Chef Nak's Quest to Save Traditional Cambodian Cuisine

Discussions about restaurants, cafes, coffee shops or bars in Cambodia. Feel free to write any reviews you have, whether its the best burger you've had in Phnom Penh or the worse pizza in Kampot, we want to read it! Discussions about Khmer dishes are also in here, or you can leave your own. If you own a restaurant, feel free to let the expat community know about it here so that we can come check it out. Found a favorite cafe or have a place we should avoid? Tell us about it. Asian recipes & questions are always welcome.
User avatar
snoink
Expatriate
Posts: 48
Joined: Wed Apr 07, 2021 7:40 am
Reputation: 14
United States of America

Re: Chef Nak's Quest to Save Traditional Cambodian Cuisine

Post by snoink »

It would help the most if the khmer, in general, put their best food forward, and I don't mean capital C "Cuisine".

Ribs had been one of my favorites--simple, hot. good rice. fresh raw veggies. Thing is--my repeat appearances ordering two or three plates, I feel, peg me as some kind of dog..like I'll eat anything, then, trip five say, I get cold, or old gamey ribs!, with a smile nontheless, and it's time to move on. Not everywhere, but it's happened enough.

It's the attitude towards money-making in general--more quick and dirty, not the food.

Those two Mexican places west in BKK across from each other, while not Khmer cuisine, they substitute salad dressing for chipotle and literally, ketchup and mayo for salsa and sour cream!

What is the name of the Khmer restaurant with the bird cages?--that one actually does it right!
User avatar
KTabi
Expatriate
Posts: 331
Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2021 7:29 am
Reputation: 91
Location: The Ground
Japan

Re: Chef Nak's Quest to Save Traditional Cambodian Cuisine

Post by KTabi »

Bitte_Kein_Lexus wrote: Wed Apr 07, 2021 8:28 am That's an overused cliche. It's not like all culture was totally destroyed and people forgot how to cook traditional food, just like it's not true the food they eat now is the same as in the time of Angkor, when like half the crops now used are New World crops.

My main problem with a lot of these new age Khmer places is that you're basically paying 10x the price of something you could get down the road that's just as good. You're basically paying for plating more than anything else as the cost of the ingredients isn't higher like with some foreign restaurants that import various goods. Truffle is expensive, Khmer spices and herbs aren't...
Definitely agree with the cliche part, don't mean to imply that it's like everything went completely away. I don't like the hipster-like new age stuff so much but I've seen some neat stuff come from these campaigns before like weird stuff with Japanese food in ramen burgers and such. Maybe it is over hyped and a bit exaggerated.
John Bingham wrote: Tue Apr 06, 2021 11:09 pm Well just check it out yourself sometime. Honestly though, I've eaten Cambodian food thousands of times but I looked at those articles and there's nothing I'd be too interested in eating.
Sometimes you just have to pass on the chicken knuckles or giant river snails though.
Fair enough, to each their own haha. I realaly love stuff like amok, prahok ktis, and nom banh chok, with the popularity of things like pho I hope they can make a little international splash too.
:thumb:
User avatar
CEOCambodiaNews
Expatriate
Posts: 62322
Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 5:13 am
Reputation: 4033
Location: CEO Newsroom in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Contact:
Cambodia

Re: Chef Nak's Quest to Save Traditional Cambodian Cuisine

Post by CEOCambodiaNews »

Pchum Ben recipe from Chef Nak:
Image
A banana leaf topped with cooked num ansom chek. Courtesy of Rotanak Ros

As Ros traveled throughout Southeast Asia and the United States, it struck her that little was being done to save another critical piece of Cambodia’s intangible cultural heritage. “Performing arts are very important as an art form, but they’re not an art form that we need to consume three times a day,” she says. “What about culinary arts? We need them three times a day but no one is working to preserve them. I realized that all of [our culinary traditions] are being passed down from the elderly generation verbally. Nothing is being written down. So if young students don’t want to learn, everything will be lost.”

Ros quit her job in order to document these oral recipes and traditions before they disappear. For the past four years, she has spent most of her time traveling to rural areas of Cambodia’s 24 provinces.

“I believe that Cambodia has a lot more to tell beyond the killing fields and our temples,” she says. “That’s why I spend money, energy, and time traveling around Cambodia meeting grandmas and grandpas and people who still remember the flavors and dishes cooked by their grandparents.”

In many cases, the home cooks she interviews for her YouTube videos and her research have never used measurements, preferring instead to add a “pinch of this” or a “handful of that.” Ros sees it as her duty to listen, observe, and record Khmer history for future generations. It’s her own way of honoring the ancestors, a practice she continues each year when she gathers with her family to assemble hundreds of num ansom as an offering to the ghosts of Cambodia’s past.

Num Ansom Chrouk

Courtesy of Rotanak Ros

Ingredients
7 pounds sticky rice
3 cups coconut cream
3 pounds yellow split mung beans
3 pounds pork belly
2 tablespoons salt
10 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
45 fresh banana leaves, 10–12 inches each
30 strings, each roughly 30 inches long

Full article and recipe: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/c ... -pchum-ben
Join the Cambodia Expats Online Telegram Channel: https://t.me/CambodiaExpatsOnline

Cambodia Expats Online: Bringing you breaking news from Cambodia before you read it anywhere else!

Have a story or an anonymous news tip for CEO? Need advertising? CONTACT US

Cambodia Expats Online is the most popular community in the country. JOIN TODAY

Follow CEO on social media:

Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram
Cambo Dear
Expatriate
Posts: 261
Joined: Sat Jun 27, 2015 7:30 pm
Reputation: 162
Libya

Re: Chef Nak's Quest to Save Traditional Cambodian Cuisine

Post by Cambo Dear »

Cambodian food and food in general in Cambodia is generally amazing - the fact that nearly everything consumed is picked, slaughtered or caught on the same day I believe helps with this a lot. There is huge variety in Cambodian cuisine and I think it deserves a place alongside its better known neighbours. Pork and rice is the breakfast of champions - Kuyteav when it's good can rival the best Pho and the souffled complexity of good Amok is certainly mana from heaven!
Darkcel
Expatriate
Posts: 817
Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2021 1:09 pm
Reputation: 340
Angola

Re: Chef Nak's Quest to Save Traditional Cambodian Cuisine

Post by Darkcel »

Sorta feel like every Khmer household makes ancient food.

Wife made some absolutely rank piss smelling bamboo soup the other day, I can almost guarantee that's some ye olden dish. Maybe she needs to accept the fact that Cambodians living overseas might not want to expose people to this food? I certainly wouldn't want someone's first taste of the culture to be some of this shit..
User avatar
Kuroneko
Expatriate
Posts: 3809
Joined: Thu May 15, 2014 11:18 am
Reputation: 879

Re: Chef Nak's Quest to Save Traditional Cambodian Cuisine

Post by Kuroneko »

Cambo Dear wrote: Fri Dec 24, 2021 3:27 am Cambodian food and food in general in Cambodia is generally amazing - the fact that nearly everything consumed is picked, slaughtered or caught on the same day I believe helps with this a lot. There is huge variety in Cambodian cuisine and I think it deserves a place alongside its better known neighbours. Pork and rice is the breakfast of champions - Kuyteav when it's good can rival the best Pho and the souffled complexity of good Amok is certainly mana from heaven!
I've been here over 20 years and had a lot of really good dishes. I have a few friends that are really good cooks and one worked as a chef in Malaysia for a few years. However I know another girl that just cant cook, which is unfortunate as she is very attractive and has a great personality. At least I know her shortcoming and did not marry her and doom myself to a life of poor food. :D

Image
Kampot Pepper Crab
Image
Samlor Machu Trey
User avatar
CEOCambodiaNews
Expatriate
Posts: 62322
Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 5:13 am
Reputation: 4033
Location: CEO Newsroom in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Contact:
Cambodia

Re: Chef Nak's Quest to Save Traditional Cambodian Cuisine

Post by CEOCambodiaNews »

Cambodian Celebrity Chef Rediscovers and Saves the Forgotten Flavors of Royal Home Cuisine With Launch of New Cookbook
May 12, 2023, 08:32 ET

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, May 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chef Rotanak Ros (known as Chef Nak) has dedicated her life to restoring and elevating traditional Khmer (Cambodian) cuisines, she has worked with researchers, writers, chefs and especially elderly Cambodians across the country to document and share this unique part of Khmer culture with future generations in Cambodia and around the world.
Image
"In my experience working with Cambodian Living Arts for almost 10 years, I learned that our surviving master artists passed down their knowledge orally, not so much in the form of writing, and it's the same for our traditional cooking. So, I felt I had to do something about it," shared Chef Nak.

Chef Nak shares her expertise with others through books, cooking classes, home dining, homestay, restaurant consultancy, and social media content to advocate for healthy Cambodian cuisine. She also collaborated with organizations like the World Food Program to promote school feeding for young children, with UNICEF to improve the food environment for our future generations, and with the Food Agriculture Organization to inspire organic farming and support farmers and many other NGOs to promote healthy, nutritious food across Cambodia.

Chef Nak published her first cookbook "Nhum" in 2019. "Nhum" was the subject of a glowing NY Times article and set a new standard for Cambodian cookbooks. Her newly published cookbook "SAOY – Royal Cambodian Home Cuisine" is more than just a cookbook – it's a work of art, a forgotten treasure of royal Cambodian home cuisine, featuring stunning images of each irresistible royal dish, of lovely murals from the Royal Palace, and original paintings of the ingredients by gifted young Cambodian artists.

From the zesty Salted Crab Salad to succulent Golden Stuffed Chicken and delectable Sweet and Salty Giant Freshwater Prawns, savor every dish as you uncover the rich cultural and historical significance behind them.
Chef Nak's inspiration for creating her new book, SAOY, was the pioneering work of HRH Princess Norodom Rasmi Sohbana back in 1950's and 60's. Princess was a great advocate for women and Cambodian cuisine.
Full article: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-release ... 22455.html
Join the Cambodia Expats Online Telegram Channel: https://t.me/CambodiaExpatsOnline

Cambodia Expats Online: Bringing you breaking news from Cambodia before you read it anywhere else!

Have a story or an anonymous news tip for CEO? Need advertising? CONTACT US

Cambodia Expats Online is the most popular community in the country. JOIN TODAY

Follow CEO on social media:

Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram
User avatar
CEOCambodiaNews
Expatriate
Posts: 62322
Joined: Sun Oct 12, 2014 5:13 am
Reputation: 4033
Location: CEO Newsroom in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Contact:
Cambodia

Re: Chef Nak's Quest to Save Traditional Cambodian Cuisine

Post by CEOCambodiaNews »

Information Minister Receives Celebrity Chef Nak
AKP Phnom Penh, June 01, 2023—
Image
Minister of Information H.E. Khieu Kanharith receives a copy of cookbook titled “SAOY”, Royal Cambodian Home Cuisine, from Chef Ros Rotanak, known as Chef Nak, founder of Rotanak-Home, at a courtesy meeting here at the ministry this morning.
Image
Photos: Khem Sovannara
AKP
Join the Cambodia Expats Online Telegram Channel: https://t.me/CambodiaExpatsOnline

Cambodia Expats Online: Bringing you breaking news from Cambodia before you read it anywhere else!

Have a story or an anonymous news tip for CEO? Need advertising? CONTACT US

Cambodia Expats Online is the most popular community in the country. JOIN TODAY

Follow CEO on social media:

Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram
Post Reply Previous topicNext topic
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 161 guests