LamoA Cambodian chef is one of the few women seeking to revive her culture’s almost forgotten Khmer recipes; his recent cookbook, Saoy, was named “the best cookbook in the world.”
Cambodian (also known as Khmer) cuisine is all about subtle curries and fresh flavors, but despite its palate-pleasing complexity, it has barely managed to make it onto the international map. In recent years, however, that has begun to change, with contemporary female chefs making it their mission to preserve and share Khmer recipes and ingredients that were nearly lost during the brutal war. Khmer Rouge period in the 1970s, where many restrictions were placed on local foods, from food to agriculture.
Ros Rotanak, aka Chief Nak, one of Cambodia’s few famous chefs. Her fascination with food began as a child, when her mother, without a babysitter, took her to sell vegetables at the Doeurm Kor night market in Phnom Penh. Today, the self-taught chef gives Khmer cooking lessons at home, across the Mekong from downtown Phnom Pen.
Chef Nak, with infectious enthusiasm, describes the nuances of Khmer cuisine. “The flavors are deep but balanced – sweet, salty and sour. We use a lot of sour flavors, more so than lime or citrus. For example, with tamarind, we use both the young leaf and young fruit in soups, in dip flavors, in stir-fries.”
It was during a trip to the United States in 2010 that Chef Nak’s desire to preserve and share Khmer cuisine began to take hold. “It was only after traveling to the United States that I realized that even though some Thai restaurants are run by Cambodians and serve Khmer food, they don’t call it Cambodian because no one knows . This is what inspired me to discover it. What is going on.”
Sarin ChhuonUpon returning to Cambodia, Chef Nak embarked on a journey across the country, recording recipes from village elders. Chef Nak collected these recipes for her 2019 cookbook, Nhum (“Eat” in Khmer language). Most recently, his 2023 cookbook SAOY – Royal Cambodian Home Cooking won The best of the best cookbook in the world At Gourmand World Cookbook Award.
To understand why Khmer cuisine has suffered, Dr Sambo Manara of Paññāsāstra University in Cambodia recalls the terror of the Khmer Rouge, the regime led by Marxist dictator Pol Pot from 1975 (known as “Year Zero”). At the time, local culture was being systematically destroyed, including cuisine. Even eating at home was considered treacherous, as cooking for yourself was illegal. “The Khmer Rouge’s restrictions on cooking at home forced many people to prepare their food in secret. The consequences of being arrested were serious, even fatal.” The majority of people limited themselves to eating one thin porridge-like porridge it was not enough to survive and millions of people face starvation.
Khmer cuisine did not recover easily after the end of the regime in 1979. “In the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge era, the culinary preferences of young people changed, with a growing interest in fast food and dishes influenced by foreign cultures. like pizza or burgers,” explained Dr. Manara. “The decline in the value of Khmer food has led to a decrease in the planting of local ingredients.” Locally grown and harvested staples used in traditional dishes became increasingly difficult to find and authentic recipes began to be lost.
Abigail BlasiChef Nak recognized that without action, many recipes could disappear within a generation. “I realized that in Cambodia, especially with food, it’s a completely oral tradition,” she says. “And if young Cambodians don’t do it, it will follow them.” This is what pushed her to film the village elders preparing dishes such as HM OK soup, a soupier version of the most common fish amokin which local freshwater catfish are poached kreung (lemongrass paste) and coconut cream with julienned noni leaves.
Dr. Ang Chouan, a veteran Cambodian anthropologist, has observed the gradual evolution of the food landscape over the past decades. “When I was young, there were no Khmer restaurants in Cambodia. Most of the businesses were owned by the Chinese, especially Sino-Khmer (Chinese Cambodians),” he said. Khmer restaurants and hotels run solely by Cambodians were rare until the 1990s, and only recently has he seen restaurants where “proper Khmer dishes are served, with a particular emphasis on “refined” Khmer cuisine.
Kimsan PolTwo of these restaurants are run by Kimsan Pol, another innovative female chef who has played a key role in changing the way Khmer cuisine is perceived. Like Nak, Pol travels across Cambodia to rediscover Khmer cuisine and authentic recipes. Its two restaurants, Embassy Restaurant in Siem Reap and Sombok in Phnom Penh offer dishes that are surprisingly modern but have traditional Khmer roots with a nod to village cuisine. Both restaurants are run and managed entirely by women.
Pol explains that traditionally, Cambodian women are housewives. She wanted to encourage women to work in the hotel and catering industry to promote their autonomy, but also to create a place to eat that was more than just a restaurant. “We wanted to feel like we were welcoming our friend into our home,” she said.
Recipes prepared in the kitchens of Cambodia’s royal families have also suffered over the past half-century, as royals died or fled during the Khmer Rouge regime. Fortunately, Cambodian Princess Rasmi Sobbhana Norodom’s prescient 1960 cookbook, The culinary art of Cambodia, offers a multitude of traditional recipes. Much like Chef Nak, the princess devoted herself to researching Khmer cuisine. She noticed that royal court menus of the time (after French colonial rule) were dominated by easier-to-prepare Chinese and Thai dishes, and so set about recording around 170 Khmer recipes for posterity.
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The book includes centuries-old dishes, such as Samlor Muktaa (white pearl soup). Chef Nak was delighted to discover this rare recipe. “This dish is unusual because Cambodians usually only use tapioca pearls in desserts, but this soup is made with two types of meat (pork and chicken) and two shellfish (giant freshwater shrimp and crabs) and tapioca pearls that turn clear and float in the soup, making it particularly appealing and delicious,” she said.
Lamo“For me to rediscover dishes like white pearl soup and to be able to share them [via YouTube] with not only our Cambodian followers, but also people from all over the world, this is a remarkable story and a source of pride,” said Chief Nak. “There must be a force of conviction, an investment on the part of a country to see food as an ambassador. , to talk about the history and stories of their people.
Pol is also passionate about developing the country’s culinary soul. “We had the Khmer Rouge and we lost all the revenue, and now with our new generation we are trying to promote our food to tourists and internationally. I am so proud to have had the chance to do know Cambodian cuisine to the world.”.
BBC.com The world table “breaks the kitchen ceiling” by changing the way the world views food, across the past, present and future.
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