Pomme cythère: Phler Makak in KhmerBy Neou Sarem, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
22 March 2010
Cambodian food is not well known. There are few Cambodian restaurants in foreign countries, and until recently there were not that many restaurants in the country of Cambodia.
But a Cambodian mother and daughter have put Cambodian cuisine on the map, winning in February a prestigious Gourmand Award, for 2009’s “Best Asian Cuisine Cookbook in the World.”
“Au Pays de la Pomme Cythere,” by Long Serey and her daughter, Kanika Linden, is an authentic Cambodian cookbook, with recipes for fish in coconut milk, salads and lemongrass soup.
It also the reclamation of an identity, one Linden said she might have lost.
“One day I invited my friends over, and I made amok, and they loved it,” she told VOA Khmer. “As I closed the door after the last friend left, I said to myself, ‘Why didn’t you do that before?’ Because I was ashamed.”
“You have to be proud of yourself,” she said. “You have to be proud to be Cambodian, to be Khmer.”
Linden did not always know how to cook. She learned from her mother, who was born Pol Sorey and escaped the Khmer Rouge three days before the fall of Phnom Penh. She resettled briefly in America and then moved to France.
“My daughter didn’t know how to cook,” Long Sorey said. So she tried to teach her.
“War destroyed everything we loved dearly,” she said. “So what is left? If any of us survives, we still have some of our traditions and Khmer mores, which we can pass to the next generation.”
Linden said she wanted to learn to cook when she was first pregnant, living in London with her husband. The book came from her mother’s efforts to teach her.
“And it was not an easy cooperation, because there were a lot of tears, a lot of crying, because my mom is a professional,” Linden said. “She knows about Cambodian food, even French food. She is an expert, and I am not. She knew that I wanted to have something in the simple ways.”
At first, her mother used terms that were too technical and confusing—something the two fixed when they made the book.
“She had to explain things to me in a very simple way,” Linden said. “So the book is designed for someone like me, with a lot of pictures, a lot of step-by-step.”
The 218-page “Au Pays de la Pomme Cythere,” which translates as, “In the Country of the Cytheran Apple,” took them 10 years to finish. It took phone calls and face-to-face meetings of a mother and her daughter.
It beat 6,000 entrants.
At last, Linden spent three months in Cambodia finishing the book. She lost 4.5 pounds doing it, because, she said, Cambodian food is healthy.
But a Cambodian mother and daughter have put Cambodian cuisine on the map, winning in February a prestigious Gourmand Award, for 2009’s “Best Asian Cuisine Cookbook in the World.”
“Au Pays de la Pomme Cythere,” by Long Serey and her daughter, Kanika Linden, is an authentic Cambodian cookbook, with recipes for fish in coconut milk, salads and lemongrass soup.
It also the reclamation of an identity, one Linden said she might have lost.
“One day I invited my friends over, and I made amok, and they loved it,” she told VOA Khmer. “As I closed the door after the last friend left, I said to myself, ‘Why didn’t you do that before?’ Because I was ashamed.”
“You have to be proud of yourself,” she said. “You have to be proud to be Cambodian, to be Khmer.”
Linden did not always know how to cook. She learned from her mother, who was born Pol Sorey and escaped the Khmer Rouge three days before the fall of Phnom Penh. She resettled briefly in America and then moved to France.
“My daughter didn’t know how to cook,” Long Sorey said. So she tried to teach her.
“War destroyed everything we loved dearly,” she said. “So what is left? If any of us survives, we still have some of our traditions and Khmer mores, which we can pass to the next generation.”
Linden said she wanted to learn to cook when she was first pregnant, living in London with her husband. The book came from her mother’s efforts to teach her.
“And it was not an easy cooperation, because there were a lot of tears, a lot of crying, because my mom is a professional,” Linden said. “She knows about Cambodian food, even French food. She is an expert, and I am not. She knew that I wanted to have something in the simple ways.”
At first, her mother used terms that were too technical and confusing—something the two fixed when they made the book.
“She had to explain things to me in a very simple way,” Linden said. “So the book is designed for someone like me, with a lot of pictures, a lot of step-by-step.”
The 218-page “Au Pays de la Pomme Cythere,” which translates as, “In the Country of the Cytheran Apple,” took them 10 years to finish. It took phone calls and face-to-face meetings of a mother and her daughter.
It beat 6,000 entrants.
At last, Linden spent three months in Cambodia finishing the book. She lost 4.5 pounds doing it, because, she said, Cambodian food is healthy.
8 comments:
ហេតុអ្វីក៏មិនដាក់ឈ្មោះថា៖ភ្លាម្កាក់ទៅ
ឬ ខ្មែរម្កាក់ ឬ Khmer Pomme ឥញ្ចឹងទៅ
ចាំឲ្យសៀមវាយកឈ្មោះវាមកដាក់ឬ?
ឥឡូវនេះ របស់ចេញពីអាស៊ី មានឈ្មោះសុទ្ធតែសៀមនិងយួន គ្មានឈ្មោះខ្មែរមួយទេ។ ក្រពើនៅស្រុកខ្មែរសោះ ប៉ុន្តែមានឈ្មោះថា៖Siam crocodile
ត្រីគាល់រាំង ក៏សៀមយកដាក់ឈ្មោះវាទៀត គឺ៖
Thai Cab
A good family of the Khmer Republicans,Long Both Ta.
Good seed produces a Good Tree.
where can i buy a copy for my love of khmer food?
congrats to the khmer mother and daughter team for the khmer cookbook. hope khmer food will soon be well known all over the world and in cambodia as well. please continue to cook good, delicious khmer food in cambodia and khmer restaurants overseas. god bless.
Great job! Congrats.
Sambath
Yes, where can we go to buy it? and is it in French only?
Hello everyone,
I am Kanika the co-author of this book with my mother Sorey. I am delighted by your interest in the book. This book was born out of love. I originally co-wrote this book to record my mother's recipes and to get to know her better. On a larger scale, the book promotes the beautiful Cambodian culinary traditions. For that purpose, we self-published the book and did everything by ourselves.
To clarify some questions:
1) The book is currently in French. You can order it by sending us an email to whitetaraltd@gmail.com. If you visit Paris, you can also buy the book at the Louis Vuitton flagship store on the Champs Elysees (on the mezzanine floor).
2) We are currently translating the book in English. We anticipate to have a version for the USA in the first half of 2011.
3)Pomme Cythere(spondias dulcis/ambarella) is the French translation for the Cambodian word M'kak. For each recipe, we give the French translation, the Khmer name in Khmer alphabet and its phonetic equivalent. For instance, in the recipe on page 130 of the book, we give the French name Salade de Pommes Cythere, the Khmer name and the phonetic equivalent Gnoam m'kak.
Kanika Linden
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