Khmer food and drink

Rice, freshwater fish, and a fermented paste that holds the whole cuisine together

Cambodian cooking is built on what the country has most of. The Mekong and the Tonle Sap give freshwater fish in extraordinary quantity, and the floodplain around them grows rice. Nearly every Khmer meal is some arrangement of those two things, and most of the rest of the cuisine exists to season them.

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What Cambodian food is not

Visitors often arrive expecting Thai food, and are surprised. Khmer recipes go back to before the chilli reached South East Asia, so the food is mild rather than hot — heat is something you add yourself, from the condiments on the table. The flavour comes from herbs, lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, kaffir lime and, above all, fermented fish.

It is also simpler than it is given credit for. Most home dishes use few ingredients and straightforward technique. And it is older than its neighbours: a number of dishes now thought of as Thai or Vietnamese have their roots in Khmer cooking.

Prahok

Prahok is fermented fish paste, and it is the ingredient that defines Khmer cooking more than any other. It is pungent on its own and almost invisible in a finished dish, where it does the job salt and fish sauce do elsewhere — depth rather than fishiness. If you have eaten Cambodian food and enjoyed it, you have eaten prahok.

Breakfast, which is the best meal of the day

Nom banh chok — rice noodles under a green fish gravy, with raw vegetables and herbs piled on top. Sold from baskets in the morning and often called the national dish.

Bai sach chrouk — grilled pork with rice, pickles and a bowl of broth. The most common breakfast in the country.

Kuy teav — pork or beef noodle soup, assembled to order at a street cart.

Bobor — rice porridge, plain or with fish or chicken. What Cambodians eat when they are unwell, and when they are not.

At lunch and dinner

A home meal is rice with two or three shared dishes: a soup, a stir-fry, something grilled, and a plate of raw vegetables and herbs. Everything arrives at once and everyone helps themselves.

Fish amok — fish steamed in coconut and kroeung, the lemongrass and turmeric paste that underpins much of the cuisine. The dish most visitors remember.

Lok lak — quick-fried beef, served with rice, a fried egg and a lime-and-pepper dipping sauce.

Samlor korko — the "stirring pot" soup, thick with whatever vegetables are in season. Considered the most Cambodian dish there is.

Kdam chaa — Kampot crab fried with the green peppercorns that grow up the road from it.

Snacks and street food

Cambodians snack constantly, and the street is where the cooking is most confident. Look for fresh spring rolls, barbecued beef skewers with a squeeze of lime, num kroch and other fried cakes, grilled bananas, chive cakes from a griddle, and fried noodles cooked in front of you. And iced coffee, which is strong, sweet with condensed milk, and served everywhere from dawn.

Drinking the water

Tap water is not for drinking. Bottled and filtered water is available everywhere, and every hotel and restaurant we use serves it.

Vegetarian and vegan

Easier than it looks, but say so clearly — fish sauce and prahok are in more dishes than a menu suggests. We tell the restaurants ahead of your arrival.

Allergies

Peanuts and shellfish are common. Tell your planner before you travel and your guide will speak to each kitchen in Khmer.

If you want to cook it

Cooking classes in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh usually start at a market, which is half the point. We can add one to any itinerary.