Cambodia

K'tieu

kuytheav - a noodle soup generally served for breakfast. can be made with pork, beef or seafood. flavourings are added to the customers taste in the form of lime juice, chili powder, sugar and fish sauce.

Lok lak

Chopped up beef cooked quickly. probably a holdover from the days of french colonization. served with a simple dipping sauce made from lime juice and black pepper, lettuce, onion, and often with chips.

Don't forget Khmer desserts - Pong Aime sweets. These are available from stalls in most Khmer towns and can be excellent. Choose from a variety of sweetmeats and have them served with ice, condensed milk and sugar water. A must try is the Tuk-a-loc, a blended drink of fruits, raw egg, sweetened condensed milk and ice.

There is also a wide variety of fresh fruit available from markets. The prices vary according to which fruit is in season but mangoes around Khmer New Year, with up to 9 varieties on sale and mangosteen May/June are both superb.

Other popular Khmer foods which may be less palatable to foreigners include pregnant eggs duck eggs with the embryo still inside, and almost every variety of creepy or crawly animal spiders, crickets, water beetles as well as barbecued rats, frogs, snakes, bats and small birds.

Amok

Arguably the most well known cambodian dish. a coconut milk curried dish less spicy than those found in thailand. amok is usually made with chicken, fish, or shrimp, plus some vegetables. it is sometimes served in a hollowed-out coconut with rice on the side. quite delicious.

Mi / Bai Chaa

Fried noodles or rice. never particularly inspiring, but a good traveller's staple.

Saik Ch'rouk Cha Kn'yei

Pork fried with ginger. ginger is commonly used as a vegetable. this tasty dish is available just about everywhere.

Trey Ch'ien Chou 'Ayme

Trey fish fried with a sweet chili sauce and vegetables. very tasty. chou 'ayme is the phrase for "sweet and sour".

K'dam

Crab. kampot in the south is famous for its crab cooked in locally sourced black pepper. a very tasty meal.

Somlah Machou Khmae

A sweet and sour soup made with pineapple, tomatoes and fish.

Bai Sarch Ch'rouk

Another breakfast staple. rice bai with pork meat sarch chrouk often barbequed. very tasty and served with some pickled vegetables.