A taste of Cambodia in Vietnam [-Num Banh-choc Samlor Khmer and Kuyteav PPenh]

Num banh choc, a Cambodian breakfast staple, is also a much-loved dish in southern Vietnam Courtesy of Mon Ngon Viet Nam Magazine

Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Compiled by Hong Nguyen
VietNews (Hanoi)

Num banh choc, a fish and rice noodle soup from Cambodia, has won a place in the hearts of many in Ho Chi Minh City, the bustling southern metropolis crowded with food lovers.

The fish noodle soup is a breakfast staple for people from the land of Angkor Wat. The dish, which includes freshwater fish and herbs, reflects the Cambodian fondness for fish, one of the country’s cheap and abundant sources of food.

The dish gets its distinctive flavor from prahok, a type of fermented fish paste, commonly used in Cambodian cuisine as a seasoning or a condiment.

A bowl of num banh choc not only satisfies the taste buds but also the eyes of gourmets.

It is consisted of a subtle yellow fish and coconut milk broth with fresh rice noodles, paper-thin chopped banana blossom, cucumber and cabbage and topped off with prahok.

A wide variety of fresh vegetables, herbs and even flowers, including watercress, snake beans and water lily stalks, are also used to add more color and flavor to the sweet, sour and salty fish broth.

The noodles are served with fillets – and the head and guts - of freshwater fish. The fish guts are thoroughly cleaned with salt before being cooked to maintain their crunchy texture.

Fish guts are definitely an acquired taste but are also the most-ordered extra ingredient at num banh choc restaurants.

Num banh choc is on the menu of several restaurants in HCMC’s “Cambodian Town” in District 10.

The Tu Xe Restaurant has been a familiar destination for num banh choc fans since it opened in 1972. The owner of the restaurant is a 74-year-old Vietnamese woman who learned the art of Cambodian cuisine while living in Cambodia.

More and more Vietnamese visit Cambodian Town to sample the rich tastes of cuisine from neighboring Cambodia. Cambodian cuisine is said to be influenced by Chinese and Thai cooking, although Cambodian dishes are not as spicy as Thai food.

Some housewives even travel to Cambodian Town to buy ingredients to create their own Vietnamese versions of Num banh choc at home.

Another Cambodian dish, Hu tieu nam vang (Phnom Penh Noodle Soup), is also near the top of the list of favorite breakfast foods of southern Vietnamese.

Hu tieu nam vang is most often prepared with shrimp, pork, squid, fried spring onions and fresh herbs, although different variations can include pork liver and wonton dumplings.

The increasing popularity of cuisine from Cambodia and other countries is unarguably a reflection of the welcoming nature of HCMC.

The city embraces different cultures and people from all around the world, making it an attractive destination for all adventurous spirits who seek to explore the diversity of the world’s cultures and cuisines.

Getting A Taste For Cambodian Food

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.