Week #8: Cambodia

For some reason, I think I thought Cambodia bordered China.  Shows what I know, at least about southeast Asian geography, huh?  :-)

Rice, as in other Southeast Asian countries, is the staple grain, while fish from the Mekong and Tonle Sap also form an important part of the diet. The Cambodian per capita supply of fish and fish products for food and trade in 2000 was 20 kilograms of fish per year or 2 ounces per day per person.^[72] Some of the fish can be made into prahok for longer storage. The cuisine of Cambodia contains tropical fruits, soups and noodles. Key ingredients in Cambodian cuisine are kaffir lime, lemon grass, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, curry, tamarind, ginger, oyster sauce, coconut milk and black pepper.
Some delicacies of Cambodian cuisine are នំបញ្ចុក (Num Bunhjok), អាមុក​ (Ah mok), អាពីង (Ah Ping).
An example of French influence on Cambodian cuisine, is Cambodian red curry with toasted baguette bread. The toasted baguette pieces are dipped in the curry and eaten. Cambodian red curry is also eaten with rice and rice vermicelli noodles. Probably the most popular dine out dish, kuy teoh, is a pork broth rice noodle soup with fried garlic, scallions, green onions that may also contain various toppings such as beef balls, shrimp, pork liver or lettuce. The cuisine is relatively unknown to the world compared to that of its neighbours Thailand and Vietnam.

I also didn't realize Cambodian cuisine is so little known.  If you Google "Cambodian Restaurant"  though, it looks like there are only three in the Boston area:

Vietnamese is MUCH more represented:

Did not know that.  It's a shame too, because if last night's dinner (post pending) is any indication, Cambodian food is YUMMY! 

So without further ado, here are this week's recipes:

http://asiarecipe.com/cammain.html#Brochettes - I made this last night.  SO GOOD.  Post pending.
Trey Kho Manor Caramelized Fish With Pineapple
Bai lieng nung poat. ( Corn fried rice.)
Bor bo pakon trey . (Seafood rice soup.)
Trop ang chia mui trey. ( Grilled eggplant and scallop). - Nick probably won't like this one, but it's got scallops AND eggplant.  OMG yum. 

This weekend is also the Christmas party, so at some point I'll be devising/posting a list of foods I'll be making for that.  I got a book called Gourmet Game Night as a wedding gift, and there are a ton of little appetizer-ish finger foods in there, that are all designed to keep your hands clean so you can keep playing your game.  I'll definitely be drawing from that! 

More Monday Menu Plans here.