10 Cambodian dishes you've got to try

Khmer cuisine has long been overshadowed by its Thai and Vietnamese cousins: But times (and menus) to change that

26 September, 2011

By Lina Goldberg

CNN Go

Squished between culinary heavyweights Thailand and Vietnam, Cambodia is often overlooked when it comes to food. But once you've sampled Khmer cuisine, you won't turn back.

Here are 10 dishes to start you off.

No two bai sach chrouks are ever exactly the same

1. Bai sach chrouk -- pork and rice

Served on street corners all over Cambodia early every morning, bai sach chrouk, or pork and rice, is one of the simplest and most delicious dishes that the country has to offer.

Thinly sliced pork is slowly grilled over warm coals to bring out its natural sweetness. Sometimes the pork will be marinated in coconut milk or garlic -- no two bai sach chrouks are ever exactly the same.

The grilled pork is served over a hearty portion of broken rice, with a helping of freshly pickled cucumbers and daikon radish with plenty of ginger. On the side, you'll often be given a bowl of chicken broth topped with scallions and fried onions.

Try it at: 786 St. 474, Phnom Penh

Where else can you get fish whipped into a mousse?

2. Fish amok

Fish amok is one of the most well-known Cambodian dishes, but you'll find similar meals in neighboring countries.

You won't find the same enthusiasm for the dish outside of Cambodia, though, or the addition of slok ngor, a local herb that imparts a subtly bitter flavor.

Fish amok is a fish mousse with fresh coconut milk and kroeung, a type of Khmer curry paste made from lemongrass, turmeric root, garlic, shallots, galangal and fingerroot, or Chinese ginger.

At upscale restaurants fish amok is steamed in a banana leaf, while more local places serve a boiled version that is more like a soupy fish curry than a mousse.

Try it at: K'nyay, Suramarit Boulevard between Sothearos Blvd. and St. 19, Phnom Penh; +855 23 225 225

A red curry that doesn't result in flames bursting from your mouth.

3. Khmer red curry

Less spicy than the curries of neighboring Thailand, Khmer red curry is similarly coconut-milk-based, but without the overpowering chili. It's much easier to enjoy.

The dish features beef, chicken or fish, eggplant, green beans, potatoes, fresh coconut milk, lemongrass and kroeung.

1.This delicious dish is usually served at special occasions in Cambodia such as weddings, family gatherings and religious holidays like Pchum Ben, or Ancestor's Day, where Cambodians make the dish to share with monks in honor of their ancestors. Khmer red curry is usually served with bread -- a remnant of the French influence on Cambodia.

Try it at: The Empire, 34 St. 130, Phnom Penh; +855 89 383 817

Finally, a salad that puts hair on your chest.

4. Lap Khmer -- lime-marinated Khmer beef salad

A refreshing dish that is more beef than salad, lap Khmer is popular with Cambodian men, who prefer the beef be nearly raw -- but at restaurants it's generally served grilled.

Khmer beef salad features thinly sliced beef that is either quickly seared or "cooked" ceviche-style by marinating with lime juice.

Dressed with lemongrass, shallots, garlic, fish sauce, Asian basil, mint, green beans and green pepper, the sweet and salty dish also packs a punch in the heul (spicy) department with copious amounts of fresh red chilis.

Try it at: Romdeng, 74 St. 174, Phnom Penh; +855 92 219 565

Enjoy, just don't call it pho.

5. Nom banh chok -- Khmer noodles

Nom banh chok is a beloved Cambodian dish, so much so that in English it's called simply "Khmer noodles."

Nom banh chok is a typical breakfast food, and you'll find it being sold in the mornings by women carrying it on baskets hanging from a pole balanced on their shoulders.

The dish consists of noodles laboriously pounded out of rice, topped with a fish-based green curry gravy made from lemongrass, turmeric root and kaffir lime.

Fresh mint leaves, bean sprouts, green beans, banana flower, cucumbers and other greens are heaped on top. There is also a red curry version that is usually reserved for ceremonial occasions and wedding festivities.

Try it at: Russian Market, Phnom Penh

Kampot, the saffron of peppers.

6. Kdam chaa -- fried crab

Fried crab is a specialty of the Cambodian seaside town of Kep and its lively crab market, which is known for fried crab prepared with green, locally grown Kampot pepper.

Aromatic Kampot pepper is famous among gourmands worldwide, and although it is available in its dried form internationally, you'll only be able to sample the distinctively flavored immature green peppercorns in Cambodia.

It's worth a visit to Kep and Kampot for that alone, but Phnom Penh restaurants bring live crabs in from the coast to make their own version of this delicious dish, which includes both Kampot pepper and flavorful garlic chives.

Try it at: 54 Langeach Sros, 15A St. 178, Phnom Penh; +855 17 455 454

Lose your insect virginity to this before moving on to skewered bugs.

7. Red tree ants with beef and holy basil

You'll find all sorts of insects on the menu in Cambodia, but the dish that is most appealing to foreign palates is stir-fried red tree ants with beef and holy basil.

Ants of various sizes, some barely visible and others almost an inch long are stir-fried with ginger, lemongrass, garlic, shallots and thinly sliced beef.

Lots of chilies complete the aromatic dish, without overpowering the delicate sour flavor that the ants impart to the beef. This meal is served with rice, and if you're lucky you'll also get a portion of ant larvae in your bowl.

Try it at: Romdeng, 74 St. 174, Phnom Penh; +855 92 219 565

You can't go wrong with anything served on a stick with dip.

8. Ang dtray-meuk -- grilled squid

In Cambodian seaside towns like Sihanoukville and Kep, you'll find seafood sellers carrying small charcoal-burning ovens on their shoulders, cooking the squid as they walk along the shore.

The squid are brushed with either lime juice or fish sauce and then barbecued on wooden skewers and served with a popular Cambodian sauce, originally from Kampot, made from garlic, fresh chilies, fish sauce, lime juice and sugar.

The summer flavor of the shore can be had even in Phnom Penh, where many restaurants bring seafood from the coast to make similar versions of this dish.

Try it at: Villa Khmer, 21B St. 294, Phnom Penh; +855 97 8985 539

Hot sticky summers call for sweet sticky snacks.

9. Cha houy teuk -- jelly dessert

After school in Phnom Penh, young people crowd around street stands serving Khmer desserts for 1,000 riel, about US$0.25.

Some have sticky rice or sago drenched in coconut milk and topped with taro, red beans, pumpkin and jackfruit. One of the most refreshing is cha houy teuk, a sweet jelly dessert made with agar agar, a gelatin that is derived from seaweed.

The jelly can be brightly colored in pinks and greens, making it especially popular with children. Combined with sago, bleached mung beans and coconut cream, cha houy teuk is usually served in a bowl with a scoop of shaved ice.

Try it at: 45E Mao Tse Tung Blvd., Phnom Penh; +855 16 384 188

Sounds like an interpretive dance performance.

10. Fried fish on the fire lake

Fresh coconut milk isn't used in every day Khmer cooking. Instead it is saved for dishes that are served at special occasions.

Fried Fish on the Fire Lake is one such dish -- it's traditionally made for parties or eaten at restaurants in a special, fish-shaped dish. A whole fish is deep-fried and then finished on a hotplate at the table in a coconut curry made from yellow kroeung and chilies.

Vegetables such as cauliflower and cabbage are cooked in the curry, and served with rice or rice noodles. The literal translation of this dish is trei bung kanh chhet, fish from the lake of kanh chhet, a green Cambodian water vegetable served with this dish.

Try it at: 54 Langeach Sros, 15A St. 178, Phnom Penh; +855 17 455 454