Khmer Cooking - I

Kha TreiFish in Palm Sugar

Ingredients
500 g fish
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 cup palm sugar
1 tsp black pepper
3 cups watergreen mango, grated

Clean fish and cut into thick slices. Salt it and set aside. Chop the garlic finely. Heat the palm sugar in a pot on a low heat until it caramalises. Add garlic and stir frequently, when it starts to brown, add the salt, pepper and fish. If the mixer gets too thick add a little water to help it along. Do not stir as the fish will break apart, instead lift the pot and swish it around.
When the fish turns yellow-brown, add the rest of the water and simmer until the sauce thickens. The dish is served hot or cold, usually with steamed rice and grated green mango.

Nhoam Kra-Ao ChhoukLotus Roots Salad

Ingredients
300 g lotus root
100 g chicken, boiled and shredded
1/3 cup bacon, cut into 1/2-cm pieces
1/3 cup dried shrimps, washed, drained, and pounded coarsely
1/3 cup peanuts, roasted and pounded coarsely
1/2 cup chi

Dressing
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
2 cloves garlic
2 shallots
1-2 bird chillies

Lotus roots have a hard exterior which need to be removed before cooking. This is done by using a knife to make a shallow cut at the tip of the root and pulling the skin upwards similar to how you might remove the stringy veins from celery. Then the roots are cut at an angle into 5-cm pieces, soaked in water and stirred with wooden chopsticks which "catch" the rest of the tough fibres. boil chicken and tear into strips. Boil bacon and cut. Soak and rinse shrimps, then pound. Toss these ingredients with the fresh lotus roots, peanuts and chi.For the dressing, pound the garlic, shallots and chillies, then add fish sauce, sugar and lime juice and drizzle over salad


Trei PhattDried Salted Fish

Ingredients
1 trei ngeat (salted fish, 300 g)
6 cloves garlic
8 shallots
vegetable oil
2 tbsp sugar


This dish requires patience because the fish has to be handled with care at every stage: in the drying out,pounding and frying.
boil the salted fish and once cooked, drain before skining and removing bones. Then break into pieces andset aside to dry further: Then use a clay mortar to pound the flesh until it becomes fluffy. (If there is excess water in the fish it will turn soggy instead.)
Slice garlic and shallots thinly and fry separately in a little oil. Then, on a low heat, stir-fry the salted fish in 2 tbsp of oil until it starts to yellow and turn crispy, then add sugar and continue stirring. Finally return the garlic and shallots to the pan and continue to cook over a low heat to let any moisture evaporate before serving with steamed rice.
This dish is often served with thick slices of water melon or pineapple during festivals, such as the New Year.



Num Sang Khya L'peouPumpkin Custard

Ingredients
1 whole pumpkin
5 egg yolks
3/4 cup palm sugar
2 cups coconut milk

Wash the pumpkin thoroughly, then cut open the top and remove the seeds. In a largh bowl, beat the egg yolk with palm sugar until completely dissolved, then add the coconut milk and blend until smooth. Pour into the pumpkin, put the top back on and steam for 30 minutes.
Eat the pumpkin and custard cold, and serve by cutting like a cake.