Traditional Cambodian recipes are very unique and different from most other types of traditional Cambodian food. It has similarities with other foods in Asia, but this food offers something special.
Cambodian food has been influenced by foods from India, China, Thailand, Laos and France. This mix of influences is what makes Cambodian food so special.
Traditional Cambodian recipes use a wide range of fruits and vegetables, making it one of the healthiest food choices on the planet. So, if you are looking for something healthy to eat, you should add some Cambodian foods to your diet.
A lot of passion and care is put into making Cambodian food. Many of the dishes you’ll find in this part of the world are cooked slowly all day. The Cambodian people are family-oriented and often cook meals for many people to enjoy.
Most Cambodian food is cooked over an open fire or using a gas stove. This adds extra flavor to most meals. Food cooked by street vendors is especially sought after by residents. Cambodian food is affordable and most of what goes into a meal is locally sourced.
5 Most Popular
Cambodian Dishes
Now that you are more familiar with Cambodian food, let’s look at some of the traditional Cambodian recipes that have made this food so popular
.
1
. Amok
Amok is a simple dish that is also known as coconut curry fish. This dish is often prepared in regions of the country that have access to lakes and rivers. It is a staple in the homes of many Cambodians.
2
. Samlar Kari
If you like curry, then you will love Samlar Kari. This is a traditional Cambodian curry dish that is made from sliced chicken that is mixed with a rich coconut sauce. For flavor, this Cambodian dish uses a mixture of palm sugar, fish paste, shrimp paste and other spices. It is often served with bamboo shoots and purple sweet potatoes.
3
. Lok Lak
Lok Lak is a Cambodian stir-fried dish that can be made from different types of meat, including beef, fish and shrimp. The meat version of this dish is served on a bed of lettuce and topped with onions, cucumbers and tomatoes. This is one of those traditional Cambodian recipes that is shared with the whole family.
4. Kampot Pepper Crab
If you love
seafood, then you will love this dish. Kampot Pepper Crab is one of the most famous Cambodian traditional recipes you can find. This dish originated in the Kampot region of the country and contains freshly caught crabs that are fried whole. Once cooked it is covered with garlic sauce and green pepper kernels.
5. Yaohon
One of the most popular traditional Cambodian recipes is Yaohon. This traditional dish is cooked in a hot pot and often shared among family and friends. In the hot pot, you will find a variety of different meats, seafood and vegetables. Each hot pot is prepared differently depending on the region in which it is cooked. In most areas, Yaohon is prepared with a broth of coconut milk, cream, and chicken broth.
5 most popular questions about
Cambodian food Is Cambodian food
spicy? Cambodian food
can be spicy, however, many dishes are not. Many traditional Cambodian recipes are sour rather than hot.
What is the most famous Cambodian dish?
The most famous of all traditional Cambodian recipes has to be Amok or coconut curry fish. This dish is served at home and in many restaurants across the country. If you’ve ever tried this dish, you’ll agree that it’s one of the tastiest of all Cambodian foods.
Is Cambodian food the same as Thai food?
While traditional Cambodian food and Thai food share some of the same ingredients, they are not the same. Thai food is often spicier than most authentic Cambodian recipes, which helps differentiate the two cuisines from each other.
What time do people have breakfast in Cambodia?
People in Cambodia eat breakfast before many people in the west. Most Cambodians have breakfast between 6:30 AM and 7:30 AM.
Is Cambodian food healthy?
When it comes to healthy food, traditional Cambodian food is one of the healthiest choices in the world. Authentic Cambodian recipes are made from fruits, vegetables, and lean meats such as fish, seafood, and pork.
30 Super Easy Traditional Cambodian Recipes
Watch our video
1. Cambodian
Kaw Sach Chrouk
<img src="https://ourbigescape.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/1.-Cambodian-Kaw-Sach-Chrouk.jpg" alt="traditional Cambodian recipes –
Cambodian Kaw Sach Chrouk” />
Khmer food recipe: Kaw Sach Chrouk or Kaw is a traditional Cambodian food. This is an authentic Cambodian recipe for slow-cooked braised pork with caramelized broth, bamboo shoots and hard-boiled eggs.
2.
Authentic Cambodian Chicken Amok Recipe
When you ask someone in Cambodia what their most typical Cambodian food is, you will hear “Amok”. So what is this traditional Cambodian recipe and what does it consist of? Basically, it’s a delicious curry dish that’s served on a folded, bowl-shaped banana leaf. Not only is the presentation absolutely beautiful, but the taste of crazy chicken is out of this world.
3. Cambodian Coconut Shrimp Soup
<img src="https://ourbigescape.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/3.-Cambodian-Coconut-Shrimp-Soup.jpg" alt="Traditional Cambodian Recipes – Cambodian Coconut Shrimp Soup"
/>
Quick and easy, this vibrant traditional Cambodian recipe of coconut shrimp soup with coconut milk, green beans and tomatoes is perfect for a weekday dinner.
I’ve adapted this authentic Cambodian recipe for coconut shrimp stew to some extent, as getting all the ingredients I learned to cook with in Phnom Penh proved tricky here in the United States. However, I have left two traditional ingredients in the recipe: lemongrass and fresh turmeric.
4. Cambodian Pepper Meat Recipe (Lok Lak)
Super
tender
meat
that’s topped with a bright, spicy sauce – this traditional Cambodian recipe may not be as famous as Crying Tiger Beef or Steak Frites, but it deserves to be! It’s one of my favorite ways to eat sirloin and an easy-to-prepare Cambodian meal at home, and it’s ready in less than 30 minutes. Winner!
5
. Authentic Cambodian recipe for Kroeung
Cambodian Kroeung
which translates directly as “Ingredients” is the herbal paste that gives Cambodian food its distinctly exotic flavors and aromas that distinguish Khmer food from neighboring countries like Thailand and Vietnam. Exceptionally Khmer, this Cambodian lemongrass paste recipe is used in a wide variety of Cambodian dishes as a base flavoring.
6. Cambodian (Khmer) Fish Amok Recipe
What is “amok”? If you’re visiting Southeast Asia on our culinary tours in Cambodia and Vietnam, you’re sure to hear (and taste) Amok’s traditional Cambodian food, but what exactly is it?
A Khmer amok recipe is a traditional Cambodian recipe usually made with fish, although chicken and amok beef are also popular. The food is traditionally a bit like a curry stew served in a jar made of banana leaves. An amok Cambodia can be served with or without rice.
You may also be interested in: 20 best recipes from Laos
7.
Cambodian Lok Lak Recipe
Here is one of the real traditional Cambodian food options: lok lak meat. Lok lak or loc lac (ឡុកឡាក់) appears on the menu of most restaurants in Cambodia, but also abroad. In fact, it is a dish that delights the palate of Westerners and has therefore been exported very well.
The traditional Cambodian recipe consists of meat cut into pieces, marinated and then sautéed in a wok before being served on a bed of green salad with slices of tomatoes and cucumber that bring freshness to the dish.
8
. Cambodian sweet and sour soup
Cambodian food
served with jasmine rice and a variety of tasty side dishes, this soup can make a complete meal, and often does so in Cambodia
.
This authentic Cambodian recipe should serve as a guide; Add and subtract quantities and ingredients to your liking. The soup base can be made with all water, with one of the other liquids mentioned or with a mixture, depending on your preference. Once everything is chopped and ready to use, the soup does not take long to prepare.
9. Cambodian Num Bahn Chok: Cambodian Rice Noodle Recipe
While staying with my mother in Cambodia for a few months, I learned to appreciate one of her favorite Cambodian foods, a traditional Cambodian breakfast recipe called num banh
chok
Or Cambodian noodles: rice noodles served with fish sauce and freshly foraged wild Cambodian vegetables (some of which don’t have an English name), eaten with a few chili peppers on the side. Like all our morning breakfast in Cambodia, it is served at room temperature, in a plastic bag, delivered to our home.
10. Samlor Kako recipe
<img src="https://ourbigescape.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/10.-Samlor-Kako-Recipe.jpg" alt="Cambodian recipe -Samlor Kako recipe"
/>
Samlor Kako
is the
traditional Cambodian recipe that is a version of the leftover French Ratatouille from the colonial era
.
The original French ratatouille was first made in Provence, but eventually became a popular dish in all regions of France. Cambodian food has an eggplant base and contains many other vegetables as well.
11
. Cambodian Chicken and Rice Soup
with Shrimp 
An authentic Cambodian recipe for this spicy, soothing and restorative chicken and rice soup, Ratha Chau prepares her own delicious chicken broth and roasts a chicken, which is then cut into large pieces and added. The use of prepared broth and pre-roasted chicken significantly reduces the preparation time.
12. Lort Cha Traditional Cambodian Recipe
This
authentic Cambodian recipe makes the popular sandwich of rice noodles sautéed with garlic, bean sprouts and scallions or chives in a sauce of palm sugar, fish sauce and dark soy sauce. They are usually eaten in Cambodia with a soft fried egg, a liberal drizzle of chili sauce, and maybe a chive pie or two, which lort cha vendors fry in the same pan.
You
may also be interested in: 31 classic recipes of Filipino food and 13 Filipino dishes
. Kuy
Teav Cambodian Recipe
When thinking of Asian soups, it’s easy to imagine the narrow Cambodian streets, the fragrant markets where vendors sell their authentic Cambodian recipes during the day. Rush hour is morning, when most local people are looking for their soup for breakfast. Kuy Teav, this hearty and spicy Khmer soup based on pork broth with Chinese origins, is one of the most typical morning street foods in Cambodia.
14. Cambodian Chicken Red Curry
The traditional Cambodian recipe of red curry chicken, known as Somlar Kari Saek Mouan or sometimes Khmer red curry, is a rich
Cambodian
food, a tasty curry
made with coconut milk, chicken, eggplant, green beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes and a wonderful red curry paste called kroeung. It is similar to Thai red curry, but not as spicy.
We love to travel and we always come home inspired by new dishes that we like to try to recreate.
15. Samlor Kako: Khmer Small Fish and Vegetable Stew <img src="https://ourbigescape.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/15.-Samlor-Kako-Khmer-Small-Fish-and-Vegetable-Stew.jpg" alt="Samlor Kako
Khmer Small Fish and Vegetable Stew” />
The traditional Cambodian recipe of Samlor Kako, also called Somlaw Koko, samlor koko,
samlor korko
or “សម្លកកកូរ” in Khmer, it has a very strong Asian spice base, including ginger, lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, fish paste and fish sauce. The vegetables used are also traditional Asian vegetables, such as eggplant, green grated papaya, and kidney beans.
16
. Traditional Cambodian Amok Prawn Recipe
<img src="https://ourbigescape.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/16.-Traditional-Cambodian-Prawn-Amok-Recipe.jpg" alt="Traditional Cambodian Amok Prawn Recipe"
/>
The authentic Cambodian shrimp recipe Amok is a wonderfully fragrant Cambodian curry that uses lemongrass, turmeric, garlic, chili, ginger and shallot to create a powerfully tasty curry paste. That curry paste is paired with coconut milk, prawns, and bok choi for a simple, light weekday dinner you’ll want to make over and over again.
17
. Cambodian Roti Recipe
Roti
is
a type of flatbread served with Cambodian food and is easy to make at home with our easy recipe. Fry the dough to obtain a crispy finish. The simple Cambodian recipe for this dish can be made in no time and makes the food feel more authentic.
18
. Cambodian Lemongrass Chicken Recipe
<img src="https://ourbigescape.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/18.-Cambodian-Lemongrass-Chicken-Recipe.jpg" alt=
“Cambodian Lemongrass Chicken Recipe” />
During our visit to Cambodia, Tomasi (husband) and I were obsessed with their traditional Cambodian recipe of chicken wings with lemongrass. Wings were a popular street food that we often saw cooking on small sidewalk barbecues. The wonderful smell of fragrant chicken cooking in charcoal never stopped watering our mouths.
I like to know the local ingredients of the country and learn about their food preparation and cooking styles.
Top 26 Authentic Vietnamese Recipes
19.
Cambodian Stuffed Chicken Wings Recipe
Stuffed
chicken, or what Cambodians call Moan Baok, is another street food favorite for the Khmers. It is also found in most street food stalls along with kang kaeb baok, intended for chicken lovers, or the less adventurous.
Slab Moan Baok or authentic Cambodian recipe of stuffed chicken wings, is a very popular Cambodian dish. During any Cambodian celebration or house party, you will always see a baok of slab moans. . Many Cambodians do it as an accompaniment to salads and soups at home on a monthly basis.
20
. Cambodian Black Pepper Meat (Lok Lak)
Cooking the wok happens quickly, so prepare each ingredient for this traditional Cambodian recipe beforehand. Best New Chef 2019 Nite Yun’s intensely tasty marinade not only softens the flank steak, but also adds punchy flavor in just a few minutes of cooking. Golden Mountain seasoning sauce is slightly saltier than soy sauce, with a hint of sweetness. Find it online and in Asian markets. Kampot peppercorns are available in oaktownspiceshop.com.
21. Cambodian Chicken Curry Recipe
This traditional
Cambodian
chicken curry recipe
is business. It’s very light and fragrant and people have said it’s as good as any you’d get in a restaurant! High praise indeed.
One of the best things about Cambodian food is that the dishes are extremely fragrant as the lemongrass, ginger, garlic and lime in this curry make it very light and won’t sit on your stomach like some heavier tomato based curries you may have made in the past.
22. Cambodian Sour Soup Recipe
Cambodian
Sour Soup
Is Not What It Seems. I really wish there was a better English translation for “samlor machu”, which is Khmer (the language spoken in Cambodia) for “sour soup”.
This authentic Cambodian recipe really isn’t THAT sour and there’s so much more to it besides the sour taste: hints of sweet, salty, spicy (though not super spicy) merge into a wonderfully tasty and relaxing soup.
23. Cambodian Tuk Trey Recipe
Fish sauce is an essential ingredient in many Asian cuisines. This is an authentic Cambodian recipe for Tuk Trey, a sauce made from fish sauce that is the essence of Cambodian cuisine.
Literally, tuk trey (ទឹកត្រី in Khmer) means “fish water”. It is pronounced “tukatrei”.
Fish sauce is the staple condiment of many cuisines such as Vietnamese, Thai, Laotian, Filipino, Chinese and other Southeast Asian cuisines. It is even found in Senegalese cuisine.
It can be added to any dish during the cooking process or mixed with other seasonings in different ways depending on the local uses of each country. Fish sauce is eaten with fish, seafood, poultry and all kinds of meat. In southern China, it is often used in soups and stews.
24. Cambodian grilled eggplant
<img src="https://ourbigescape.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/24.-Cambodian-Grilled-Eggplant.jpg" alt=
“Cambodian grilled eggplant” /> This traditional Cambodian recipe of grilled
eggplant
with minced pork makes a delicious Cambodian meal called Chha Trob for short in Khmer. The eggplant is grilled, so it has a wonderful smoky flavor, while the minced pork, sautéed with fermented soybeans, is a little funky, a little salty, and a little sweet.
This Cambodian recipe for grilled
eggplant with minced pork is next in my series on the best Cambodian barbecue recipes and follows my previous recipes of smoked grilled pork ribs and meat skewers, two of our favorite Cambodian street food dishes
. You
May Also Like: 15 of Myanmar’s Best Burmese Recipes 25
.
Chicken Samlá Curry
This Samlá chicken recipe is a curry that is basically a type of soupy curry and one that is quite commonly found in Cambodia. It is served as soup or as a stew poured over rice. The thick coconut milk broth and broth is what makes a Samlá stand out. It reminds you a lot of Thai yellow curry, but the flavors are different.
26. Chamhoi Spicy Steamed Fish Recipe
As usual, to keep it as an authentic Cambodian recipe, I will use mute fish / snakehead fish, (Trei Ros in Cambodian), frozen,
of course. You can also opt for sea bass, tilapia or any freshwater fish. But personally, the snakehead fish is always a winner with me.
Although it has the same white, flaky flesh as tilapia, snakehead meat
is slightly firmer, and although both have a mild flavor, tilapia leaves a slight fishy aftertaste, while no fishy aftertaste would be detected from snakehead meat.
27. Cambodian Saom Omelette Recipe
Our traditional Cambodian for this
Saom
omelette recipe
is made with a beloved Cambodian herb called saom. Known in English as climbing acacia or acacia leaf, saom is called cha-om in Thailand and in Myanmar it is its pout ywet. Saom – sometimes spelled sa’om – are the feathery shoots of senegalia pennata, which is also called acacia pennata.
Saom is grown on a small scale here in Cambodia, but mostly fed. Cambodians were foragers long before it was fashionable. The natural instinct is to rip something out of the backyard, neighbor’s yard, the side of the road, or any place in and around town where things grow.
28. Pork and rice (Bai Sach Chrouk)
This much-loved authentic Cambodian recipe makes a breakfast dish found in street vendors in the early hours of the morning. Pork is marinated with garlic and sometimes coconut milk, and then slowly roasted on a wire rack placed on burning charcoal.
29. Cambodian Meat Skewers
<img src="https://ourbigescape.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/29.-Cambodian-Beef-Skewers.jpg" alt="Cambodian Meat Skewers"
/> This traditional Cambodian
meat
skewer recipe
kicks off our series on the best Cambodian barbecue recipes. Called Sach Ko ang in Khmer, they are typically eaten with pickled vegetables and are a classic snack in the late afternoon or early evening in Cambodia. Some locals slide the meat off the skewer into the buttered baguette to make a meal with them.
30. Cambodian Pahut (fish cakes)
Food is a never-ending exploration, and the last thing before us is a Cambodian meal we love with these
Pahut or fish cakes
.
Cambodia is a land of rivers and lakes, bordered by the Gulf of Thailand, and nestled between Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. The cuisine is lighter and features more vegetables and fish than Thai or Vietnamese.
Traditional Cambodian recipes are an exotic fusion of Chinese, Indian and French influences. The food is light, delicate and healthy. Emphasis is placed on the freshness of the ingredients and simplicity in the kitchen, allowing complex aromas, textures and flavors to shine. The main flavors are subtle, using lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves and turmeric.
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