A Taste of Cambodian Cuisine

I've had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Demaz Baker, a local chef and author of A taste of Cambodian Cuisine .


This book is full of traditional recipes using ingredients that can be easily found at local Asian markets. I've tried a few of the recipes and they all bring back flavors and dishes from my childhood.

One of my favorite recipes from this book is Amok, a Cambodian national dish of Steamed Fish Stew. I made it for my parents and they loved it!

The fish marinade is made with thinly sliced fish in coconut milk, curry paste, fish sauce and kaifir lime leaves.

The fish is then added to a banana leaf bowl lined with lightly steamed greens. You can make the bowl by cutting and folding the banana leaves into your desired size & securing the sides with toothpicks:

Once you've filled the banana bowls, add a little garnish- steam & enjoy:


You can get the full recipe by purchasing her book. For more information, please visit her site.

Shrimp Spring Rolls

The measurements for this recipe are estimates so feel free to play around with it. If you want to make this a vegetarian dish, simply omit the shrimp. Makes 12-15 rolls.

Ingredients:
· 3 oz Vermicelli Noodles
· 2 Tb Oil (Vegetable, Peanut or Canola)
· 1/3 lb Shrimp- peeled &deveined
· 2 inch Ginger Root- finely chopped
· 3 cloves Garlic- finely chopped
· 2 Scallions- chopped
· 2 Carrots- shredded
· 2 Bean Sprouts
· 5 oz Spinach
· Small bunch Cilantro
· Spring Roll Wrappers
· 2 Tb Soy Sauce
· 1 Egg
· Oil, for frying

Preparing Ingredients:
Soak the vermicelli noodles according to the directions on the package and once complete, cut them into smaller pieces. Finely chop the ginger, slice the scallions, shred the carrots and coarsely chop the spinach, cilantro and shrimp. I recommend having all of the ingredients ready before you heat up your wok because everything will cook very quickly.

Cooking the Mixture:
In a hot wok, add oil, ginger, garlic, and scallions. Let this cook until the flavors release. Next, add carrots, bean sprouts, spinach, cilantro, soy sauce and noodles. Mix this together well so that your get an even bite of all the in the filling. Let this cook for a few minutes and once its finished, set the mixture aside and let it cool. Beat the egg in a small bowl and set aside.

Wrapping the Spring Rolls:
Peel the wrappers apart and cover with a damp towel to keep them from drying. Lay one of the shells in front of you with one corner towards you (like the shape of a diamond) and the other corners facing your right, left, and up.

Once the mixture is cooled, add a spoonful of the filling to the bottom-center of the spring roll wrapper. (If the mixture is not cooled properly, it could burn through your wrapper). Roll the mixture in the wrapper tightly but be careful not to rip the wrapper. Once halfway up, fold each of the two sides to the center and continue rolling up. When you get about one inch from the top of the wrapper, rub a bit of the egg wash on the wrapper to seal the spring roll.

Cookin’ It up:
Heat your frying device (deep fryer, wok with a few inches of oil, etc). Once all of the spring rolls are assembled and your oil is hot, slowly place the spring rolls in the oil and cook until golden brown. Degrease the spring rolls by placing them on paper towel. Serve plain or with a dipping sauce. I like to use a sweet chili sauce.

If Loving You is Wrong, I Don't Wanna Be Right

I love food. I mean I really love food. Like really really. From heart attack having-fried goodness to raw greens and “rabbit” food, I don’t discriminate- I love it all. I’ll eat any cuisine, prepared any way, from any kitchen, any time of the day (well almost).

I think my appreciation for good food came from my lack of quality food as a child. Now don’t get me wrong, my mother can really throw down in the kitchen (or parking lot, or beer store, or wherever she can get a fire going and a pot) but having to work so much, she didn’t have much time to cook for us and the few meals she did cook were traditional Cambodian dishes (MMMmmm MMMmmm and MMMmmm!!!), leaving my siblings and I to fend for ourselves on a next to nothing budget.


Growing up, my meals primarily consisted of either:
· Soy sauce with rice and a fried egg (occasionally we would change it up with a hard-boiled egg and if we were lucky, we had some Chinese Sausage *pause*);
· Raman noodles (or the Thai/ Cambodian equivalent… Mii Mama... ahhh);
· Bread dipped in sugar; or
· Whatever my parents brought home from their jobs at 7-11

When I moved away to college, my life changed:
1) I had access to a card allowing me eat anything of my choosing from a cafeteria style eatery (shout outs to the South Campus Dining Hall)
2) I discovered cable TV (and subsequently The Food Network), and
3) I met my nick (who happens to be a darn good cook!).

From that moment on, I never looked back. I started experimenting in the kitchen more, whenever I ate out at restaurants I would try to decipher the different flavors and recreate the meals at home and I cooked for friends and family often.

Fast-forward a few years later, and here I am- 24 years-old, living in a cramped DC apartment, daydreaming about my next meal.