Khmer Chicken Curry (Curry Sarch Mann)

There are many kinds of curry and it makes little different taste by different countries.We know that curry is originally from India, and by the culture influence, the curry has become one of our Khmer national dishes and since then it was adapted by other countries in the same region. Khmer curry might be not exactly same like Indian curry but more closer to Thai curry. For Cambodians, curry is a very special food and is cooked only for special event or occasion only, for example on Khmer New Year, Pchum Ben or a special day. And by the traditional and local way, to cook curry takes longer time as we have to make our own fresh curry paste from fresh Lemongrass, Turmeric, Kaffir Lime leaf, Garlic, Shallot…etc before cooking, even such peanuts are used in the curry paste as well (I remember when my mother told me to grind and mix all those lemongrass, turmeric…with our heavy stone mortar & pestle; I was very lazy to do it as it took like 30minutes to get all of them ground & mixed well together, and when finished my hands were yellow color - it took a few days to get the color gone from my hands). We even have to make and take the milk from the coconut. So it’s a long process to get all done. And we never cook for a few portions but with a big pot which could serve 10people or enough to eat for 2-3days. This is a story of curry from my experience. But since there is ready-made-curry-paste is available, I never want to think of making my own paste anymore. Curry can be cooked with many kinds of meat such as beef, chicken or pork. But the fast recipe is chicken because chicken is tender, - no need to cook longer time like beef or pork. And as I have mentioned in my note that I don’t use fish sauce in my recipe while the local taste needs to use fish sauce and shrimp paste extra for cooking; however, you will find out that it’s also great and delicious without using stinky fish sauce and shrimp paste even more healthier for sure.

Recipe for One Portion:

Ingredients: 200g of Chicken thigh boneless and skinless (or chicken breast), 1 mid size of Potato, 1 mid size of Onion, 1/2of mid size of Eggplant, 400ml of Coconut Milk, 100ml of Low Fat Milk, 2sp of Oil, 1sp of Red Curry Paste, 2 + ½ tsp of Sugar and 1 + ½ tsp of Salt.

Method: 

1. Slice chicken into small pieces, peel and chop potato and onion into small pieces. Chop eggplant into small pieces as in the picture, do not need to peel the skin.

2. Heat up pot and pure oil then put red curry paste to fry for 1minute. After that put chicken to fry for another 1minute. Then pure coconut milk, low fat milk and chopped potato in and mix them well together, after that cover and cook for 5minutes.

3. After 5minutes, open and start to put sugar and salt in. Stir it well little bit, then put chopped onion and eggplant. Cover and cook around 10minutes. Add extra salt or sugar up to favorite, then ready to serve with Steamed Rice.

Note: Red Curry Paste is spicy so do not need to put extra red chili.

Language Tip = English =) Khmer

Chicken = Sarch Mann

Coconut = Dong

Coconut Milk = Kti Dong

Delicious = Chha nanh

Lemon Grass = Sleuk Krie

Milk = Teuk Dess Ko

Special = Pi Sess

Stinky = Sar Ouy

Stir-Fried Corn Local Style (Poat Chhar)

Back to my local taste after a while of enjoying nice summer weather and great taste of Hungarian dishes. Fried corn, it's very simple and sort of local Khmer's taste. Most of the time we hear about corn is: Pop Corn, Steamed Corn and Grilled Corn. But now what I am going to show is 'Stir-fried Corn', the preparation is very fast and easy, grab a can of sweet corn, a few leaves of spring onion and a couple of garlic-cloves that's all. 

Recipe for One Person: 

Ingredients: 1Can of Sweet Corn, a few leaves of Spring Onions, 2cloves of Garlic, 2sp of Oil.

Method:

1. Open the can of sweet corn, take only the corn, pure out the soupy part. Peel garlic and chop/mince into small pieces. Cut spring onion also into small pieces.

2. Heat up frying pen, pure the oil in then put minced garlic, fry it a little bit about half minute before putting spring onion in, and then fry around 1minute till get nice smell.

3. Start to put sweet corn in, and take it to fry for 2minutes till a bit dry, after that put little of salt in (if need) mix it well then ready to serve.

Note: This fried corn is served as a snack. 

Language Tip: English =) Khmer

Big = Thom
Corn = Poat 

Frying pen = Ktas Chha

Heat up = Kom Doav 

Small = Toch

Sweet = Phaem

Salty = Prai

Glass Noodle Salad With Chicken Breast (Nhoam Me Soor Sach Mann)

Glass noodle salad is one of the main food that considered as a lunch or dinner for Cambodians. We love it as much as other kinds of salad. The preparation doesn't take much longer than preparing the vegetable salad, just a few more minutes to cook chicken breast and soften the glass noodle but the methods are same. Different vegetables and meat are used depending on favorite, but to be a real Khmer glass noodle salad - Khmer/Asian basil, bean sprouts and fish sauce are mainly used, and by the local flavor we usually use bacon rather than chicken breast. However, the recipe here is invented by my own favorite and up to where i am now, i create it by using the vegetables that are easy to find. As i mentioned previously, we can make salad from available veggies that we have in our kitchen, make it easy (not complicate)... the delicious foods are depended on the cook and to be a good cook must know how to create a food from what we have, so try and let's see how it works for you! 

Recipe for Two Persons:
Ingredients: A small pack of Glass Noodle (80g or 100g depends on the pack size), 200g of Chicken Breast, 1/2 Tomato, 1/2 Carrot, 1/2 of a green spicy Paprika, 100g of Iceberg Salad, 50g of Cabbage, 1/4 of a Purple Onion (or 2cloves of Shallot), 2cloves of Garlic, 2sp of fresh Lemon or Lime juice, 1/2sp of Sugar, and 2tsp of Salt.
Method: 
1. Peel and slice carrot, tomato, paprika, iceberg, cabbage and purple onion into very thin and small pieces. Peel and chop garlic into very small pieces, and smash the peanuts a little bit.
2. Put glass noodle in hot water and bring to boil for 3minutes, then rinse out with cool water and keep to use. And steam chicken breast in pot, make sure well done. Then slice chicken breast into pieces of finger size.
3. After all, start to put all veggies, chopped garlic, smashed peanut, glass noodle and chicken breast that prepared already mix them well together with lemon juice, sugar and salt. Then taste it whether sweet-sour and salty enough up to favorite.

Note: If you don't like peanut do not use it, but i suggest to use to bring great taste, and if you love basil (few leaves) and bean sprout (100g) use them for your ingredients. And don't forget your chop sticks to serve if you like, but for Cambodians we use fork and spoon :)
Language Tip: English =) Khmer
Glass Noodle = Me Soor
Chicken = Sach Mann
Make Salad = Nhoam
Tomato = Peng Pors
Carrot = Karrot
Slice = Jit (J pronounces like joy)
Peel = Bork 
Mix = Chro Bal, Nhoam
Sweet = Pha aem
Sour = Jou (J is pronounced like joy)
Salty = Prai 

Mixed Vegetable Salad With Peanut (Nhaom Bonlae)

It's been for awhile, now get back to my favorite salad recipe. This salad is made from available veggies in my kitchen. You can make Khmer salad from different veggies that you like in the same method I explain below. For example, the main ingredient for this salad is Iceberg and Cabbage but you can use Green Papaya to make Papaya salad and Mango to make Mango Salad. You even can use Cashew nut instead of Peanut. One thing is that I make salad from veggies that is easy to find in my place, it might not be easy to find papaya or mango in Budapest and it even costs more. So there are many kind of Khmer or Asian Salad made in same method. Next post I will show recipe of Glass Noodle Salad which you will see how many same ingredients are used.

Recipe for One Portion:

Ingredients: 1small size of Carrot, 1small size of Tomato, half of a green spicy Paprika, 150g of Iceberg lettuce, 100g of Cabbage, 1/4 of a purple Onion (or 2cloves of Shallot), 2cloves of Garlic, 1sp of fresh Lemon juice, 50g of Peanut, 4tsp of Sugar, 1+1/2tsp of Salt.
Method:

1. Peel and slice carrot, tomato, paprika, iceberg, cabbage and purple onion into very thin and small pieces. Peel and chop garlic into very small pieces. Smash the peanuts a little bit.

2. Then put all veggies together and mix them well with lemon juice, chopped garlic, smashed peanut, sugar and salt. After that serve it on a plate.

Note: You can add extra chili or basil on the top it will give more intensive taste.

Language Tip: English =) Khmer
Vegetable = Bonlae
Make Salad = Nhaom
Peanut = San Dek Dei
Cabbage = Spei Kdoub

Stir-Fried Broccoli With Beef (Chhar Phkar Khat Na Khiev Sach Ko)

Today I went to a grocery store for some tomatoes to cook Hungarian Lecso/Lachow (a very popular Hungarian food and delicious, I love it), but suddenly I saw some fresh broccoli which changed my mind not to cook the Hungarian food for lunch but Khmer food, stir-fried broccoli with beef. So here again simple, fast and good taste! Let’s try this recipe and let me know how you like it..

Recipe for Two Persons:
Ingredients: 250g of Beef, 500g of Broccoli, 4cloves of Garlic, 3sp of Oil, 2sp of Soy Sauce, 1/2tsp of Salt, and1tsp of Sugar.

Method:
1. Slice beef into small piece and thin. Peel out the skin of Broccoli and cut into small piece as size of your thumb. Peel out garlic and chop it into very small piece.

2. Heat up frying pan, pure oil in. Then put chopped garlic to fry it till get nice smell. After that put sliced beef and fry 30 seconds, then start to put soy sauce, salt and sugar in (if you like spicy, you can add chopped hot chili or 1/3tsp ground pepper in as most of recipes are not spicy). Stir them well then cover for 5minutes.

3. After 5minutes, open the cover to stir them well again and add 50ml of water if it’s so dry then cover for other 3minutes. Then it’s ready to serve with steamed rice or as the way you like.

Language Tip: English =) Khmer

Beef = Sach Ko

Broccoli = Phka Khat Na Khiev

Garlic = Khtoem Sor

Fry = Chhar

Oil = Preng Chhar

Peel = Bork

Salt = Om Berl

Slice = Chit

Soy Sauce = Toek Sa Iv 

Sugar = Skor Sor

Khmer Beef Lok Lak...ChikChak & Great Taste! (Chhar Lok Lak Sach Ko)

Have you ever heard about Lok Lak? In Khmer language this food is Chik-Chak, something that we say it is easy and quick (I just found that in Hebrew Chik-Chak means ‘quickly’ same like Khmer). If you have been to Cambodia, probably you have heard about this food.

Lok Lak is one of the most favorite foods for Cambodians; it’s just as popular as Fried Rice or Noodle. But it is often cooked at the time when there is a family meeting, party or weekend. By local tradition, this food is popularly eaten by using fingers, and it is served in a big plat which everybody could share this dish together. This way of eating makes entire families enjoy Lok Lak slowly along with chatting, and brings such a great time.

Anyway, in restaurant now they serve Lok Lak in an individual portion, and with spoon and fork. Below I will show how we eat Lok Lak by using fingers.

Recipe for One Person:

Ingredients: 250g of Beef Tenderloin, 3cloves of Garlic, and half of small onion

Dressing: 1/2sp of fresh Lime or Lemon Juice, 2sp of hot water, 1cloves of Garlic, 1/2tsp of Salt, ½ tsp of Ground Pepper.

Vegetables to serve with: 1medium size of Tomato, and Iceberg Lettuce (use different kind of lettuce up to favorite like Romaine, Red or Green Oak Leaf, Lollo, Frisee, Or Mixed Salad – but I like Iceberg as it’s sweet and crisp, but local Cambodians usually use Khmer lettuce which looks similar to green Oak Leaf or Lollo lettuce).

Method:

1. Slice Tomato very thin after that prepare it with iceberg salad on a plate.

2. Prepare Dressing (Pepper Sauce): Peel out the 1 cloves of garlic and chop them into very small pieces or smash, then put into a small bowl. After that mix salt, pepper, lime/lemon juice, and water in. Mix them well together. Keep it to serve.

3. Frying the Beef: 

1. Slice the beef tenderloin very thin into pieces and the same way slice onion very thin. Then peel out the 3cloves of garlic and chop into very small pieces.
2. Heat up the frying pan, pure the oil in. Then put chopped garlic in and fry it to get nice smell. After that put sliced beefs and stir it about 30seconds (medium cooked), then put sliced onion it and stir it well for 2-3 seconds.
3. After that take it out to put on the plat that prepared salad and tomato already, then ready to serve with steamed rice (Lok Lak is served with fried potato too for modern style)

The way of eating:

 

1. Take a piece of Iceberg to wrap a piece of sliced tomato and a few sliced beefs 
2. Then dip it into dressing (Pepper Sauce)
3. With one bit of Lok Lak, then one bit of steamed rice

Hmm, can't wait....

Language Tip: English =) Khmer

Beef = Sach Ko

Cook = Chom In, Slor(often used)

Dressing = Toek Chro Louk

Garlic = Khtoem Sor

Fry = Chhar 

Hot = Kdao

Lime = Kroch Chmar

Oil = Preng Chhar

Onion = Khtoem Barang

Pepper = Mar Rich

Salt = Om Berl 

Salad/Lettuce = Salad 

Slice = Chit , Han

Tomato = Peng Pors

Water = Toek

Delicious Khmer Fried Rice With Shrimp (Chhar Baii)

Fried rice is a popular food of Asian dishes. In Cambodia, fried rice is not only fond of by tourists but also locals as it's truly delicious in many ways of cooking. Fried rice can be a breakfast or lunch for Cambodian. It is made by steamed rice that cooked already or leftover rice. When I was young, my mum often made fried rice for breakfast because she used the leftover steamed rice from the last evening. Recipe of fried rice are varieties, we can cook with different meats, vegetables and ingredients. Cambodians like to use fish sauce for cooking, so fish sauce is an important ingredient for local fried rice recipe. But in my recipe, fish sauce is not used Read.

Recipes for Two persons:

Ingredients: 100g of Skinless Shrimp (small or big shrimp up to favorite), 2Eggs, 1small size of Carrot, 150g of Broccoli, 6pieces of White Baby Mushroom, 4cloves of Garlic, a few leaves of Spring Onion, 4sp of Oil, 2sp of Oyster Sauce, 1sp of Soy Sauce, 2tsp of Sugar, 1/2tsp of Salt, 1/4tsp of ground Pepper (use chopped red hot chili, if you prefer it very spicy), and 2potions of steamed rice.

So what you need to do first is: Cook 1cup of Jasmine Rice or Long Grain Rice 'A quality'. If you don't have rice cooker, please check my instructions of cooking steamed rice by pot See.

Method:
1. Peel out the skin of carrot and garlic, then cut them into small pieces. Cut spring onion the same way like carrot and garlic. Chop each baby mushroom into 4, and take out the skin of broccoli then cut it small pieces.

2. Heat up the frying pan. Pure the oil in, then put chopped garlic into hot oil, fry it until get good smell. Then put chopped carrot and spring onion in, fry for 30seconds.
 
3. After that, break eggs and put in, stir-fry for a while till it's separated well. Then put skinless shrimps and fry them together about 2-3 minutes. Later put salt, sugar, oyster sauce, soy sauce and ground pepper, then stir and mix them well for 10seconds. After that, put chopped mushrooms and broccoli in, and fried around 3-4 minutes.

4. Last, put the steamed rice that you cooked already in, stir and mix them well together about 1minute, then it's ready to serve.

Note: You can add extra chili, a small piece of lime/lemon, or some parsley/coriander leaves on the top for serving.

Language Tip: English =) Khmer

Brocoli = Phkar Khat Na Khiev

Carrot = Karot

Chili = Ma Tes

Chop = Pus

Cut = Kat

Eat = Nyam

Egg = Pong Mann

Delicious = Cha Nhanh

Garlic = Khtoem Sor

Fry = Chhar

Mushroom = Pshit

Oyster Sauce = Preng Kchorng

Peel = Bork

Pepper = Mar Rich

Rice = Ang kor (raw), Baii(cooked), Srov(with skin)

Salt = Om Berl

Shrimp = Boeng Kear

Soy Sauce = Toek Sa Iv

Spring Onion = Khtoem Barang

Sugar = Skor Sor

Fried Rice = Chhar Baii

Yummy Caramelized Pork (Khor Sach Chrok)

When you hear about 'Caramel', in your thoughts it must be a kind of sweet dessert but the Caramel here is a kind of food. Caramelized Pork is a very delicious Khmer food, and it's one of my favorite. We can cook with different kinds of meat such as: Beef, Fish or Pork, but Cambodian people like to cook by Pork, esp boneless pork thigh with fat and skin which gives fantastic taste.The way of cooking are same, but different period of cooking, short or long time is depended on how tender the meat. Recipe below I choose pork with little fat. This food can be served with steamed Rice or Bread up to favorite.

Recipe for Two-Three persons: 

Ingredients: 800g of Pork, 1big size of Carrot (about 200g), 6cloves of Garlic, 4sp of Sugar, 2sp of Soy Sauce, 1tsp of Salt and 1/2tsp of Grind Pepper.

Method:
1. Cut Pork into cube pieces as in the picture, peel out skin of Carrot then cut into pieces, peel Garlic and chop each of Garlic into half.

2. Heat up pot and put sugar in, make it caramel, then put chopped garlic in, cook it a bit in caramel. After that put pork, carrot, soy sauce and pepper mix them together into caramel, then cover.

3. After 10minutes, open the cover and turn meat to other side to get caramel color on meat. Make sure to have some water enough in the pot, avoid burn. But usually when cook, the water come out from the meat if not, have to add small amount (about 150ml) of water in.

4. Then cover and cook it with small flame about 30-45minutes to make meat become very soft & tender. After that put 1tsp of salt in, and cook about 15minutes more, then taste it...add extra salt or sugar up to your need and it's ready to serve.

Serving: Add a bit of Coriander, Parsley or Spring Onion on the top if you like it.

Language Tip: English =) Khmer

Carrot = Karot

Caramel = Chhoeng, 

Cook = Chom In, Slor(often used)

Cut = Kat

Eat = Nyam

Delicious = Chha Nhanh

Garlic = Khtoem Sor

Like = Chol Chit

Peel = Bork

Pepper = Mar Rich

Pork = Sach Chrok

Soy Sauce = Toek Sa Iv

Salt = Om Berl

Slice = Chit

Spring Onion = Sloek Khtoem

Sugar = Skor Sor

How To Cook Steamed Rice In Pot? (Dam Baii)

As we know, Asian people eat rice every day, so cooking steamed rice we know it by heart (we are rice addicted). Rice is the core of Asian dishes, we can see most of the foods are served with rice. There are many different ways of cooking rice but the instruction that I'm going to show, it's from my experience that I learnt since I was child. You can cook steamed rice by pot (avoid burn, using Teflon pot is the best, but we also can cook in simple pot), if you don't have rice cooker. There are many kinds of rice, but the most well known and delicious one is Jasmine Rice.

Recipe for Two persons: cup size is 3dl, 1cup of Jasmine Rice and 1+1/2 cup of water.

Method:

1. Put 1cup of rice into a Teflon pot, clean and rinse it with water twice.
2. Add 1 + 1/2 cup of water into the pot.
3. Cover the pot and cook it on gas stove until boil, keep boiling till water gone.
4. Lower gas flame to the smallest and simmer it for 15 minutes, and then it's ready to serve.

Language Tip: English =) Khmer

Cook = Chom In, Slor(often used, Cook Rice = Dam Baii

Pot = Chhnang

Rice = Angkor(raw), Baii(cooked), Srov(has skin)

Water = Toek

Stir-Fried Chicken With Ginger (Chhar Knhei Sach Marnn)

This is one of my favorite food. I got recipe from my father who is very good at cooking (he's not a cook but loved cooking though his real profession's engineering); as I remember, I was 9 years old at that time. This recipe has always reminded me of my childhood (the time I was my dad's assistant in our small lovely kitchen, listened to the nice music from an old radio while cooking, during 90s what music that we often heard playing on radio are the music of 60s and those are real music not like now). I believe there are so many things that passed already but are still the nice memories which always stay with us anytime and anywhere, and the importance it makes us happy again whenever we think of it. It's simple but delicious for sure. 

Recipe for Two persons:

Ingredients: 100g of  Ginger (choose the young one), 10g of Spring Onion, 500g of Chicken breast, 5cloves of Garlic, 5sp of Oil, 1tsp of Salt, and 2tsp of Sugar.

 

Method: 

1. Slice Chicken breast into pieces as size of Basil leaf,  not too thick or thin. Peel out the skin of Ginger then slice it into small pieces and very thin (strips). Cut Spring Onion into pieces (3cm long), & mince the garlic.

2. Heat up frying pan then pure the oil that you prepared in, after the oil hot put the minced garlic in for 10 seconds then put ginger strips and fry it together till become a bit light brown color to have nice smell (not too brown, otherwise it will have bitter burnt taste). Then put chicken in and stir it well, after that cover for 5 minutes.  

3. Start to put salt and sugar in, and stir it for awhile then taste weather it's sweet and salted as you want or not (add extra salt or sugar up to you flavor). And last, put the spring onion in and mix it well  for a second then ready to serve.

Note: This food is served with steamed rice (recommended, Jusmine rice).

Language Tip: English =) Khmer 

Chicken = Sach Marnn
Chop = Pus
Garlic = Khtoem Sor

Ginger = Knhei

Fry = Chhar

Oil = Preng Chhar

Peel = Bork

Salt = Om Berl

Sugar = Skor Sor

Slice = Chit

Spring Onion = Sloek Khtoem

Stir-Fried Vegetable (Chhar Bonlaer)

It's fast and easy, take only 10minutes to be done, what you need to have is:

Recipe for One-Two persons:

Vegetable: 1 medium size green/red/yellow Capsicum (in the pic it's a bit big as I could not find medium size, Cambodians like to use green capsicum than red or yellow), 1 green Zucchini, 1 Carrot, 1 Onion and 3 cloves of Garlic.
Ingredients: 3sp of oyster sauce, 1sp of soy sauce, 2sp of oil, 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2tsp of sugar.

Method:
1. Peel and chop Garlic into small pieces, cut the Capsicum, Zucchini, Carrot and Onion as size of finger.

2. Heat up frying pan then pure oil in, when the oil is hot put chopped garlic into the oil, fry until it gives good smell then put all the sliced vegetables in. Stir it well together and cover for 5 minutes.

3. Open the cover, then put oyster sauce, soy sauce, salt and sugar in, and mix it up. Stir it for 2 minutes then taste it, if the taste not reach your favorite yet, add extra salt or sugar up to your need.

Note: It's served with steamed rice.

Language Tip: English =) Khmer

Capsicum = Mates Plouk
Carrot = Karot

Cut = Kat

Fry = Chhar

Garlic = Khtoem Sor
Oil = Preng Chhar

Onion = Khtoem Barang

Peel = Bork

Salt = Om Berl
Slice = Chit
Soy Sauce = Toek Sa Iv

Sugar = Skor Sor

Vegetable = Bonlaer
Zucchini = Nornoung Barang 

The Asian Diary

I am Sophie, my profession is accounting. Cooking is one of my hobby, I have a passion for food which explains why I love cooking and experiment new things. 
My purpose of writing The Asian Diary Blog is not only for hobbies but to share my cooking knowledge either to reveal Khmer recipes. 
Widely, people often hear about Chinese, Thai or Vietnamese Food. Khmer food is like Thai food but not so spicy (use less chili). However basically Khmer dishes are very similar to neighboring dishes, there are still some local dishes that distinguish.

In my blog, you will find out Khmer recipes throughout my cooking experience. 
Most mentioned recipes here are very simple and easy to prepare, it takes short time to cook, ingredients are easy to find, and the tastes are exotically delicious.
Thanks for visiting my blog and help to spread out Khmer recipes. 
Pls follow The Asian Diary on Twitter and be a fan on Facebook. I also write another blog Half Clove Garlic