Cambodian Food on the Internet

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.
prahkeitouj
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Re: Cambodian Food on the Internet

Post by prahkeitouj »

When we say Plear, we refer to the food that we use raw beef/ fish/ meat with lemon juice. It depends on which way we like to eat. Some people like raw meat because they think it's not tough and sweeter than the cooked one.
កុំស្លាប់ដូចពស់ កុំរស់ដូចកង្កែប
Anchor Moy
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Re: Cambodian Food on the Internet

Post by Anchor Moy »

Food Preservation in Cambodia

As Europeans created cheese in order to preserve milk, Cambodians have done the same with fresh water fish. Dried fish, smoked fish, salted fish, fermented fish and fish paste (prahok) are all extremely important ingredients in Khmer food.

There are many techniques of food preservation in Cambodia. Fish, meat, vegetables and fruits can be stored for long periods by:

- Sun-drying which is the oldest method of preservation in Cambodia as it is in the world.
- Khmer traditional method of pickling by using salt and rice water. This is called lacto-fermentation and is very healthy as it creates lactobacilli – good friendly bacteria for the digestive tracts. However, pickles made using this method only last 2-3 days or up to a week in the refrigerator after the formentation point depending on the texture of the vegetables / fruits used, and the climate of the place.
- Pickling using vinegar – a preferred method by some Khmers as it has a much longer shelf-life than the lacto-fermented pickles.
- Preservation in sugar or sugar syrup is used for fruits. I use this method a lot to preserve my carved fruits and vegetables.
- Smoking – This method has been used by Khmer people for centuries. Smoked fish in Cambodia is delicious and is the most used ingredient in other dishes.
- Salt-preserving method which is used to make prahok (salted fish paste); and salt with added ground roasted rice and/or yeast are used to make pa-ork and mamm (fermented fish and pork). Prahok and pa-ork are the backbone of Khmer cuisine as they can safely be kept for at least one year. This method enables the Khmers to preserve fish around the end of November when they are plentiful and very cheap; and then eat them all year round.
http://www.amokcuisine.com/recipes
Anchor Moy
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Re: Cambodian Food on the Internet

Post by Anchor Moy »

Easy shrimp recipe for dumbies:
Anchor Moy
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Re: Cambodian Food on the Internet

Post by Anchor Moy »

Bumping up the food porn thread.
How to prepare green papaya salad with crab. Looks delicious.

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CEOCambodiaNews
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Re: Cambodian Food on the Internet

Post by CEOCambodiaNews »

Cambodian Beef Salad AKA "Plear Sach Ko":

Cambodian beef salad recipe
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A lime and chilli dressing is the final flourish on this easy dish Credit: Haarala Hamilton
Diana Henry, The Telegraph's award-winning cookery writer
3 September 2021 • 12:05pm

There are two ways to make this. The first is by ‘cooking’ the meat in a marinade (the lime juice does the cooking); the second, which I prefer, is to cook the steak over a high heat – keeping it rare – and then add it to the dressing. This is incredibly easy to make. All you have to do at the last minute is the steak. If you can’t get hold of the fish or shrimp paste, just leave it out.

Prep time: 15 minutes | Cooking time: 5 minutes

INGREDIENTS
750g sirloin steak
100g salad leaves
15g Thai basil leaves, or regular basil if you can’t find Thai basil
15g mint leaves
100g shallots, very finely sliced
50g roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

For the dressing

½ tsp Cambodian fish paste or Thai shrimp paste (it’s easier to find)
3 tbsp fish sauce
3½ tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp palm sugar or soft light-brown sugar, or as needed
3 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
½-1 tbsp hot water (optional)

METHOD

Trim the steaks of fat. Put the salad leaves, herbs and shallots into a broad, shallow serving bowl.
Make the dressing by mixing the fish paste, fish sauce and lime juice together in a bowl and whisking in the sugar. Add the garlic and chilli, and taste. You might want to add a little hot water to it (the dressing should be pretty strong). Adjust the sweetness if you want to.
Heat a non-stick frying pan until really hot. Pepper the steaks and cook them, on both sides, until the meat is a good golden-brown colour. Keep turning the steaks and moving them round the pan so you avoid the cool spots. The beef should be a good colour on the outside and rare on the inside.
Remove to a dish and cover with foil, tucking it round the edges. Rest for about 5 minutes.
Finely slice the steak and drop the slices into the dressing as you do so, along with any juices that come out. Don’t leave it in the dressing for too long or the steak will ‘cook’ more in the lime juice. Despite the salty dressing, you might want to season the steak a little. Add the steak to the leaves, pour on the dressing and sprinkle over the peanuts. Serve immediately.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/recipes/0/c ... ad-recipe/
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Ryan754326
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Re: Cambodian Food on the Internet

Post by Ryan754326 »

Anchor Moy wrote: Tue Aug 18, 2015 1:16 am
I'm doing a study of plear/ pleah. This's another one where they actually cook the meat in a pan. Not sure about that ? Should the beef be cooked or just marinated ?
That’s one of my favorites. I had no idea what the name of it was, aside from calling it raw beef salad.

I like it better with the meat that is just marinated in lime juice, but cooked is good too.
Anchor Moy
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Re: Cambodian Food on the Internet

Post by Anchor Moy »

Ryan754326 wrote: Fri Sep 03, 2021 10:47 pm
Anchor Moy wrote: Tue Aug 18, 2015 1:16 am
I'm doing a study of plear/ pleah. This's another one where they actually cook the meat in a pan. Not sure about that ? Should the beef be cooked or just marinated ?
That’s one of my favorites. I had no idea what the name of it was, aside from calling it raw beef salad.

I like it better with the meat that is just marinated in lime juice, but cooked is good too.
Yeah, me too, I prefer the raw marinated meat.
But after eating raw meat and fish for years in Cambodia, I learnt that it could be full of worms (sorry if you are eating), beef is ok I think, but freshwater fish, and other types of meat can be infested with invisible worm eggs.
I am still alive, and I really love marinated raw meat, but I've stopped eating raw river fish (mostly). I still eat the beef plear though. Too yummy.
Ryan754326
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Re: Cambodian Food on the Internet

Post by Ryan754326 »

Anchor Moy wrote: Sat Sep 04, 2021 1:22 am
Yeah, me too, I prefer the raw marinated meat.
But after eating raw meat and fish for years in Cambodia, I learnt that it could be full of worms (sorry if you are eating), beef is ok I think, but freshwater fish, and other types of meat can be infested with invisible worm eggs.
I am still alive, and I really love marinated raw meat, but I've stopped eating raw river fish (mostly). I still eat the beef plear though. Too yummy.
Yeah I’ve often wondered if I’m infested with worms, because I eat that stuff a few times a week when I’m in Cambodia. I feel fine though, so I’ve never bothered to take any deworming drugs yet.
They say that worm eggs are on a lot of vegetables too. I can’t remember ever eating raw fish in SEA, but I’m pretty adventurous when it comes to food, so who knows what I’ve picked up along the way.

Do people normally get some indication when they are carrying parasites?
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Spigzy
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Re: Cambodian Food on the Internet

Post by Spigzy »

Ryan754326 wrote: Mon Sep 06, 2021 2:06 pm Do people normally get some indication when they are carrying parasites?
Hard to spot, but do you measure your sugar intake in tea in cubes/teaspoons, or percentages?

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Meum est propositum in taberna mori,
ut sint Guinness proxima morientis ori.
tunc cantabunt letius angelorum chori:
"Sit Deus propitius huic potatori."
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Jerry Atrick
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Re: Cambodian Food on the Internet

Post by Jerry Atrick »

Ryan754326 wrote: Mon Sep 06, 2021 2:06 pm

Do people normally get some indication when they are carrying parasites?
No, only in extreme cases; normally you'd need a blood test and urine and stool samples to figure if you have or not

But you almost certainly have. Go chew on a Benda!
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