Prahok light ?

Cambodia plans to process Khmer prahok for export
June 18, 2023
Cambodia plans to process prahok products for export in the near future to help boost the farmers' economy and the national economy.

Speaking to reporters after the 2023 Golden Palm Award Ceremony on the evening of June 17, Oknha Pharmacist Dr. Hay Ly Eang, President of the Kinal Foundation and CEO of PPM Pharmaceuticals, said that Khmer prahok is delicious and of good quality, but one problem is the strong smell. Foreigners have difficulty with the odor, and the appearance of prahok is big, stinky, and not very attractive, and it is also high in salt, affecting health. It needs to be packaged as a more attractive product.

Oknha Hay Ly Eang stressed that this problem with the stinky smell can be solved by deodorizing prahok. There are three types of prahok, including a light-smelling prahok, which would be suitable for export to foreigners.

Prahok powder manufacturer softens the stinky sensation, seeks investors
Srun Serey Vathanak | Publication date 31 July 2023 | 22:03 ICT

A team of students processed prahok into a dry powder ingredient. The prahok was commended at the Thnot d’Or awards ceremony, held on June 17. Heng Chivoan

Prahok, a ubiquitous pungent-smelling fermented fish paste used in a wide variety of local dishes, has long beguiled aficionados of unique cuisine. However, its sometimes overwhelming odour can make it challenging to embrace for the olfactory sensitive.

Despite its distinct flavour profiles which elevate soups and sauces, many budding chefs are afraid to employ it in their kitchens.

Sometimes referred to as Khmer cheese, prahok is fermented from as long as 20 days – or even several years – to develop its complex, nuanced taste.

Although popular in its traditional form with many of Cambodian households, one budding entrepreneur has developed a less confrontational dried powder style of prahok, meaning the delightful flavours are more accessible and widely available in major supermarket.

Chan Nimol, a fourth-year food science student at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC), set herself the goal of developing a less scented, cleaner way of delivering the much-loved flavours. Her powdered prahok was recently awarded second place in a prahok processing competition, earning wide praise and attracting the attention of the judging committee and her fellow participants.

She continues to produce her unique product and market it to lovers of the pungent treat, and is considering plans to scale up production and transform it into a larger business after she graduates, providing she can attract the right investors to support and mentor her.

“At first, my team and I only intended to enter the competition, but as people found our product so unique and interesting, we have continued to manufacture it and sell it online,” she explained.

“The competition required us to devise a way of making prahok easier to store and export. The key was to find way to reduce the small and dehydrate it to a dry form,” she added.

The business has now been running for about four months and sells each jar of the magic powder for $7.
https://phnompenhpost.com/business/prah ... -investors