Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
chives and herbs, they're steamed or fried, and
dished up with either a sweet sauce (based on fish
sauce) or soy sauce.
Gee
is the generic Cambodian term for all
manner of herbs, used in cooking, served up by the
plateful to be eaten on the side, or taken medici-
nally. You'll probably only recognize a few, such as
mint and coriander; others include various types of
water grass, vines and young tree leaves.
Pickles
made with brine are frequently served
in Cambodia as an appetizer or a side dish, and
as a filling for baguettes. There are many
variations, made from combinations of cabbage,
cucumber, ginger, turnip, bamboo shoots, onions
and bean sprouts, often sculpted into shapes for
extra visual appeal.
Green mango salad
(
chruok
svay
), made from shredded green mango, dried
shrimp and fish paste topped with crushed
peanut, is served up in restaurants, to be eaten as
a starter or snack.
Bananas
come in several varieties, some of which
are seldom seen in the West; they're grown just
about everywhere, and are sold in huge quantities
- cheaply, at around 1000 riel a bunch - for
snacking, cooking and as offerings for the pagoda.
Commonest are
jayk oumvong
, which is slender and
stays green when ripe;
jayk numvar
, a medium-
sized, plump, yellow banana, said to cool the body;
and the finger-sized, very sweet
jayk pong mowan
,
said to be warming, which is a little pricier than the
other kinds. Relatively rare are the large, dry and
fibrous red or green bananas, generally used for
cooking.
The
durian
(
tooren
) is a rugby-ball-sized fruit with
a hard, spiky exterior. Much sought after by Khmers,
it's an acquired taste for most Westerners thanks to
its fetid smell (often compared to that of a blocked
drain). Inside are several segments, each containing
two or three stones surrounded by pale yellow,
creamy textured flesh, which can be quite addictive
once you've got over the odour.
Longans
(
meeyan
) have a long season and are
often sold still on the twig. The cherry-sized fruit
have a hard brown skin; the flesh inside is similar to
that of lychees in texture and flavour. Bright green
and prickly skinned,
soursops
(
tee-ab barang
) are
pure white inside and have a tart but sweet taste.
Hard, round and a bit like a bright-green cricket
ball,
guavas
(
troubike
) have a crunchy, dry texture a
bit like a hard pear. The flat brown pods of
tamarind
(
umpbel
) are simple to eat: split open the
pods and discard the fibrous thread inside, then
suck off the rich brown tangy flesh, minding the
hard seeds. The most picturesque of Khmer fruits,
though, has to be the rosy pink
dragon fruit
(
pelai
sroegar ne-yak
), grown on a climbing cactus-like
vine. Inside its waxy skin, the moist, pure-white
flesh is dotted with black seeds and has quite a
subtle taste, verging on bland.
Desserts and sweets
Specialist stalls, opening around lunchtime in the
markets or in the late afternoon and evening
along the street, serve Cambodian
desserts
in
a vast range of colours and textures. Small
custards, jellies and sticky-rice confections are
displayed in large flat trays and cut or shaped into
bite-sized pieces to be served in bowls, topped
with grated ice and a slug of condensed milk;
mixes of dried and crystallized fruits, beans and
nuts are also on offer, served with ice and syrup.
Other desserts include sweet sticky rice mixed
with corn kernels, mung beans or lotus seed,
poached pumpkin with syrup, and palm fruit with
syrup, all of which are served up from large bowls
by market stalls.
Khmer restaurants seldom serve desserts other
than fresh fruit, though recently a few upmarket
places are starting to offer them along with
imported ice creams. Towns generally have a
bakery or two producing a variety of
cakes
, many
of which are approximations of familiar Western
goodies. Market stalls in all towns sell small, freshly
baked sponge cakes.
Drinks
Bottled water is found everywhere, as Cambodian
tap water
isn't considered safe to drink. Be aware
that the ice that is invariably added to cold drinks
(unless you request otherwise) may not be hygienic
except in Western restaurants.
Fruit
Colourful
fruit
stalls can be found everywhere in
Cambodia, and the selection is enormous - stall-
holders will always let you try before you buy if you
don't know what you're looking at. Imported
apples, pears and grapes are also available, though
comparatively expensive.
Tea and coffee
Cambodians drink plenty of
green tea
, which is
readily available in coffee shops and from market
stalls; it's normally served free of charge with food
in restaurants. If you like your tea strong, try
dtai
grolab
, made by putting water and a mass of tea
