10 dishes every traveler should try in Cambodia

Once you have sampled Cambodian cuisine, you will want to try more and more. Believe me! Even though Khmer foods tend to mix with Thailand and Vietnam, it is often more distinctive and unique. Indochina tours in Cambodia

Bai sach chrouk

Every early morning, this food is served on the street corners in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Bai sach chrouk is a type of food with pork and rice, one of the most tasty and simple meal to try.

The cook would grill the sliced pork over warm coals to bring its natural sweetness. Alternatively, sometimes, this pork will be marinated in coconut milk or garlic. Therefore, you cannot see the two of bai sach chrouk is the same.

Enjoy the food when traveling to Siem Reap
Enjoy the food when traveling to Siem Reap

In your meal with this food, the grilled pork will be used with a plate of rice, a little slice of fresh cucumbers and daikon and much of ginger.

Moreover, a bowl of chicken broth topped with several scallions and fried onions would bring you the sweetness and special flavors while eating one of the best street foods in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Fish amok

Fish amok is one of the most famous Cambodian meals but if you visit to the neighbors of Cambodia, you could find the same dish like this. However, with the addition of slok ngor – a special local herb that amazes its bitter flavor that differs from others.

It is one of the best street foods in Siem Reap
It is one of the best street foods in Siem Reap

This food is a fish mousse with fresh coconut milk and kroeung – a genre of Khmer paste made from lemongrass, turmeric root, garlic, shallots, galangal and gingerroot.

In some restaurants in Siem Reap, they cook in two ways: steaming in a banana leaf or serving a boiled version. Each way will taste a little bit different but steaming in a banana leaf would become local and soupy. Cambodia tours packages

Khmer red curry

If visiting to Thailand, you could see Thailand people have spicy flavors. However, Khmer red curry in Siem Reap, Cambodia is less spicy because it combines with coconut milk without chili. The food features beef, chicken or fish, egg, green beans, potatoes, coconut milk, lemongrass and kroeung.

Without chili, this food has a distinctive flavor
Without chili, this food has a distinctive flavor

Specially, this tasty red curry is often served in several special occasions in Cambodia, even Siem Reap; for example, weddings, family union or holidays. One more thing is bread. Because of influencing by France, Cambodian people will eat bread with this food.

Lap Khmer

Dressed with several ingredients such as lemongrass, shallots, garlic, fish sauce, mint, green beans and green pepper, this tasty and salty food is a little spicy and chili.

A tasty and salty street food in Siem Reap
A tasty and salty street food in Siem Reap

Lap Khmer is a Khmer beef salad featuring sliced beef marinated with lime juice. It is very popular with Cambodian men because they usually tend to eat beef more than salad in a raw version so that it is known as one of the best street meals in Siem Reap, Cambodia to taste when every visitors come.

Nom banh chok

Nom banh chok is a Khmer noodle, simply, which is different from “pho” in Vietnam. This tasty food is a typical dish for breakfast that tourists can find in every street in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

It is different from “pho” in Vietnam but a delicious food to taste
It is different from “pho” in Vietnam but a delicious food to taste

This Khmer noodle consists of noodles pounded out of rice, topping with a fish-based green curry made from lemongrass, turmeric root and kaffir lime. Moreover, adding with fresh mint, bean sprouts, green beans, banana flower, cucumbers and other green vegetables brings deliciously the flavor in the food.

The same as Khmer red curry, this tasty food is also served for some special occasions and wedding festivals.

Kdam chaa

Kdam chaa or fried crab is a special specialty of seaside town in Cambodia, especially Kep and Kampot. When traveling to there, you can see a lot of fried crab prepared with green, local ingredient – Kampot pepper.

Even in Siem Reap, this street food appears some time
Even in Siem Reap, this street food appears some time

This food is very famous and one of best street foods, even in Siem Reap. Therefore, do not forget Kdam chaa to taste with distinctive flavors.

Red tree ants with beef and holy basil

You will not imagine that Cambodian people eat ants! It is true when you find some kinds of insects on the menu in some restaurants in Siem Reap, Phnom Penh mostly, even including tarantulas.

This food would bring you the best dish in Cambodia
This food would bring you the best dish in Cambodia

Ants have a diverse of sizes, some are visible and others are long. The cook will stir-fry ants with ginger, lemongrass, garlic, shallots and several slices of thinly beef. In addition, many chilies will mix with ants and beef and remember that this food will taste with rice to bring the best dish for your trip.

Ang dtray-meuk

Ang dtray-meuk is popular seafood, selling in Cambodian seaside towns such as Sihanoukville and Kep. You can see some cooks carrying small charcoal-burning ovens on their shoulders, cooking squid.

Visitor can eat this food with wooden skewers
Visitor can eat this food with wooden skewers

It would be the best taste when the squid is brushed with either lime juice or fish sauce and then barbecued on wooden skewers. After that, visitor can eat with special Cambodian sauce from Kampot.

Sometimes you can find ang dtray-meuk in Siem Reap but the best Phnom Penh is a place with several types of seafood to taste in different versions of this dish.

Cha houy teuk

This food is very popular for young people in every street in Siem Reap or Phnom Penh, the city of Cambodia. It is jelly dessert with the mixture of sticky rice or sago, coconut milk, taro, red beans, pumpkin and jackfruits in a small colorful bowl.

Remember to try this delicious food in Siem Reap
Remember to try this delicious food in Siem Reap

One of the best one is cha houy teuk, besides all ingredients above, it has some other agar agar and gelatin deriving from seaweed, attracts many children in the country. Therefore, if you travel to Cambodia, you should try this favorite food.

Fried fish on the fire lake

As we know that, some particular foods will be served in some special occasions such as parties and holidays. Fried fish on the fire lake is the best traditional one for that purpose.

This one is the best food for special occasions
This one is the best food for special occasions

A whole of fish is deep-fried and then finishing on a hot plate with coconut curry made from yellow kroeung and chilies. Moreover, the combination of vegetables such as cauliflower and cabbage and rice or rice noodles would be tasted with this food.

As a result, this meal is usually a unique food in Siem Reap, Cambodia to try if every visitor comes to Cambodia.

It is obvious that Cambodia has a different cuisine but distinctive to try. Therefore, even you visit to Siem Reap, Phnom Penh – the city of Cambodia, you will have a chance to taste and enjoy every food in every beautiful street in this beloved country.

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