The food in Cambodia is pretty different from the food we cook back in the UK, or the food I was used to from Namibia. There are a lot of different ingredients that we are not so familiar with - especially spices and fruits. And often ingredients are used in ways that I have not seen before - sweet potato or beans in desert, or cucumber heated up in things like sweet and sour are good examples.
"Food is our common ground, a universal experience." - James Beard
We arrived at The River Garden early and set off for Psar Leu market - the biggest most local market here. So easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle.
Our guides showed us round and shared information about loads of ingredients from palm sugar, to new fruits and very Cambodian delicacies -like prahok (fermented fish paste).
We bought some ingredients for the day and set off back....
Our menu to book for the day was:
Banana Leaf Salad
Fish Amok
Coconut Sago and sweet potato pudding
Here are our ingredients:
Banana Leaf Salad: banana flower, corriander, garlic, onion, beansprouts, peanuts, lime, other herbs, pepper, carrot, chicken, dried shrimp, fish sauce.
[beware veggie friends, often menu choices like green mango salad, banana leaf salad and pomelo salad have dried shrimp and chicken in]
Amok: Chili, stock cubes, onion, water, sugar syrup, spinach, lemongrass, garlic, tumeric, ginger, galangal, fish, coconut milk.
"It's okay to eat fish because they don't have any feelings." - Kurt Cobain
Coconut sago and sweet potato pudding: coconut milk, sago, sugar syrup, sweet potato, water.
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We began with peeling the banana flower and removing all the baby bananas, the leaves are then used as a salad green.
Inside the banana flower.
"Never interrupt me when I'm eating a banana." - Ryan Stiles
More ingredients for the salad.
The method is basically chop, dress, mix, and serve.
Our next dish was the amok, we all got involved in chopping and pounding spices...
Once all the ingredients were ready and the spices had been pounded to a paste these were fried off, combined with coconut milk and the fish and spinach were added.
Amok has great delicate flavours with all those spices mildly blended - yum!
Our final dish, was the coconut sago and sweet potato - very easy to make, personally I would leave out the sweet potato though! Combining sago, sweet potato and coconut milk, sugar and water over a low heat until the sago and sweet potato are cooked through, chill, sprinkle with dried coconut and serve...
Our final meal was enjoyed with the couple who had been cooking with us also - and for amateurs, was pretty delicious or 'chhnganh' as they say in Khmer.
With thanks to our patient chefs!
"What I've enjoyed most, though, is meeting people who have a real interest in food and sharing ideas with them. Good food is a global thing and I find that there is always something new and amazing to learn - I love it!" - Jamie Oliver
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