Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Khmer things I ate.

The awkwardness of this entry's title was intentional, as it was meant to evoke the haphazard nature of my food 'researches' on this trip to Cambodia. Though I had really looked forward to exploring the nuanced flavors of Khmer cooking, we traveled at such breakneck speed that there wasn't much time for culinary exploration. More often than not, meals had to be worked into the schedule, either between seeing the sights or after a long day of temple gazing. In the end, many of our meals were at tourist-oriented restaurants serving Khmer food. Even so, I did have some amazing meals and a few dishes that really made me consider making the move across the border. At the very least, my un-sated curiosity provides more than enough reason to return some day. So, I now end my series of post on Cambodia with a few of the dishes that I tried over this visit to Cambodia.
a. This dish really was one of the best things I ate in Cambodia- so good, I completely forgot to write down its name. It was notable for being one of the freshest, healthiest meals I had: a salad of white fish, peanuts, raw herbs, and lime juice.
b. Beef lok lak, a stir-fry of beef served over a salad of tomato and onions and topped with a fried egg. It was tasty, but greatly enhanced by the peppery sauce it was served with.
c. Very similar to some vegetable cakes I've had in Bangkok, these golden fried discs of fatty noodle were filled with dark green chives.
d. Though I originally thought it gave me food poisoning, the only fault of this tasty bowl of chicken pho was that it didn't stave off a wicked flu.
e. One of the simplest dishes I ate, Khmer noodles, tasted great with the addition of a little chili sauce.
f. How traditional was this samlor? I couldn't tell- I knew only that it tasted like a cousin to Thailand's tom yum.
g. One of the most interesting dishes I had was a small bowl of prahok, a fermented curry paste. Eaten off the edge of crisp lettuce and bitter eggplant, it had a deep, salty flavour.
h. Sitting by a seaside window, getting splashed by the waves, I sampled this tasty vietnamese soup. Though partly sour, it was given a nice sweetness thanks to chunks of golden pineapple.
i. The last dish, a plate of yellow curry crab with fresh green pepper, was so delicious that I intend to devote a full entry to it sometime in the near future.

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