Eat What They Eat

Sandwiched between Vietnam and Thailand, Cambodia’s food is not well known internationally. While most small cities in Canada and the United States have at least one Vietnamese and one Thai restaurant, Cambodian food is difficult to find in the food mecca of New York City as well as Washington, D.C. Does that mean it’s not good? No! Go to South Philadelphia if you want Cambodian food on the east coast.

For more conservative diners, amok is an ideal dish to start with. It’s made with fresh coconut milk as well as kroeung, which is a Khmer curry paste made from lemongrass, turmeric root, garlic, shallots, galangal, and ginger. Unlike a lot of Thai curries, amok (and Cambodian food in general) is not spicy. At the more upscale restaurants, amok will be served in a banana leaf. Although fish amok is the most common version, most menus will offer it with meat as well.

For the more adventurous eaters, there’s Lap Khmer, which is a raw beef salad (think ceviche with meat), with the beef marinated in lime juice. For the most adventurous eaters, few countries can offer as much as Cambodia. Much of the food that scares foreigners can be found at roadside stands. Grilled frog, rat and snake are most common in the west of Cambodia and there are also insects of all sizes available around the country. If you want to try insects in a more formal setting, many restaurants serve red tree ants with beef and holy basil.

Perhaps the most controversial food in Cambodia is VIP meat. Tourists coming to Cambodia expecting to see dog on every menu will be disappointed. Like in Korea, it’s been pushed to the fringes. Signs boasting VIP meat are the local way of saying we sell dog meat. Although anyone is welcome, most of these places are in areas where few tourists will venture and that’s no accident. It’s pretty much treated like other vices in that you have to know where to go or talk to someone who does.