Contents
Basic Cambodian Recipes
Chili Coriander Dip
Lime Chili Dip
Green Mango Dip
Tamarind Dip
Khmer Curry Paste
Pickled Vegetables
Khmer Fish Stock
Khmer Chicken Stock
Snacks and Appetizers
Fresh Salad Rolls with Shrimp
Shrimp Fritters
Sweet Potato Rolls with Ginger
Pork Terrine Sandwich
Marinated Pork Sandwich
Fish Pâté with Peanuts and Tamarind
Khmer Raw Vegetable, Fruit and Herb Plate
Soft Boiled Eggs with Herbs
Fish Cakes with Chives and Lime Leaves
Salads
Chicken and Vegetable Salad with Khmer Herbs
Green Papaya Salad
Pomelo and Shrimp Salad
Watermelon Salad
Tart Shrimp Salad with Cilantro and Peanuts
Sliced Pork Salad with Herbs
Green Mango Salad with Smoked Fish
Pineapple and Ginger Ceviche
Marinated Beef Salad with Lemongrass
Soups and Stews
Hot and Sour Fish Soup
Chicken Curry with Sorrel Leaves
Stuffed Cucumber Soup
Rice Porridge with Fish
Fish and Vegetable Stew
Chicken Soup with Cabbage and Mushrooms
Beef Consommé with Star Anise
Tangy Ham and Vegetable Stew
Khmer Fish Stew (Amok)
Fish Soup with Herbs and Rice Noodles
Stir-fries
Grilled Eggplant with Pork
Shrimp with Black Pepper and Cilantro
Chicken with Dried Chilies and Cashews
Sweet Sour Fish with Green Mango
Pork with Ginger and Green Onions
Khmer Curry
Stir-fried Fish with Lemongrass and Herbs
Pork with Cambodian Herbs
Pepper Crab
Chicken with Bell Peppers and Basil
Stir-fried Beef with Water Spinach
Vegetable Fried Rice
Coconut Ham Curry with Pineapple
Squid with Green Peppercorns
Barbecues and Roasts
Honey Glazed Chicken
Soy Glazed Spare Ribs with Star Anise
Barbecued Beef Skewers
Seasoned Barbecued Pork
Grilled Pork
Desserts
Banana Sesame Fritters
Sticky Rice Cakes with Banana and Coconut
Sweet Coconut Waffles
Palm Sugar Pearls
Coconut Ice Cream with Caramelized Bananas
Sweet Soybean Cake with Coconut
The Sala Bai Cooking School and Act for Cambodia
Discovering Cambodian Food
Many countries, from China to Vietnam and Thailand, have long shared their national and regional cuisines. Cambodia, however, is almost certainly unknown territory for most of us. Its rural areas are the home of a secret treasure jealously guarded by the families who’ve lived there for centuries—a cuisine that combines authenticity and diversity, simplicity and originality. Now, with this collection of recipes from the young chefs from the Sala Bai School, you have the chance to discover this rich tradition in all its splendor.
Cambodian food is a thousand-year-old tradition. To discover it, you must step back in time to the era of the kingdom of Angkor, the cradle of Khmer civilization, when Cambodian cuisine forged its special identity. Here, cooking is an oral art that has been passed down over time from mother to daughter. It is from this ancestral rite that a traditional cuisine, punctuated by the use of natural ingredients, developed.
Thanks to the influence of other countries, Cambodian cooking has been enriched and expanded over the centuries. China introduced the steaming method and the use of soy and noodles and India introduced curries, to name but two examples. These influences contribute to the particularly wide range of flavors that surprise the palate and stimulate the taste buds. Salty and sweet, and downright bitter and sour, go hand in hand or are blended subtly, sometimes within a single dish, to create a deliciously harmonious and original result.
A Cambodian dish is a feast for the eyes as well as the palate, and the ingredients that compose it are like the colors on a painter’s palette: gleaming red chilies, bright green limes, orange shrimp, flecks of pure white coconut . . . the more harmonious the colors, it is thought, the more subtle the flavor of the finished dish.
Visitors are often surprised by the variety and quantity of fish products on the market in Cambodia. In addition to fresh fish, fish pickled in brine, salt fish, dried fish and smoked fish are also widely available. Fish are ground into complex pastes flavored with spices, crab, sticky black rice, vinegar, sugar and even sometimes unripe papaya. The original purpose of these delicious products was to provide a means of preserving the catch from the two major rivers in Cambodia—the