5 reasons for homemade Khmer food
When it comes to authentic food, nearly every restaurant and street stall will claim that they are offering homemade Khmer food in Cambodia. But eben if they do their best, it’s in most cases not even close to the Cambodian food you get in the homes of the locals.
Reason 1: We have enough time
When you order food in a restaurant, you expect the food delivered as fast as possible. But many Khmer dishes do need time to be prepared. So they have to be made in advance, or at least partly prepared, and then warmed up for you. That’s not the case with homemade Khmer food.
Reason 2: Freshness and homemade Khmer food
The food used by our hosts is made of fresh ingredients from the market and their garden.
Our hosts will go to the market on the day of the booking, and when it’s dinner they even go to the afternoon market. This way they can ensure that the ingredients are fresh. The leaves they use are harvested just hours ago, the vegetables arrived in the morning from the farm and the chicken, pigs or cows were slaughtered a day or just hours before.
Reason 3: Watch how they prepare the food
Watch our hosts prepare the meals, or even help to get the best homemade Khmer food experience.
Our hosts have nothing to hide, and that’s why we encourage you to come a bit earlier and watch them preparing the food or even help. The Cambodia way of cooking is not totally different from western cooking. But you will see some differently tools, like the mortar for making spice paste, or the cleaver for cutting everything from meat to vegetables. Round wooden boards are common as well. Some of our hosts will still use open fire, most changed to gas already.
Reason 4: No processed food
The rice we use is Cambodia rice, in most cases from the family’s farm just outside town. All vegetables grow in Cambodia or the neighboring countries. The important thing about homemade Khmer food : everything is made from scratch. Our hosts don’t just open a bag and heat it. They don’t even go to a supermarket to buy the ingredients. Many leaves and even ginger and galangal grow in the garden anyway.
Reason 5: Homemade Khmer food – made with love
Our hosts Mom and Sam: Homemade Khmer food means for them using the morning glory they planted, grew and harvested in their backyard.
Connecting travelers with locals means for us connecting people. at Dine With The Locals we focus on the human touch. It is exiting for travelers to meet locals people, and it’s equally special for locals to have foreigners in the their house or premises. And this extends as well to the way the hosts prepare the food: with love and passion. Our hosts are proud to present you Khmer culture and cuisine, and that’s why they take special care of you and the yummy dishes.
There is another reason why homemade Khmer food is better: Because for you as a traveler it means the upmost authenticity. Nowhere else you can experience the locals food, culture and lifestyle. At Dine With The Locals we provide this unique experience all over Cambodia.