Eating and drinking in Cambodia

Cambodia’s distinctive, delicious and surprisingly little-known cuisine has drawn on numerous sources but remains recognisably its own. Many of the country’s classic dishes are local riffs on dishes from either neighbouring Thailand (although more delicately spiced and with considerably less chilli and sugar) or Vietnam. Chinese influences are also strong, as is the legacy of the French, from whom the Khmers inherited their enduring love of baguettes, coffee and beer.

Food is traditionally cooked in a single pot or wok over a charcoal stove; although gas burners are being introduced in the cities, many people prize the smoky flavour that food acquires when cooked over charcoal. Many dishes are fried in palm oil and aren’t drained before serving, so they can be pretty greasy.

As in many countries where rice is the staple food, the most common way to refer to eating in Cambodia is nyam bai, literally ‘eat rice’.

Where to eat

The cheapest food in Cambodia is available from street hawkers, who ply the streets with handcarts, portable stoves and BBQs, dishing up offerings ranging from fried noodles and baguettes to fresh fruit and ice cream. The country’s markets are another good source of cheap food, open day and night (though often in separate locations) and at prices only slightly higher than those charged by street hawkers. Each stall usually has its speciality, and you can order from any stall in the market, irrespective of where you’re sitting. When you’ve finished, you pay the stall closest to you for the whole lot, and they’ll sort out the money among themselves.

Khmer restaurants come in various shapes and sizes. More upmarket places have extensive menus (sometimes in Khmer only) featuring all the usual Cambodian staples. Cheaper places (usually most numerous around transport stops) will have whatever’s available in a row of pots set at the front. Lift the lids and point at what you want; your chosen dishes will be served in separate bowls along with a plate of rice. Prices at the cheapest places are similar to those at market stalls; fancier establishments are often on a par with cheaper tourist restaurants.

Tourist restaurants with English-language menus and Western cuisine are found only in larger towns and traveller hubs. They usually serve a mix of mainstream Khmer dishes and Western standards. Phnom Penh and Siem Reap also have a decent range of more upmarket restaurants specialising in French, Italian, Indian, Thai, Japanese and other leading international cuisines.

Khmers tend to eat early by Western standards. In the provinces, especially, don’t expect to find anywhere open after 9pm, and some places close even earlier. You won’t usually need to book in advance except in the most popular restaurants in larger cities.

What to eat

Chicken and pork are the staple meats. Beef is rarer (and more expensive) as cows are prized as work animals, while the meat itself is often tough. Fish is plentiful and the primary source of protein for most Cambodians. Near the Tonle Sap lake, there’s a particularly good choice of freshwater varieties, and sea fish is plentiful along the coast, though inland, it’s only readily available in the specialist (and inevitably expensive) restaurants of Phnom Penh. Cambodia’s markets offer a wide range of vegetables, some of which will be unfamiliar, all delivered fresh daily – although few of them find their way onto restaurant menus.

Flavourings and accompaniments

The starting point of many Khmer recipes, kroeung comprises a paste of freshly ground spices and leaves. All cooks have their own versions, although commonly used ingredients include lemongrass, ginger, galangal, turmeric, garlic, shallots and dried red chillies.

Cambodia’s signature flavour, prahok, is a fermented fish paste with a pâté-like consistency used as a base ingredient in many Khmer recipes and also served as an accompaniment to be mixed into food, although the intensely salty, anchovy-like flavour is something of an acquired taste. The classic prahok ktis, consisting of prahok combined with pork and coconut milk in a richly flavoured curry-like concoction, is usually served with assorted vegetables for dipping.

Other accompaniments include dips of chilli and soy sauce – to which you can add chopped chillies and garlic – either left in pots on the table or served in individual saucers.

Breakfast

A popular breakfast dish, kuy teav is a nourishing noodle soup made with clear pork broth and includes a mix of greens and meat. Exact recipes vary widely in terms of the meat they include (some versions may feature pork offal, shrimp or squid), the garnishes and accompanying sauces. The broth is sometimes served separately so the diner can decide how wet to make the dish.

A meat-free alternative to kuy teav is nom banh chok (often referred to simply as ‘Khmer noodles’). Another popular breakfast dish (although available throughout the day), nom banh chok, is typically sold by female street hawkers who carry the ingredients in baskets hanging from a pole balanced on their shoulders. Thin rice noodles (cold) are extracted from one basket and topped with assorted greens, after which a fish-based, lemongrass- and kaffir-flavoured broth is ladled over them to create a soup.

Another staple breakfast dish, the simple but delicious bai sach chrouk, consists of marinated pork grilled slowly over charcoals to a meaty sweetness, sliced thinly and served with rice and pickled vegetables.

Another perennial favourite, borbor (rice porridge), is usually available at market stalls, night markets and some cheap restaurants, either as breakfast or an evening dish. Borbor can either be left unseasoned and used as a base to which you add your chosen ingredients – dried fish, pickles, salted egg or fried vegetables – or cooked in stock, with pieces of chicken, fish or pork and bean sprouts added before serving.

Soups and hotpots

Soups (somlar) are a mainstay of Khmer cuisine and often a meal in themselves rather than simply an appetiser. Common examples include the refreshingly tart somlar ngam ngau, a clear lemon broth flavoured with herbs, pickled limes and winter melon (ash gourd), and the warming chicken soup, sgnor sach moan. The sour and tangy machu kroeung features a rich combination of meat and fried peanuts in chicken broth with greens, saffron and lemongrass, all spiced with kroeung, while the rich and warming samlor kako (or korko) comprises a rich mix of vegetables plus meat (traditionally pork), flavoured with prahok and kroeung.

Another variant of Cambodian soup is the hotpot (known as yao hon or chhang pleung, meaning ‘fire pot’). Like phnom pleung , this is a DIY meal, a bit like a fondue, with a burner plus a pot of broth brought to your table in which you cook your meat, noodles and vegetables.

Salads

As in Thailand, spicy salads (although never as fiery as their Thai equivalents) feature largely on many Khmer menus. Green mango salad (svay nhom pakea kiem) is a classic, made from shredded green mango, dried shrimp and fish paste topped with crushed peanuts. Also popular is banana flower salad (or banana blossom salad; nhom tro yong chek), combining finely sliced pieces of banana flower (faintly reminiscent of artichoke) with mixed greens and chicken, with the large but inedible outer shell of the flower, sometimes serving as a kind of bowl in which the whole thing is served. Lap Khmer (plear sach ko) is another favourite, comprising thin slices of beef in a spicy mix of greens, lime and plenty of red chillies. In restaurants, the beef is generally flash-fried, although the traditional version of the recipe uses raw beef cured, ceviche-style, in the lime dressing.

Stir-fries and noodles

Stir-fries (cha) are China’s major contribution to Khmer cuisine, introduced (it’s said) by immigrants from Hokkien but since given their own uniquely Cambodian twist. Just about anything can be (and is) stir-fried, ranging from chicken and seafood to frog’s legs and red ants, cooked with ingredients like ginger, lemongrass, garlic and basil, and served with either rice or noodles. ‘Curried’ stir-fries (cha kroeung), cooked with kroeung, have a particularly Cambodian flavour. Down on the coast, fresh crab (kdam cha) stir-fried with green Kampot pepper is deservedly popular. Many stir-fries also feature the surprisingly tasty morning glory (trokuon, often called ‘water spinach’), a water plant with a thick, hollow stem and a taste vaguely reminiscent of Chinese bok choy.

A popular street snack, the tasty, meat-free lort cha consists of very short, very fat (yes, they do look like worms) rice noodles stir-fried with greens and soy sauce, then mixed with bean sprouts, chilli and soy sauce and topped with a fried egg. Another popular dish is beef lok lak, a local variant of the Vietnamese bo luc lac, or ‘shaking beef’ (referring to the rapid shaking of the beef in the pan during frying). This comprises a meaty portion of cubed beef pieces in oyster sauce and palm sugar, served with rice (or, sometimes, French fries), sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce. You may also get a (rather incongruous-looking) fried egg on top. It’s tasty when good, although the beef can often be pretty tough.

Curries and amok

Often referred to as Cambodia’s national dish, amok is traditionally made with fish (amok trei), although most restaurants also offer versions with chicken or (less successfully) beef. Fish or meat are wrapped inside a parcel of banana leaves (or a coconut shell) with kroeung-spiced coconut milk and then slowly steamed. Exact preparations vary wildly. Properly made, the coconut milk should thicken to an almost custard-like consistency, although many come out looking somewhat like a Thai-style curry.

Cambodia’s take on the classic Thai red curry (although usually significantly less spicy), the Khmer red curry is another coconut-based recipe with meat, fish or seafood cooked in kroeung-flavoured coconut milk. A slightly feistier variant is the beef saraman curry (or Khmer Muslim beer curry), beloved of Cambodia’s Cham Muslim minority, somewhat reminiscent of Thai massaman curry, with beef, vegetables and peanuts cooked in coconut milk or dry roasted coconut.

Grilled meat and seafood

Cambodians love BBQ, smoky, charcoal-grilled meats, fish and seafood, which are widely available from street hawkers and at market stalls, served with mango dipping sauces or pickled vegetables. Particularly popular on the coast and in Phnom Penh is grilled squid (ang dtray-meuk), with squid grilled on wooden skewers and served with garlic and chilli sauce.

A number of restaurants around the country (particularly in Siem Reap) specialise in the so-called ‘Cambodian BBQ’, or phnom pleung (literally ‘hill of fire’) – a lot like the better-known Korean BBQ, with tables equipped with small burners on which you cook your selection of meat and/or seafood, accompanied by dipping sauces, vegetables and noodles, which you boil in the small ‘moat’ surrounding the burner.

Snacks

Cambodian snack foods are legion, and the range varies with the time of day. Eaten with breakfast or as an afternoon snack, available from street vendors and at restaurants, noam bpaow is steamed dumplings, originating from Chinese cuisine, made from white dough filled with a mix of minced pork, turnip, egg and chives. Cooked bananas are also widely eaten as snacks, seasoned with salt and grilled over charcoal braziers, or wok-fried in a batter containing sesame seeds.

Steamed or grilled eggs are incredibly popular and are available everywhere. The black ‘thousand-year eggs’ that you see at markets and food stalls are duck eggs that have been stored in jars of salt until the shells turn black; by that time, the whites and the yolks have turned into jelly, not dissimilar in texture to soft-boiled eggs.

A particular speciality of the Kratie area, krolan are bamboo tubes containing a delicious mix of sticky rice, coconut milk and black beans, cooked over charcoal and sold bundled together by hawkers (usually in the provinces). The woody outer layer of the bamboo is removed after cooking, leaving a thin shell that you peel down to get at the contents.

Seasonally available are chook, the large circular fruit of the lotus flower, sold in bundles of three or five heads. Each contains around 25 seeds. Pop them out of the green rubbery pod, peel off their outer skins and consume the insides, which taste a bit like garden peas.

Another classically Southeast Asian curiosity, found at night markets or served with beer, is balut (known as pong tia koun in Cambodia, literally ‘ducks’ eggs with duckling’). Said to give strength and good health, it really does contain an unhatched duckling, boiled and served with herbs and a pepper and lemon sauce.

Desserts and sweets

Specialist stalls, opening around lunchtime in the markets or in the late afternoon and evening along the street, serve Cambodian desserts in a vast range of colours and textures. Small custards, jellies and sticky rice confections are displayed in large flat trays and cut or shaped into bite-sized pieces to be served in bowls, topped with grated ice and a slug of condensed milk. Mixes of dried and crystallised fruits, beans and nuts are also offered and served with ice and syrup. Larger towns generally have a bakery or two producing a variety of vaguely Western-style cakes.

Fruit

Colourful fruit stalls can be found everywhere in Cambodia, and the selection is enormous – stallholders will always let you try before you buy if you don’t know what you’re looking at. Imported apples, pears and grapes are also available, though they are comparatively expensive.

Bananas come in several varieties. The most common are jayk oumvong, which is slender and stays green when ripe; jayk numvar, a medium-sized, plump, yellow banana, said to cool the body; and the finger-sized, very sweet jayk pong mowan, said to be warming, which is a little pricier than the other kinds. Large, dry, fibrous red or green bananas are rare and generally used for cooking.

The durian (tooren) is a rugby-ball-sized fruit with a hard, spiky exterior. Much sought after by Khmers, it’s an acquired taste for most Westerners thanks to its fetid smell (comparable to a blocked drain). Inside are several segments, each containing two or three stones surrounded by pale yellow, creamy textured flesh, which can be addictive once you’ve gotten over the odour.

Longans (meeyan) have a long season and are often sold still on the twig. The cherry-sized fruit has a hard brown skin; the flesh inside is similar to that of lychees in texture and flavour. Bright green and prickly skinned, soursops (tee-ab barang) are pure white inside and have a tart but sweet taste. Hard, round and a bit like a bright-green cricket ball, guavas (troubike) have a crunchy, dry texture, a bit like a hard pear. The flat brown pods of tamarind (umpbel) are simple to eat: split open the pods and discard the fibrous thread inside, then suck off the rich brown tangy flesh, minding the hard seeds. The most picturesque of Khmer fruits, though, has to be the rosy pink dragon fruit (pelai sroegar ne-yak), grown on a climbing cactus-like vine. Inside its waxy skin, the moist, pure-white flesh is dotted with black seeds and has quite a subtle taste, verging on bland.

Drinks

Cambodian tap water in larger cities is technically safe to drink but probably best avoided, lest the unfamiliar microbes and high levels of chlorination produce a stomach upset. Cheap bottled water is available everywhere. Be aware that ice may not be hygienic except in Western restaurants, although the ice-factory-produced cylindrical cubes with holes in the middle are usually OK.

Tea and coffee

Cambodians drink plenty of Chinese-style green or jasmine tea, which is readily available in coffee shops and from market stalls; it’s normally served free of charge with food in local restaurants. Western-style tea (usually Lipton’s) is only usually available in tourist cafés and restaurants.

Local restaurants and market stalls serve coffee from early morning to late afternoon, but it can be difficult to find in the evenings except at restaurants geared up for foreigners. Many Cambodians drink their coffee iced – if you want yours hot, ask for it to be served without ice (ot dak tuk kork). Beans are traditionally roasted with butter and sugar, plus various other ingredients that might include anything from rum to pork fat – something of an acquired taste. If you order white coffee (kafei tuk duh gow), the milk will most likely be super-sweet condensed milk rather than fresh (or powdered) milk – another acquired taste. Black coffee (kafei kmaow) is frequently served with sugar unless you specify otherwise.

Coffee often comes (and generally tastes better) iced (kafei kmaow tuk kork). Iced milk coffee is particularly nice, with flavoured beans and sweet condensed milk combining to produce an intense, almost chocolatey beverage – although the ice may not always be 100 percent hygienic.

Soft drinks

For a drink on the hoof, iced sugar-cane juice (tuk umpow) is very refreshing and not actually that sweet. It’s sold everywhere from yellow carts equipped with a mangle through which the peeled canes are passed, sometimes with a piece of orange added for extra taste. Equally refreshing is the juice of a green coconut (tuk dhowng): the top is hacked off, and you drink the juice before getting it cut in half to eat the soft, jelly-like flesh.

Fruit shakes (tuk krolok) are an important part of an evening’s consumption: juice stalls, recognisable by their fruit displays and blenders, are set up in towns all over the country from the late afternoon. You can order a mixture of fruits to be juiced or just one or two; coconut milk, sugar syrup, condensed milk and shaved ice are also added, as is a raw egg (unless you specify otherwise – ot yoh pong mowan).

When not added to coffee or tea, milk (tuk duh) is sometimes drunk iced, perhaps with a bright red or green cordial added. Freshly made soya milk (tuk sun dike) is sold in the morning by street vendors; the green version is sweetened and thicker than the unsweetened white. Soya milk is also available canned, as is winter melon tea, a juice made from the field melon with a distinctive sweet, almost earthy taste.

Alcohol

Virtually all restaurants and most night-market stalls serve beer (sraa bier). There’s a wide range of identikit lagers on sale, with Angkor and Cambodia being the most widely available brands, sold in cans, small and large bottles, and sometimes on draught. Prices range from around $1 for a glass of draught to around $2.50 for a large bottle. For something a bit different, look out for the various craft beers produced by the burgeoning group of microbreweries, such as Kingdom or Riel in Phnom Penh and Khmear in Siem Reap.

Spirits are generally only found in larger restaurants and Western bars. Imported wines are available in smarter restaurants and Western-oriented places. When not downing beer, Cambodians usually prefer to stick to local, medicinal rice wines, which are available at stalls and shops where glasses of the stuff are ladled from large jars containing various plant or animal parts. Another local brew is sugar palm beer, sold in villages straight from the bamboo tubes in which the juice is collected and fermented.