1. "Balance is the secret to great Khmer food,"
says Cambodia's most internationally acclaimed
chef, Luu Meng, "because every Cambodian
ingredient is unique, and each brings an
important dimension - whatever the dish."
"Sourness and spice are important," continues
Luu, as he clutches a bunch of young mango
leaves and rips them in two, spraying an
inimitably zesty aroma into the air, "but they
should never be overwhelming."
"It's a trick of balancing strong flavours with
the more subtle, so that every ingredient is
captured in the final taste."
Andstrongflavoursmaybeanunderstatement.
'Prahok',bothveneratedandfearedthroughout
Cambodia, depending on the fortitude of one's
taste buds, is as much a staple of Khmer cuisine
as rice, fish and coconuts.
As Hak Sokhoeun, head Chef of Phnom
Penh's Romdeng Restaurant, a training
restaurant run by Friends NGO, explains,
"There was once a time when prahok wasn't
optional. If you didn’t eat it in the dry
season, you died."
Both Luu and Hak have refined the
fermented fish puree for the international
palate in their respective kitchens, a process of
essentially reducing the salt, ensuring only the
finest ingredients are used, and standardising
all production methods. The end result is a
suitably pungent paste that grants savoury
depth to all variety of soups and grilled meats,
and can even be comfortably eaten raw with
vegetables and rice.
Flavours of
CambodiaWritten by: James Whitehead
2. Prahok, lemon grass, galangal, garlic,
palm sugar, eclectic herbs, leaves and
flowers, and 'kroeung', Cambodia's
signature spice mix, are just a few
ingredients that dominate family kitchens
throughout Cambodia.
A cuisine once born out of necessity is fast
becoming a world-class celebration of the
nation'sabundantarrayofingredients.Thetask
of chefs like Luu and Hak is to adapt essentially
home-style fare into internationally accessible
cuisine, using the best local ingredients and
invoking traditions of generations both past
and present.
For this reason, Luu and Hak both proudly
reject the title of 'fusion chefs'. They are
Khmer chefs evolving to the demands and
opportunities of the twenty-first century.
A generation of chefs, who cut their
chops in sleepy guesthouses across the
country making egg breakfasts and fried
rice, day in day out, would soon step into
international hotel kitchens, climbing the
gourmand ladder from one to five stars
as their expertise grew. Now these cooks
have the opportunity to introduce Khmer
ingredients and cuisine to the world
as head chefs of the finest restaurants in
the Kingdom.
For Luu, the joy of cooking Khmer food will
always lie in its unrelenting diversity: "Every
time I go out to the provinces I discover a new
herb or spice, or twist on an ancient Khmer
standard, that surprises me and excites my
taste buds. I can hardly wait to get back to my
kitchen and think of how to transform the
recipe for my diners."
AngkoR Inflight Magazine April - June 2015 55
