13 aprile 2007

Travels in Cambodia



What a marvellous place it is Cambodia, its history, temples, nature, people, food and fruit!!

... the last stop before returning to the hustle of Hong Kong was a fruit stall of Phnom Penn to grab some durium....

the night before we walked around the city's water front to get to a suggested restaurant called Romdeng, a beautiful place set up by ngo's for sustaining and training young students ". Here we had the most delicious meal.
2 colour pomelo salad with shrimps and green mango,
grilled fish with green tamarind sauce, onions and mango relish
fish amok- fish curry with coconut cream cooked and served in banana leaves

Here is a recipe for the FISH AMOK

Ingredients
  • 400 g meaty fish
  • 2/4 cup coconut cream
  • 2 cups coconut milk
  • 1 egg, beaten
Kroeung:
  • 2 dried red chilies, soaked, drained and chopped into a paste
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 2 tbsp galangal, cut small
  • 1 tbsp lemon grass stalk zest of ¼ kaffir lime
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp kapi (a shrimp paste)
  • 300 g young nhor leaves (substitute: collard greens and super finely chopped lemon grass)
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 3 tbsp kaffir lime leaves, sliced thinly
  • 3 cayenne peppers
  • Banana leaves to make cups

Directions

First make the kroeung, then slice the catfish thinly and set aside. Remove nhor from stem; slice the kaffir lime leaves and cayenne peppers thinly.

Stir the kroeung into 1 cup of coconut milk, and when it has dissolved, add the egg, fish sauce and sliced fish. Then add the remaining coconut milk and mix well.

Make the banana leave cups, then put the nhor in first, and top with the fish mixture. Steam for about 20 minutes or until the coconut milk is solid, but still moist. Before serving top each cup with coconut cream and garnish with kaffir leaf and cayenne peppers.

Serve with steamed rice.

And this is what it should look like:

Khmer dinner

Sour fish soup with pineapple and lotus

minced pork wrapped in banana leaves

grilled geef skewer with crushed lemongrass

steamed fish with coconut cream and fresh nyoa leaf

stir fried mixed vegetable with garlic and oyster sauce

and for dessert (not in the picture)

stuffed sticky rice flour with yellow bean with crushed sesame seeds (with coconut milk and fresh ginger)

Khmer dinner n°2


more delicious khmer dishes.....

salad of fish and lemongrass

sour fish soup with water spinach

stir fried prawn with green pepper

grille pork with glazed honey

stir fried green cabbage with garlic

and to finish:

pumpkin and sweet potato with coconut cream