be bringing at least some of the secrets of Khmer cooking back to their home countries.
Information for this report was provided by APTN.
But don't be fooled, says ex-pat restaurant owner and food critic, Frits Mulder, great Cambodian cooking does exist, but to experience it you have to visit a real Cambodian restaurant. The best way to learn about Cambodian cuisine is in a hands-on cooking class like this one, offered to tourists by Frizz restaurant in Phnom Penh.
Frits Mulder: "In Thailand tourists eat the food on the streets where it's quite good, but in Cambodia, street food is basic and not really very tasty. That's why Cambodian food has a bad reputation. But when they come to a proper Cambodian restaurant many of them discover that they prefer Cambodian food to Thai food. It's less spicy so the flavours come through better."
The class begins at the local food market where participants select the raw ingredients they will need to prepare a three course meal.
Hun Li Heng: "Ok this one everyone, they call it 'saw-mint' because you can see this, outside here, it's like a saw when your cutting, so we call it 'saw-mint'.
All of the ingredients must be fresh, says cooking instructor Hun Li Heng, a former street child, who trained as a chef and discovered a knack for passing on what he had learned to others.
Hun Li Heng: "Khmer people like to eat fresh so it's good for your health. Because Cambodian people don't have a fridge at home, everyday they buy fresh ingredients and they eat them straigt away."
A popular dish across Asia and the world, spring-rolls are prepared as an appetiser. They are served with a sweet dipping sauce made from sugar cane paste, garlic and mild chili.
All of the ingredients are crushed together using a pestle and mortar which helps to bring out the flavours, explains Hun Li Heng. Although the class lasts just one day, participants quickly begin to understand the effects of each ingredient, figuring out what substitutes could be made back in their respective countries, if they can't find taro root or galangal in their local supermarket.
Hun Li Heng: "In Cambodia we use all our ingredients and we making paste. So everything mostly- or the garlic we normally- we grind it up because it produces flavours. It gives nice textures and nice flavours when we pound it."
Kathy Sattler, one of the students, says that fresh herbs are essential in Cambodian cooking.
Kathy Sattler: "Cambodian food has many different spices and flavours that makes it very exciting. And the texture of it is very interesting and because it's all powedered and really made from the real ingredients makes it very good, very good, and very tasty and colorful, yeah."
Khmer recipes go back centuries - long before chili peppers were introduced in the region by the Portuguese. Consequently, Khmer food tends to be less spicy than Thai food
But the mildness of Cambodian food allows the full flavour of the ingredients to shine through.
Scott Sattler: "We have powdered spices and we don't see the real fresh roots. And to grind them in a mortard pestle and to smell the flavours released are just wonderful. And at the same time to have an opportunity in a class like this to get to know the cook and to get know this Cambodian background and other peopel who are in the class make it a great adventure."
After preparing the appetiser, work begins on the main course - fish amok, a Cambodian curry combining fresh water fish, peanuts and coconut milk. Banana leaves are softened over an open flame and to be used as serving bowls. The dish is topped off with a garnish of fresh herbs.
After every dish, there's plenty of time to relax and talk with the other participants as they eat their own culinary creations. It's an intimate and laid-back class where students have plenty of time ask questions and get to know their fellow classmates. Each says that they enjoyed the class and would be bringing at least some of the secrets of Khmer cooking back to their home countries.
Information for this report was provided by APTN.
19 comments:
thank you. i love khmer food. khmer food is more than just prahok, tuk trey, etc... don't forget to check out our khmer specialty like khmer curry dishes, khmer noodle soup dishes, khmer grilled meat dishes, khmer variety of soup-based dishes, khmer pickle dishes, khmer dipping dishes, khmer variety of fresh desserts, khmer variety of tropical fruits, and the famous khmer fresh fruit shake or fruit smoothie called "teuk traloak", etc, etc... please do enjoy our khmer cuisine as we are rich with our food. we want the entire world to know and enjoy our khmer food. the best place to try any khmer food is of course in cambodia. it was due to war that made our khmer food less known in to the outside world. but don't forget, cambodia do have many good, delicious food as well as any other nation on the planet. please get to know our khmer food. thank you and god bless cambodia.
fuck these foreigners, esp. the fucking americans are so fucking ignorant when comes to foods,culture, and other things which, of course, are strange to these fucker foreigner.
Next time, have these asshole tourist pack their own hamburgers and french-fries, and plenty of cheese.
in respon to 2:33Am,
how came you fuck up swearing other foreigners? i think you are fuck up with your ignorant brain, you think you know all american food? if you do not fuck up came to live in US or other country, tell me what did you know about american food? if you are cambodia you yourself ignorant with all cambodia food, how many cambodia people know their own food? especialist with the fancy food prepare for those hight class people and king. you yourselt do not know all cambodia food yet, do not try to think you are know you own food better than those foreingner. if you are Thai or Vietnames people write this note you try to destroy our tourist business, you try to put us down. because most of Thai food base on cambodia food.
To 4:31am
I second your comments.
To 2:33am
Why are you so mad? We Khmers would be estranged to foreigner food as well. You have so much hatred toward Americans. What have they done to you or your family. The U.S.A. is one of the countries that very kind to Khmers and always want to give. They never wanted anything in return. You got it all wrong. Enough of that hatred, go find peace with your Thai and Viet friends.
I rather be with Americans than with Viets or Thais. Cambodia has a trade surplus with the USA $1 or 2 billion a year. Don't you burn that bridge moron! Cambodia has a trade deficite with Vietnam and Thailand $2billion a year.
Don't make other Khmers look dump like you!
i know, i hope this person just keep his/her hatred of the USA to himself/herself. this person don't know what's he/she's talking about, hating american. this person totally missed out the good life that we all see and enjoy in america. this person needs a lot of personal, spiritual cleansing for he/she sounds so depressed. i hope american people can understand and not thinking that all khmer people swear with american like this person. perhaps, this person is just an individual with full of personal problem including hatred, etc... the majority of khmer people don't have nothing against the USA, in fact, most khmer people would rather have american influence in cambodia than youn or siem which we hated the most in the world. god bless cambodia.
4:31 AM
Hey, fuck you, too, pal. And fuck you again. And fuck you, asshole.
All of you, you should be thankful for the bombardment of US B-52s, because if it had not been for those bombardment, all of you still be in the rice paddy or on the streets. Oh, shall I say, all of you should thank your old king (Sihanouk), too, for having all of your asses in foreign countries.
All of you are fucked.
Foreigner tourists know well that Thai and Vietnamese food are the best in the world. Yet, most of Cambodian (Khmer) food have derived from Vietnam and Thailand.
12:17 PM
What happened with you ? Are you sure Mr. Thai (Siem) or Mr Viet (Youn) ?
Ask your american masters to bomb you to stone age. But don't forget to pay expenses. Anyways, you can lick american ass as much as you like but you will always be worse than slave. They will disregard you as soon as they need.
hey siem and youn, don't get jealous because khmer food is making way into the world stage again. siem and youn think they can contain khmer or something. god will see to it. god bless cambodia.
It's such a shame that people always find reason to be bithed about. It calls jealousy. They cann't help it,but sticking bugs up their asses and be bitched about everything. Let them have their field day. May God bless those who love Cambodian food.
Everybody's food has their own unique taste. It's your personal preference that matters. You like Thai food. Eat Thai food. Like Vietnamese food . Eat Vietnamese food. Keep eating it everyday, you will be sicked of it and there it goes vomiting. Welcome to Cambodian food!Yeah! for a change.
Fuck the foreigners. They can't cook. For the sake of Jesus, let thme pack their hotdog, cheese and hamburgers. They do not deserve to eat Cambodian foods; these foods are too good and tasty for them.
We do not want the foreigners, particulary the Americans in Cambodia. Americans are thieves among the world. Americans are not welcome in Cambodia, and they not deserve to have Cambodian foods; again, these foods are too tasty for them.
to 11:47 PM,
who ever write statement about same as you, kiss ass American have more moey then kiss ass you and you boss. I think you boss and you are kiss ass other country too if do not kiss ass American. same as you. we all kiss ass just wich kiss ass is melling better.
oh, one of my favorite khmer food is the dish called nom bonchok, both samleu khmer and curry nom bonchok. oh my god, they are so good. i can eat it everyday and not tired of it. god bless cambodia.
to who is write common about khmer food, and bitch American.
i think you are living in United State too ignorant brain. Thai steal every thing from khmer, culture traditional, everythings see when came to khmer history or scapture Thai steal it and put it as khmer style, ignorant brain always said khmer style... khmer style, so food base on khmer style too dump head.
how about Youn don't forgot kumpuchea krom that is our land that is where you fucking food comfrom. same as thai Khmer surin, buryrum....khme style there is you main culture comfrom, one if it is thief still thief sooner or later their real face came out. i had watching one of the Thai TV when they fight with Preavihear Temple, you know what? the famouse thai history men said there was no thai land or loa land or viet land all are REACHA A NA chark khmer from viet to bumma. you think i do not know.
Halaluyah!
eak....eak....to thai and viet
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