Cambodian cuisine
Photo: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra from Paris, France, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Cambodian cuisine is one of the most underrated and overlooked cuisines in Asia. It encompasses the food cultures of all Cambodia's ethnic groups – the Khmers, Khmer Loeu, Vietnamese, Chams, Mountain Chams, Lao and the Chinese. At the core of Cambodian cuisine lies Khmer cuisine (សិល្បៈធ្វើម្ហូបខ្មែរ), the nearly-two-thousand-year-old culinary art of the Khmer people native to modern-day Cambodia and other parts of the former Khmer Empire (Mekong Delta in Vietnam and Isaan in Thailand). Over centuries, Cambodian cuisine has incorporated elements of Indian, Chinese (in particular Teochew cuisine), Portuguese, and more recently French cuisine, and due to some of these shared influences and mutual interaction, it has many similarities with the cuisines of Central Thailand, and Southern Vietnam and to a lesser extent also Central Vietnam, Northeastern Thailand and Laos.
UnderstandTraditional Cambodian cuisine is one of detail, of small amounts of fresh ingredients with intriguing textures, complex aromas and exhilarating flavours, combined to create distinctly light, delicate and healthy cuisine.
IngredientsA common ingredient, and perhaps one of the most unique about Khmer cuisine, is a fermented fish paste used in many dishes, a distinctive flavouring known as prahok.
DishesTraditionally, Khmer dishes are served on large plates and bowls (in the so-called "family style") and eaten all at once, however, for French-influenced dishes and restaurants serving tourists, divisions into courses…
Dining outAlmost everywhere in the towns, there are small local or mobile stands that offer food and drinks. The choice is diverse.
See also
Sources and licences
- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Cambodian cuisine" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra from Paris, France, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons