Cambodians love to eat! After you learn more about the local cuisine, you too will love Cambodian food. Traveling to Cambodia will give an opportunity to learn about this incomprehensible many cuisine and enjoy the unique taste of local dishes.
Features of Cambodia's cuisine
Cambodian food is perhaps the least noticeable among all Asian cuisines. Often the identity of Cambodian cuisine is rejected, as it is considered borrowed from Thai or Vietnamese. But this is not entirely true.
It's true that Cambodian dishes have much in common with the dishes of its neighboring countries, in particular, it has a lot of similar to the cuisine of Vietnam. Many dishes, known as Vietnamese, are common in Cambodia.(Incidentally, not so long ago part of southern Vietnam was part of Cambodia, so both countries have a common history of colonization by the French).For example, sandwiches called banh mi in Vietnam are just as popular in Cambodia, where they are called "num pang pate".Other Cambodian dishes are more like Thai dishes, although Cambodian dishes rarely use coconut milk and contain less chili and sugar.
Rice and unusual seasonings - the basis of Cambodian cuisine
The basis of each meal is rice. Cambodians even greet each other by saying "Nyam bai howie nov?"( "Have not you eaten rice yet?") For lunch and dinner in Cambodian houses, everyone is served a large bowl of rice. Three or four other dishes, including soup( samlor), are served in accordance with family traditions.
Prahok "Prahok"( pasta from fermented fish), used to give food a special smell, which for visitors is very unusual."Kroeung",( sharp paste) made on the basis of lemongrass and galgan, is the basis of many Cambodian dishes. Freshwater fish from the Mekong River and Tonle Sap constitute the bulk of the Cambodian diet.
From breakfast to dinner
A typical Cambodian breakfast is rice porridge "Bobor", which is similar to the Chinese rice decoction. A favorite way to start the day is with a dish of "nom banh chok", consisting of rice noodles, on top of which is laid the fish based on green curry with gravy from lemongrass, turmeric root, and kaffir lime. Another popular breakfast option is "kuy teav", a pork or beef bones soup and rice vermicelli, on top of which is placed roasted shallots, green onions and bean sprouts. And "Bai sach chrouk", or pork with rice, is one of the simplest and tastiest Cambodian breakfast options.
Light snack is very popular with Cambodians at any time of the day. In the morning, sellers offer breakfast in small roadside kiosks. Before dinner fresh cut fruits are sold. At the end of the day, spring rolls and a barbecue of beef are in great demand, which is put in a baguette and sprinkled with cut mangoes.
Also on the street you can buy cold coffee with condensed milk with sugar, fried noodles, sandwiches and other snacks. This is all possible to buy from the city's sellers with carts.
For those who come to this country, do not want to eat Cambodian food, there are hundreds of restaurants representing all kinds of international cuisine. Those who adhere to vegetarian, vegan diets will also find a variety of options. But still it is worth trying the best dishes of national Cambodian cuisine, this will help to better understand and understand the character and traditions of the people of this unusual country.