Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Longteine "Nyep" de Monteiro keeps Cambodian cooking tradition alive in Massachussetts

Sizzling Cambodian dishes spice up festival

By HEIDI SMITH, Sun Correspondent
04/24/2006


LOWELL -- Simmering chicken, scallions and sweet spices filled the air in the elegant kitchen of the Nesmith House. A rainbow of ingredients -- red peppers, limes, Asian eggplant and pineapples -- lined the countertops.

"The secret to Cambodian cooking is to use fresh ingredients instead of dried spices," explained Longteine "Nyep" de Monteiro, chef and owner of the Elephant Walk Restaurants and author of The Elephant Walk Cookbook.

De Monteiro volunteered to conduct "The Art of Khmer Cooking" demonstration yesterday as part of the Cambodian Expressions Film and Arts Festival, hosted by Middlesex Community College.

Through cooking demonstrations, the public learned about the differences in Thai, Vietnamese and Cambodian dishes. The tastes and history of traditional Cambodian cuisine were showcased through the dishes.

"This demonstration fits perfectly into the festival, which has combined lessons on Cambodian art, history, music, clothing and dance," said event organizer Samkhann Khoeun. "The festival has covered every aspect of Cambodian culture."

De Monteiro's eyes darted back and forth from one dish to another as she and her assistant juggled the preparation of the three dishes.

The first dish, considered an appetizer, was a pineapple salad or "nhom manosh" in Khmer. De Monteiro explained to the crowd that she prefers to use green pineapples in this recipe because they are less sweet. The dish is made with pork and served chilled.

The second dish, a coconut beef sour soup, called "kheng sachkhor" is the spicier of the dishes. Made with beef, lemongrass purée and coconut, spicy red chiles are what give this dish its kick.

Fried chicken lemongrass, or "chakroeung sachmon" was the last dish. Also made with lemongrass purée, fish sauce, peanuts and dark chicken meat are added, and the meat is sauteed in a skillet.

The two main entrees were served with a small portion of white rice. De Monteiro said it is Cambodian tradition to take a small amount of rice on a plate and prepare a bite of food by choosing from several dishes on the table. This way the flavors of the food can be enjoyed individually.

"It's not Thai basil or Thai eggplant! It's Asian basil and Asian eggplant," de Monteiro scolded jokingly, shaking her finger at the crowd. "Many people know about Thai food and tourists go to France for their cuisine, but Cambodian cooking has been in the background and I want to show people about it."

Keeping the traditions of Cambodian cooking alive has a been lifelong endeavor for de Monteiro. She said she worries that younger generations growing up in America will never learn about the old traditions and recipes.

"My goal in coming here today is to be in touch with the younger generations and help them understand about the cooking, culture and even some of the history of Cambodia before it was lost in the war," she said.

Khoeun presented de Monteiro with a framed certificate of appreciation for her dedication and commitment to the community.

"She has been so kind and generous to make time available for this festival," said Khoeun.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good for you Samkhan to highlight Khmer traditional cooking.Yes Elephant Walk food was superb Somerville plaza.

I never missed the opportunity in occcassion when I was up there for seminar or training at Tufts University.

Loved her prahok khatiss, nham trayaung chek sach munn, and samlor prorheur lapao... Hermok trei and chhah kroeung man oh man ...tasty