Cambodian or Khmer food has influences from neighbouring countries such as Thailand and Vietnam but definitely has it’s own distinct taste. Some dishes can be spicy but most curries are not as hot as the ones you will find in Thailand and are made with a much more sweet taste. I must admit I do prefer Thai food but there are many dishes in Cambodia that I enjoyed.
Lok Lak
Beef Lok Lak was my favourite. The beef is stir fried in a brown sauce and served on a bed of lettuce with rice and an egg on top. It will also come with a side of peppery lime sauce which really livens up the dish. It may sound an odd combination but it was delicious!
Fish Amok
Fish amok is one of the most popular dishes, wrapped in banana leaf and a creamy thick sauce with added coconut milk, ginger and lemongrass. With similar flavours is the Khmer red curry with less chilli than a Thai curry and more sugar and coconut milk for that sweeter taste.
Lap Khmer
A spicier dish is the flavoursome Lap Khmer (beef salad) which is thinly sliced beef marinated in lime juice, with garlic, fish sauce, lemongrass, mint and chilli added. Most dishes come with rice but you will of course find noodles everywhere too, either stir fried or in a noodle soup.
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Dinner with local Cambodian family
During my tour, one of our local guides set up a meal at his Cambodian home for us all to experience a traditional dinner. This was such an authentic way to see real Cambodian life, taste the local home cooked food and to see inside a typical home.
Market food in Cambodia
The markets are some of tastiest places to eat in Cambodia and even better the cheapest! You can order what you want from the ingredients they have and they will cook it right in front of you. The markets can be a little smelly in places but seriously you get used to it after a while and the food is so good it’s worth it.
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Western food in Cambodia
There are cafes and restaurants in Cambodia with many Western style cuisines also. I would be careful when eating western style food however, as because it is not as popular, the ingredients may not be as fresh. The one time I got ill in Cambodia was when I had a western style chicken burger!
I would recommend going where the locals go– if a restaurant is busy with locals then its a good sign the food is well prepared and there’s a high turnover. The street food and market food is the cheapest you will find and the tastiest- just make sure its cooked hot and in front of you.
Eating crickets!
In Cambodia you can also try many other delightful food such as tarantula, crickets and snake! Cricket was ok, very crispy but strange because it still very much looks like a cricket when served on the table!
The snake was like a chewy chicken/ fishy taste and I was too scared to try the tarantula as it took most of my courage to even hold it! (It wasn’t alive, I’m just a scaredy cat!)
Cambodian drinks to try
When eating in a local Cambodian home, I was also given ‘tarantula whisky’ which is rice wine with tarantula floating in it. The rice wine was about 80% alcohol and I felt the inside of my throat melting!
A sweet treat to try is the sugar cane juice. You will see these on the side of the street. They hand press the sugar cane and squeeze the juice into a plastic bag with a straw in it. It’s absolutely delicious and especially refreshing under the heat of the Cambodian sun.
The beer gardens are also situated all over the city and are a great place to chill out and eat and chat with friends.
Have you tried Khmer food? Do you prefer Thai or Cambodian- thoughts?! 🙂
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