Khmer culture Archives - Page 2 of 3

Authentic cooking class in Siem Reap

Written by André Ruys on 12/26/2019. Posted in cooking class, eat in Siem Reap, eat with locals, Environment, food in Cambodia, Khmer culture, Siem Reap.

A cooking class in Siem Reap is a unique experience if you want to get to know the local cuisine. If you’re in a country like Cambodia, cooking can help you get to know the country’s culture much better. You will also learn more about the special features of Cambodian cuisine and its dishes.

Our cooking classes are slightly different from those offered by restaurants and hotels. We want to offer you an authentic experience and that’s why our focus is on homemade food that is prepared together with a family. You learn above all how to cook here at home a delicious Cambodian meal.

Learn how to make Kreung paste in our cooking class in Siem Reap

We want to bring people together with our cooking classes in Siem Reap, which is why we have hosts all over Cambodia. In Siem Reap you can cook with a former Apsara dancer and prepare a cozy dinner in the forest near Angkor Wat.

At our cooking classes in Siem Reap you will learn how to traditionally cook a meal in a Cambodian family.

Book now your cooking class experience!

Course of the cooking course in Siem Reap:

1. On arrival at the Cambodian house, the family introduces itself to you. In most families, at least one member speaks English and will explain what to expect. You can come for lunch or dinner.

2. After the greeting you will be shown the house and usually also the garden. For some families, you can even help pick or pick the herbs and vegetables yourself. You can also learn how to breed chickens, see crocodiles or later make small souvenirs.

3. Then it goes into the kitchen for the cooking experience. Each family has selected three dishes that they want to prepare with you in the Siem Reap cooking class. In most cases there is chicken and pork or fish, but we also have two families who can prepare a vegetarian meal on request.

Many famous Cambodian dishes

4. Cooking with locals in Siem Reap: you learn how to cook on a charcoal fire, how to stir food in an Asian wok, in which order the ingredients are added to the meal. Of course you can always ask questions about authentic Khmer food, our hosts will answer the best possible.
Some dishes are:

5. Eating together

Eat together after the cooking class in Siem Reap

After cooking, of course, they eat together. We wrote a small article on customs in a Cambodian household that tells you more about how to behave properly. In Cambodia, the food is either brought to the table all at once or as it is being prepared. The rice is on an extra plate. There are rarely knives, but if you want one your host will be happy to give it to you. Our course includes drinking water or tea, some hosts also like to sell you a Coca Cola or beer.

6. Other activities
A cooking class alone can bring you closer to culture. However, we would like to help you create more memories. Our hosts can teach you the essential steps in the Apsara dance, you can make a souvenir together or bake Cambodian waffles.

The authentic cooking class in Siem Reap takes about 2 hours. Transport is not included, but it is easy to get a tuktuk in Siem Reap.

What do you need to know when attending a cooking class in Siem Reap

Be open to new things. A kitchen in Cambodia is often outside the home. The process is a little different than you may be used to.
Spray yourself with mosquito spray
You are welcome to tip the hosts later.
Our families are also happy about children
Our cooking classes in Siem Reap are well suited for women who travel alone

How to use the Noni tree and fruit

Written by André Ruys on 12/20/2019. Posted in eat with locals, Experience Cambodia, food in Cambodia, Khmer culture, Khmer food.

The Noni tree (its scientific name is Morinda Citrifolia) is well know in Cambodia, but also all arround the world. Every culture has it’s own word for the green plant with the big green leaves. In Cambodia you can find two species: one grows forest and one grows around the villages. You can eat only the fruits from the domesticated species.

The fruit of the Noni tree

In the Cambodian culture the noni tree has many uses. You can use it as a traditional medicine, food or juice, also you can also use it as a cosmetic. The Noni tree fruit has green colour when it still young, then becomes yellow and at the end white when it is ripe. When the fruit riped it has a strong unpleasend smell.

Dried fruits are often grinded into a powder. Khmer people presse the seeds to extract oil from it. The latter is a complicated process and in many villages kept as a secrets between the elder.

In Cambodia we use the noni fruit as a traditional medicine and fr the famous Cambodian food called AmokFood in Cambodia: All you need to know. Khmer people believe that noni fruit helps a lot for health and protect from some illness. They like to use it for beauty as well. In the past Khmer people made a traditional medicine from noni tree, especially in the countryside.

Do you want to make Noni tree medicine?

Ok , then let me tell you how it made.

First you need some middle aged but nut yet ripe noni tree fruits. Clean them with water and keep keep the in the house to ripe a bit more. Then you need some sugar or honey ( the amount of sugar or honey depends on how many noni fruit you use). Put sugar or honey with noni fruit to make sure it mixes together well. Then put it in a jar and keep it sealed for 18 days to 20 days.

How to use Noni tree fruit drink medicine:

Drink a little amount before meals 3 to 4 times per day. As a traditional medicine it can help against aging and scars of acne. It is NOT recommended for pregnant women, people with kidney and liver problems. Some people will get a bad smell in their breath from eat.

How to use Noni for Amok

Fish Amok ist one of the most popular dishes in Cambodia. Pieces of fresh fish are mixes together with Kreung paste and coconut as well as chilli. But to make it special, you need noni tree leaves. Cut those which are full green (not dark, not bright) from a tree an wash them. Once you made the fish amok and it is in the steaming dish, cut the leaves into stripes and place it over the fish mix. Steam it for 20-30 minutes. You can see a video how to make fish Amok at our host Ms. Laum here.

If you want to make Amok by yourself, book our experience at Ms. Laum in Siem Reap.

Book now your cooking class experience!

How to eat with locals in Cambodia

Written by André Ruys on 11/28/2019. Posted in eat in Siem Reap, eat with locals, food in Cambodia, Khmer culture.

If you’re coming home to a Cambodian family for the first time and want to eat with locals, you’ll probably wonder about the customs. Eating with locals also means knowing how to behave correctly and not commit a faux pas. We have a little guidebook on what you can do in a Cambodian house and what not. Before we go into detail, there’s something else about gifts: she’s not expected. Khmer sometimes bring some fruit when visiting relatives. We recommend our guests to give a generous tip. The family doesn’t really want souvenirs.

The art of the Sam peah

When you approach the house, the family will usually be waiting and waiting. In Cambodia, as well as in Thailand and Laos, people greet each other with hands clasped together, held in front of the body. In Cambodian it is called “Sam peah”. How high your hands are held depends on the other person.

Sam peah, the Khmer greeting for friends. Important to know if you visit a house and eat with locals.	Sam peah, the Khmer greeting for monks
Sam peah, the Khmer greeting for older people	Sam peah, the Khmer greeting for the king

If the other person is younger or the same age, you hold the clenched hands directly in front of the chest.
If the person is older than you, your fingertips are almost touching your chin.
If you face higher-ranking people, like a village elder, a professor, a politician, then your fingertips are at nose-high.
You greet Monks with the flat hands at about eye level.
If you should ever meet the king, then the hands must be folded over the head, often the head is also bent forward.
It is just with younger members of the family sometimes handed the hand, then shake it, but with a very light handshake. But wait, until this is offered to you.

If you can say something in Khmer, welcome with “Jem Reap sua”.

Take the shoes off

In a Cambodian house no shoes are worn, so you will have to take them off, but you can keep the socks on. A small exception is a terrace in front of the house. Most of the time you can see a lot of shoes where you should take them off. When entering the house best not to touch the threshold, which brings bad luck.

Takes shoes off before enter a Khmer house

If you help our hosts with cooking, the kitchen will usually be outside and you can start shoes. It is a bit unusual that guests cook, so there are not many rules. Our hosts are very relaxed and will tell you what you can do. Do not be afraid to do something wrong, you will be rewarded with a hearty laugh.

Eat with locals in their house

At meals, there are some rules of hospitality that mainly affect the locals. A guest is an important person in a family and should be treated accordingly. There is no fixed seating arrangement, but one waits out of courtesy until the oldest person has sat down. Most of the time you are sitting on the floor. Men sit cross-legged while the women have their legs bent to the left or right. Most of the times you will sit in plastic chairs those days.

Guests after cooking with locals in Phnom Penh — Guests after eat with locals in Phnom Penh

First you will get a glass of water, sometimes in a small silver bowl. The water is purified drinking water, so you do not have to worry. Then rice is served, mostly by the wife in the family. The oldest person gets rice first, then mostly the guests. The rice is placed directly on your plate. The small bowl, which stands most next to the plate, is for the soup.

If everyone got rice you can start to take something from the different dishes. Apart from a clear soup, everything is eaten together with the rice on a plate. The food in Cambodia is cut in small pieces, so you will not see a knife. Eaten with fork and spoon. Chopsticks are actually only available for pasta dishes, which are usually also served in a large bowl. Incidentally, you are welcome to sip noodles here.

You signal the end of the meal

If you eat with locals, you will be asked again and again to eat more. But you are waiting for a signal that you are full. It is common practice to stop eating when the guest finishes the meal.

After eating you can get up, stretch your legs and look at your house and garden. The first floor is mostly taboo, unless it is explicitly offered to you (here is the bedroom and ancestral shrines). In the house look at everything, but ask if you can touch something. For everything that looks religious, it’s best to keep your hands off it.

If you get a dessert, it will be taken while sitting. Cambodian desserts are delicious. The mother of our host Sareth makes various desserts and sells them in the market. If you come for lunch, you will be able to taste it.

Say good bye and wave

When you say goodbye after you eat with locals you will stand with the family in front of the house. It is customary to thank you again, and to do some small talk. The farewell phrase is “Jem Reap Lia”, and you will fold your hands again as you would on arrival. Always start with the oldest person. Children will often wave, then wave back. Sometimes you will also get a small farewell gift to eat a fruit or a snack.

How to make Num Pom (Khmer waffles) and other sweets

Written by André Ruys on 11/26/2019. Posted in eat in Siem Reap, eat with locals, Experience Cambodia, food in Cambodia, Khmer culture.

Whether you’re in a market or just walking along a busy street, there are street stalls selling small desserts everywhere. Many sellers open already in the morning, from 7 o’clock and until 9 o’clock some are already sold out. There are many different types of these fried desserts and treats. We want to introduce three of them here, most importantly, Num Pom, the Khmer waffles

Our host in Siem Reap, Ms. Laum, sells homemade waffles in Siem Reap in the morning. In Khmer they are called Num Pom, and unlike European waffles they are not round but rectangular.

How to make Num Pom

Ms Laum makes Nom Pom, the Khmer coconut waffles

Mas laum makes Nom Pom, the Khmer coconut waffles — Ms Laum makes Nom Pom, the Khmer coconut waffles

Ingredients for Num Pom:

2½ cups rice flour
½ cup palm sugar
2 pinches of salt
3 eggs
1 cup coconut cream
½ fresh coconut flesh, grated

The dough is made from rice flour, eggs, palm sugar, salt, coconut cream and coconut meat. It is stirred like a regular waffle dough for about 5 minutes. The waffles are available in different quality. The cheap waffles are made with the thinner coconut milk and just a few coconut flakes. But Frau Laum buys the thicker coconut cream and fresh and coarsely grated meat.

With a ladle, the dough is then placed in the waffle irons that lie over a charcoal fire in a traditional Cambodian ground grill. The fire heats the irons very hard, so it does not take long for some crunchy waffles to finish. Traditionally they are served on a banana leaf. A good waffle costs 1000 Riel, about 25 cents.

Flat disks (Num chak chon)

Fried in the fat dough slices, which are called in Khmer Num chak chon. They consist of rice flour, half of which consists of glutinous rice flour, palm sugar and normal sugar, coconut milk and eggs. If you eat with locals, there is a good chance they offer you them during the day. Here is the exact recipe:

Ingredients:

Rice flour 250 g
Glutinous rice flour 100g
Sugar palm 100 g
Sugar 20 g
Coconut milk 120 g
Water 185 ml
Egg 1
Salt1 / 3 tsp
Oil for fry

How to make Num chak chon

First mix flour, salt and sugar, then stir it. Add a beaten and stirred egg and gently add the coconut milk. Gradually add half of the water. In the next step, the palm sugar is stirred gently until it has dissolved, about 10-15 minutes long. Now you add the rest of the water. The dough then has to rest for about 4-5 hoursm thats is different from Nom Pom.. Then small round pancakes are baked from it, which must be slightly brown at the edge.

Bullfrog Bread (Num Hing, Hollow Donut)

Num Hing got the funny name because it looks like a bloated bullfrog. It is especially in the morning for coffee eaten and is often sold out after an hour. To do it, you have to fry it in oil, preferably in a big wok. It tastes best if you still garnish it with sesame seeds.Other than Nom Pom you will use yeast here.

The ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of flour
1/2 tsps. of dry yeast
1 tsps. of baking powder
1/4 tsps. of salt (or 1 / 2tsp)
1/2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup of water (add little bit more of dough gets dry)
1 egg

How to make Bullfrog bread

Mix all ingredients at room temperature and knead them into a dough. If this is supple enough, you have to let it go covered for one hour in a not too cool place. Then you shape a long roll on which small slices about 2 cm thick are cut off. Put it on a plate and let it rest for another 15 minutes. Then you roll the small dough pieces flat and put them immediately in the hot fat. It is best to roll only one piece of dough at a time. It has to float in fat, like in a deep fryer. When completely bloated, remove and drain. After a short cool, they can eat the donuts.

If you like to make the Nom Pom waffles yourself, book lunch or dinner with Ms. Laum in Siem Reap. You will additionally learn how to make fish amok and other Khmer dishes and have a great meal with our host. It will be a unforgettable memory and a truly authentic experience.

Make your own Num Pom and delicious Khmer food in Siem Reap

What to do in Cambodia: 5 secrets

Written by André Ruys on 11/13/2019. Posted in eat with locals, Experience Cambodia, food in Cambodia, Khmer culture, local life, Uncategorized.

Of course, if you are going to Cambodia you will want to see the famous temples of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap. You will also visit the capital, Phnom Penh, and see the Royal Palace. But there are still many unknown places to discover. We tell you what you to do in Cambodia.

1. Look at architecture in Phnom Penh

Independence Monument Phnom Penh is one thing of what to do in Cambodia — Independence Monument Phnom Penh

There are not many buildings left by former star architect Vann Molyvann. He has designed the Olympic Stadium and the famous Chaktomouk Theater as well as the Independence Monument. You can still see both of them. He worked directly under King Sihanouk in the golden period of Cambodia between 1955 and 1970, when the city became the pearl of Southeast Asia. He also founds the New Cambodian Architecture, which is still an inspiration for many architects and artists. A glimpse of what Phnom Penh looked like in the 60s is in this video. Another highlight in architecture is the Central Market. You can also watch it from above on Google Maps and see how its arms reach all directions. It was built in 1937 and was then the largest market building in Asian. It is one of the most famous Art Deco buildings in Asia and a must on the list of what to do in Cambodia.

2. Modern Art in Cambodia

As a traveler, you will learn a lot about the past of Cambodia, especially the time of the Khmer Empire and the sad Khmer Rouge period. But there are also interesting developments in the present, and art is at the top of the list. Some artists have freed themselves from the shackles of the old rules and try to break new ground. One is Vannak Khun, a photographer and performance artist who has already presented his works in Tokyo. You can visit him in his studio in Phnom Penh and enjoy a typical Cambodian meal together. He will show you his works and explain what they mean. If you are interested in dance then you can watch the performances of Silverbell in Phnom Penh, a Cambodian dance group that performs modern dance and is also a highligt, what you can do in Cambodia. In Siem Reap there are the New Cambodian Artists, who also perform modern dance. You can also see great art in galleries, such as Theams House in Siem Reap, Tribe Gallery in Siem Reap, Sangker Gallery and Romcheik 5 Artspace & Café in Battambang, and Kbach Gallery and DinArt Gallery in Phnom Penh.

3. Eat with locals

What to do in Cambodia: Cook and have fun with locals — Cooking is on the list what to do in Cambodia.

The Cambodian cuisine is not well known, most travelers know the dishes Amok and Lok Lak, but not much else. The kitchen of the Cambodian kings has even influenced the Thai cuisine, and even has Indian roots. Cambodian food is not so spicy because there was no chili at the time of the Khmer empire – they were introduced later from South America. Many ancient Khmer dishes are still cooked in families today. It is a unique experience to go home to a family and cook a typical Cambodian meal together. You will cook like home, in a typical local kitchen, which is sometimes even outside the house and eat with locals. At Dine With The Locals, you can choose from 15 different host families in Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Battambang and Banteay Meanchey. Each family has their own dishes and recipes, and if you want to know what you can do in Cambodia, it’s definitely a family visit. You can also help the family earn extra money.

4. What to do in Cambodia: Exploring the hinterland

As a traveler, the best experience is to leave the classic route and explore new paths. For example, if you want to travel from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, you can make a stop in Kampong Thom, there are guesthouses or the cheap but quite good Glorious Hotel. Here you can see some lesser-known temples like Prasat Andet, Prasat Kuhak Nokor or Sambo Preykuk. To relax, you can take a rest at The Prey Pros. This is a real insider tip what you can do in Cambodia. The villagers have built a tourist attraction on a lake, which is mainly visited by locals. During the week, it is rather quiet and you can wonderfully enjoy the nature and talk to the owners of food stalls. If you want to travel to Siem Reap via Battambang, you can stop in Kampong Chnang. The city is quite small, but beautifully situated on the Tonle Sap River. Climb the Phnom Kong Rei and enjoy the views of the surrounding area. Go to the market and try the dishes there, especially the baked sweets.

5. By bike through the villages

After the meal have a bike trip around the village

We are not big fans of guided tours, so we do not offer guides at Dine With The Locals. We believe it’s better to explore the area on your own. That’s why we recommend simply taking a bike and touring on your own. In Phnom Penh you can take the bike and the Tuktuk to the Koh Dach peninsula and explore it on two wheels. Another tour leads to Tonle Bati, a popular lake south of Phnom Penh. Try to avoid the main roads and use Google Maps. Here are also small streets and paths registered. In Battambang you can drive through the city from north to south, all the way to Phnom Sampov. If you want to experience something very special, what to do in Cambodia is to visit our host Panha Yem. She has an organic garden and grows her own vegetables. She is also an environmental activist and teaches students how to do without plastic. You will cook a delicious meal with her and take it together and then she will take you on a great tour through her village. An unforgettable experience.

If you have any questions about what to do in Cambodia, just send us an email or contact us via Whatsapp or Facebook. We are happy to help

Boat race during water festival in Cambodia

Water festival in Cambodia (Bon Om Touk)

Written by André Ruys on 11/10/2019. Posted in Experience Cambodia, Khmer culture, Khmer food, local life, Uncategorized.

The Royal water festival in Cambodia celebrates the end of the rainy season in Cambodia. It is one of the most important festivals in Cambodia and probably the biggest one. Every year millions of people celebrate the festival in Phnom Penh, while in Siem Reap it is a bit quieter. With the end of the rainy season, the current of the Tonle Sap changed in recent years. Since the Mekong is the lowest at this time of the year and its water level is lower than the Tonle Sap Lake, the water of the lake flows over the Tonle Sap River into the Mekong. As a result, the Tonle Sap River flows six months a year from the southeast (Mekong) to the northwest (lake) and six months a year in the opposite direction.

Book now your truly authentic food experience!

The festival is celebrated especially in the big cities with numerous events, in Battambang usually a few weeks before. But also in the country you will find meetings on the holidays, it is sung, danced, eaten and drunk.

Boat races to the water festival in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh

In Phnom Penh boat races take place at the water festival, attracting teams from many countries. The boats are classic Asian rowing boats, a team consists of up to 20 men or women. There are both rowboats and paddles. Up to 300 teams take part in the competitions. They are made up of organizations – like the police and the army – and also village crews. These often take days of travel to purchase at the water festival. Many teams are accompanied by their families and it is customary to pitch their camp next to the boat for the festive season. The water festival in Cambodia will be opened by high-ranking personalities such as Prime Minister Hun-Sen or the Cambodian King.

[envira-gallery id=”2026″]

Legend has it that the Water Festival celebrates the Cambodian Marine, which has won heroic battles on the rivers since the 12th century, especially on the Mekong. By the way, Cambodia also holds the world record of the longest dragon boat on a river.

If you want to escape the hustle and bustle in Phnom Penh, you can watch the quieter festival in Siem Reap. The races take place in the early afternoon, on the first evening there is a small firework display at 6.30pm. As in the capital, many small stalls are set up along the river, where you can buy treats such as fried insect pickled mangoes and grilled chicken. Food is a important part of the water festival in Cambodia.

Special dishes for the festival

One of the delicacies that specializes in the water festival in Cambodia is ambok. The young rice is still roasted with the shell and then beaten with a huge pestle. The shells are removed and the flat-looking rice mixed with coconut milk and bananas. This rice is usually only at the end of the rainy season to buy, because then was also harvested. You can also eat it with chilies or even roast with pork and dried crab in the pan. Our hosts are happy to show how these dishes are made when the ambok rice is on the market.

If you want to experience local food by yourself, join our hosts, cook and eat with them and learn what else they know to do.

Book now your truly authentic food experience!

You can also contact us on Whatsapp

It’s about the experiences

Written by André Ruys on 11/01/2019. Posted in eat in Siem Reap, eat with locals, Experience Cambodia, food in Cambodia, Khmer culture.

We live in the age of bucket lists and Instagram-enabled places. When traveling, a moment lasts as long as the upload to the social network. Even in remote areas we have a high speed internet connection. Our digital experiences don’t last long.

And yet we are looking for deceleration. The difference between the tourist and the traveler is that the latter takes time. Travelers want to get to know people, discover places, look for the new and the unusual. Travelers want to make experiences that are authentic. Travelers want to connect with people, build relationships, socialize. Travelers bring not only pictures home, but new friendships and memories.

Cooking at a organic farm in Battambang is an unforgettable experience.

You cant’t forget experiences

Whenever we travel, it is the people we remember. The tour guide in Buthan, who took us home. The hotel owner in Kathmandu, who made a career as an environmentalist. The DJ in Japan who rarely saw Tokyo in their club. The student in Vietnam, who liked to wear colorful clothes.

We want to connect people in Cambodia with travelers. When you come to our hosts, do not book lunch or dinner. They book an extraordinary experience that is hidden from the tourist. We give you time and space to talk to our host families, cook and eat together.

A common meal is the first way to connect people in all cultures of the world. Essen connects and is at the same time a starting point for an exchange of cultures. In Cambodia we had guests from India, from Taiwan, from America and from Germany and many other countries. Many guests exchanged their Facebook addresses with the families, some went out together after dinner or enjoyed the view of the rooftops of Phnom Penh.

We create something special

If you come to Cambodia or Vietnam, we offer you a truly authentic experience. Each of our hosts not only cooks delicious local food with you, but also introduces you to the culture and way of life. We have former apsara dancers, organic farmers, silk producers and modern artists. Our hosts are carefully selected so we can offer you an exclusive experience.

Food in Angkor Wat: Look at the carvings

Written by André Ruys on 10/23/2019. Posted in eat with locals, food in Cambodia, Khmer culture.

Those who come to Angkor Wat are impressed not only by the sheer size of the religious site, but also by the detailed stonework. In many columns, images of Apsara dancers are carved. On the other hand, stories are told in the walls, from the beginning of the world to battles and everyday life. In this way, we get a fascinating insight into the Khmer culture more than 1000 years ago. Even in a digital project, it has been attempted to design the architecture as it once looked and to awaken it with a vivacious life. But there is also a lot about food in Angkor Wat to see.

The significant period of the Khmer and Angkor Wat was during the reign of Jayavarman II who lived in the 9th century. He gilded as the founder of the Khmer Empire, the dominant war until the 15th century in the region and long considered the largest empire in the world.

Lots of stone carvings about food in Angkor Wat

Old stoneworks shows the daily life in Angkor Wat

Our team took the trouble to take a closer look at some of the reliefs. As a web platform, which deals with the food, of course, we were interested in corresponding stone slabs. Food has always played a major role in Angkor Wat and the realm of Jayavarman II.

Today we know only from the traditional stone slabs how this project was mastered logistically. There were whole units that only dealt with the preparation of food in Angkor Wat. It is believed that many stone works show soldiers or priests cooking for the ruler and working in the countryside.

Especially interesting are the details. On a plate in Angkor Thom you can see how to pour a rice into a pot.

Ancient carving of cooking rice in Angkor Wat

This is on a small fireplace. This kind of rice cooking is still a common way today in Cambodia. Anyone visiting a Cambodian family in Siem Reap will see the same items. Another picture shows a pig being panned over a saucepan. This too is still a common practice today: only small pieces are cut and then placed in the boiling water.

Old ways of cooking Khmer food

Already in the old Khmer empire, people cooked together food in Angkor Wat and had a meal. Even then you sat on small podiums that had different purposes. On the one hand, they served as a table on which one sat and ate together. But they also served as a workplace.

Another plate shows the hunt with bow and arrow. Today, simple rifles are taken when hunting game. But after a heavy rain, men are seen wearing helmets carrying a long spit. They are looking for frogs, sitting along the roadside and along the canals. Frogs are a cheap source of protein and they are still found on Cambodian plates.

In the early years of the Khmer Empire many dishes were developed. Our hosts preserve the tradition of Cambodian cuisine and Khmer culture. What was once the food in Angkor Wat is now the common cuisine in Cambodia.

Enjoy more stone carving pictures in our gallery.

[envira-gallery id=”1959″]

Celebrating World Food Day in Cambodia

Written by André Ruys on 10/17/2019. Posted in Experience Cambodia, food in Cambodia, Khmer culture, Khmer food.

On October 16, the World Food Day is celebrated. He recalls the creation of FAO, a United Nations sub-organization, which took place on that day in 1945. The FAO is responsible for nutrition and agriculture.
Today, the day is also celebrated by the World Food Program of the United Nations. The World Food Day is intended to draw attention to a proper diet, but also to the still existing problem of malnutrition in Cambodia.

Every year there is a motto under which the World Food Day is held, this year it is “Healthy diets for a zero hunger world.”. This is intended to draw attention to the problems of malnutrition, which also exists in Cambodia.

While hunger is getting less and less in Cambodia, the problem of malnutrition is still there. Studies show that Cambodian children grow too slowly and are underweight for their age. Especially in rural areas, a balanced diet is difficult, but in many parts unknown. Children learn very early that rice makes the stomach full and is the cheapest staple. They eat very little vegetables and fruits, and protein is even rarer because meat and fish are expensive.

Word Food Day points to local issues

In addition, the fish in the Tonlesap Lake are getting smaller, and the lake continues to shrink in the dry season. Overfishing, especially of young fish, with a still growing population is a big problem.

The Cambodian cuisine is quite healthy. It offers a balance of vegetables and meat, and also provides carbohydrates. The many Samlor soups ensure that you get enough liquid and minerals. Local dishes and ingredients such as Prahok have been invented to preserve protein throughout the winter and dry season. The World Food Day aims to raise awarness about those problems.

Our host families are also encouraged to cookhost families are also encouraged to cook more complete dishes through our offer. We want to help them understand food as a common activity, as it once was. We also tell them about a good diet for children, which is a challenge if you can buy cheap sweets just around the corner. This is part of our activities during the World Food Day, but also all over the year.

As guests, you can also contribute by praising our host families for cooking and asking what they eat every day. If you kindly explain how important a healthy diet is – even if you do it in a few words and with your hands and feet – that’s a small step towards improvement.

Street food in Cambodia – all you need to know

Written by André Ruys on 10/05/2019. Posted in eat in Siem Reap, eat with locals, Experience Cambodia, food in Cambodia, Khmer culture.

The small street food dishes you can buy at street stalls in Bangkok have made street food world famous. In Cambodia, too, there are small stalls in every town, most of which produce one or two dishes. Some also have a whole buffet to choose from.

First you have to distinguish the grill stalls from those who sell cooked food. Everything that is meat is grilled, from fish to chickens to frogs and rats. Some shops grill half a cow or a pork half on the roadside. The meat is then cut directly and calculated per 100 grams. You also get some herbs and cabbage. Another form of grilled food as street food is small pieces, such as chicken legs and wings, chicken hearts and feet, or simply sliced beef or pork slices. Often the meat has been marinated with chili, soy sauce and other ingredients. Rats and frogs are usually laid on the grill as a whole.

Street food is common for breakfast

But there are also cooked food on the street to buy, Most street stalls also have a few seats. Nam Ban Chok is a kind of fish curry, but not spicy with plenty of coconut milk. It is served with rice noodles and many herbs. In Cambodia it is a classic breakfast dish. Similarly, the Khmer curry, like most curries a mild variant, despite the red color. Classically it is served with chicken cooked in curry. The rice noodle dishes at street food stalls are usually only at certain times, usually in the morning. If they are sold out, you have to come back the next day. There are also very local delicacies: In Battambang the absolute insider tip is a small stall that sells pork brain soup early in the morning.

As in Thailand, small street restaurants with a buffet have been established in Cambodia. Here you can either choose three small dishes and serve them with rice or order a dish with a large portion. The menu varies from day to day and depends on what’s on the market, but also on the mood of the mostly female chefs.

Our host Hong Ginlai in Siem Reap runs a street restaurant. Their specialties are the Samlor Ktis, fish and pork with Tamarind and Prahok and Samlor Kor Ko, a soup with vegetables, Kreung paste and powdered toasted rice. Every morning she drives to the market in the dark and buys the ingredients for her dishes. Some stands already prepare the goods for them, cut the vegetables or mix the paste for the fishcakes. From seven o’clock in the morning she starts to cook the street food, and at 9 o’clock at the latest there are 15 different dishes ready to buy.

Learn yourself how to make the food

Ms. Hong Ginlai gave us exclusive access to her restaurant: If you want to cook your own food on a street stand, you can book it here. It starts at 8 o’clock, and after cooking, a breakfast is taken together. Our colleague Mealea explains the guests even more about the Cambodian cuisine.

Book now your cooking class experience!

When you visit a local market in Cambodia

Written by André Ruys on 09/24/2019. Posted in eat in Siem Reap, Experience Cambodia, food in Cambodia, Khmer culture.

Have you ever visited a market in Cambodia? Each village has such a small market, which is definitely worth a visit. In the cities there are big markets like the Central Market in Phnom Penh and the Psa Leu in Siem Reap. But the individual districts also have markets. The most famous market in Siem Reap is the Old Market. The Samaki market is known for having wholesalers deliver vegetables and fruits early in the morning.

If you go to a market, you should always have some change, preferably the local currency Riel. 4000 Riel (KHR) equals one dollar and you pay almost anything under $ 5 with the local currency.

A market is usually divided into different areas:

meat and fish
vegetables
fruit
household goods
to eat and drink
dress

Somewhat unusual it may be that fish and meat lying open on tables. The sales assistants try to chase the flies with a frond or sometimes a converted ventilator away. Since fish and meat are usually processed immediately after purchase, bacteria and larvae have no time to multiply.

Visit a local market in Cambodia

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What to buy when you visit a local market in Cambodia

The vegetables come from both local farmers – many even produce organic vegetables – and from importers. Siem Reap is quite close to the Thai border, and Phnom Penh gets a lot of goods from the nearby Mekong Delta in Vietnam. The fruits also come from Cambodia as well as from the surrounding countries.

You can negotiate at the market, but since most traders do not understand English, it will be a bit difficult. Increasingly fixed prices prevail, and you pay per kilogram. However, you often get something for free if you buy something more.

You can not only shop for food when you visit a local market in Cambodia, but also taste ready-made food. There are grilled chicken and pork, but also curries and Cambodian soups like Samlor Ko kor. Either sit down and eat right at the stand or get the dishes packed and take them home. Definitely try the Cambodian waffles, which are baked directly on the market and contain coconut milk and -flakes. Anyway, all the small snacks are worth trying, for example fried bananas or sticky rice grilled in the banana leaf.

Get some sugar cane juice from a local vendor

If you are thirsty, there will be either a stall offering a variety of drinks or traders walking around with buckets filled with sugar cane juice. This is a great refreshment when it’s hot.

In terms of hygiene in the market, of course, this differs from a modern supermarket. But that also means that not everything is packed in plastic. Also you do not need energy-consuming air conditioners. Since the locals shop here every day for their goods, the dealers also make sure that everything is clean. In addition, the goods are processed directly after purchase, which increases food safety again.

If you want to experience a street food stall, then you should visit our host Hong Genlai in Siem Reap. You will start at 8am helping cooking some of the 15 dishes she offers every day and then have a great breakfast together.

Join a Khmer family with Pchum Ben celebrations

Pchum Ben in Cambodia: The ceremonies

Written by André Ruys on 09/16/2019. Posted in eat with locals, food in Cambodia, Khmer culture.

Every year Cambodia celebrates the Pchum Ben day. Many call it the ancestors day, because the main activity is to offer food to the ghosts of the dead relatives. Officially the festival is 14 days long, but most families leave it with the last three of four days. In Phnom Penh it is common now to just go to the temple for one day. The capital is quite empty because many who work here leave the city and go back to their hometown. The word ‘Ben’ in Khmer means to collect; ‘Ben’ also means to cup or mould cooked rice into portions. To ‘Ben Baht’ means to collect food to give to monks. The word ‘Phchum’ means to congregate or to meet together.

How does a day during Pchum Ben look like?

Our team member Thyda explains the activities with her family.

“One day before the main Pchum Ben celebrations, my mother goes to market to buy meat and vegetables. Wer are very traditional, that means we cook a lot of different dishes.

On the day when we are going to the pagoda, all family members get up at 5:30 am. They gather in the kitchen and start preparing the food and cook. Usually it takes around one and a half hours to cook all the different dishes. There is no rule in what to cook. Some prefer more expensive food like duck and beef, some care more about decoration, and others worry about the ghosts health and offer vegetarian food. After cooking, we arrange the dishes in small containers (in khmer called Chansrak) together with rice and some fruits as well as Khmer sticky rice. Also, we have to bring candles and even some money for the monks and the pagoda.

Some people go to seven pagodas

The family then usually drives to the temple next to their home. There is also a tradition that families have to visit 7 pagodas within 7 days. Everyone goes to the pagoda because they don’t want the spirits of dead members of their family to come to seek offerings at pagodas in vain. It is believed that wondering spirits will go to look in seven different pagodas and if those spirits can not find their living relatives’ offering in any of those pagodas, they will curse them, because they cannot eat food offered by other people.

The women dress in a traditional skirt, often woven from silk, and a white blouse. Over the shoulder they wear a white scarf. Girls can also dress the same way, The men have a nice shirt and trousers.

Feeding the ghosts

We have to make sure we arrive at the temple before 11 am. It is tradition in Buddhism, that monks are not allowed to eat after 11 am. So we arrive at 8am at the pagoda and offer the food to the monks. One reason is to support the holy men with food, during Pchum Ben it is also a way, to feed the ghosts. The monks are mediators between the real world and hell. It is said that during Pchum Ben the gates from hell are open and the hungry ghosts come out. The offerings are meant to make them full and calm the ghosts down. After placing the food containers in the dedicated place, we queue up in a line of many people to put rice in bowls on a very long table. some decades ago rice was thrown on the floor to feed the ghosts, but it changed to bowls and plates so it can be eaten later.

Another beautiful tradition follows the offerings. Monks have build huge sand piles, and we start creating small hills from it and decorate with flags and ornaments. This activity is only seen during Pchum Ben. It is unclear where the tradition is coming from, and some pagodas have only one sand mountain while other have several in different sizes.

[UPDATE: Not available in 2020] Join us for a authentic experience in Pchum Ben day

Once the activity at the sand piles is over, we sit with others in the pagoda and have a meal together. Since there is way too much food for the monks and the ghost don’t really eat it, it would be a waste to leave it. Some pagodas share the food with poor people in the neighborhood.”

Thydas mother Phanny is a really good cook, and offers to take travelers to the pagoda during Pchum Ben. We have a special package that includes:

Cooking the food together at the home
Drive to the pagoda
Offerings, explanations, prayers and meditation
Drive back to the home
Have lunch at home (or pagoda, if desired).

Authentic Khmer food on the menu

The menu is a set menu (the ghosts really like it too):

CHICKEN FOREST SOUR SOUP (SAMLOR MACHOUPREY SACHMIEN)

It is a kind of hot-soup which was named from a forest. It is cooked with a combination of chicken and varieties of fresh vegetables like colorful tomato, green pepper, and sweet pepper, mixed with Khmer Kroeung and tamarind. For Khmer Kroeung, she uses lemongrass stalk, Kaffir lime, Galangal, Rhizome, and garlic. To make a yellow Kroeung, she added turmeric a bit over than others to get color and flavor. Finally, the soup is added with holy basil known as M’rah prov.

FRIED SWEET GOURD (KHUO NORNAOENG)

A very fresh fried tropical vegetables mixed (gourd and sweet corn) with chicken egg will bring you an unforgettable experience of Khmer food. After cooking, she added Kampot pepper and spring onion over the fried.

GRILLED PORK RIB (CHHA-EUNG CHHUMNY CHROUK-ANG)

A common right dish for every time meals such as breakfast, lunch or dinner. She could make it special by marinating the pork ribs with Kampot pepper (a special pepper from the southwest part of coastal of Cambodia), a little salt and sugar, oyster sauce and garlic, etc. Its smell will make you hungry!

COCONUT JELLY (CHA-HUOY DOUNG)

Hot and steamy would be a good way to describe the weather in Cambodia. Therefore, the coconut jelly is a popular dessert to help you cool down the heat inside your body. Mixed gelatine powder with coconut water and let it stand for a few minutes. After that top up it with coconut milk and leave in the fridge to set.