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Cambodian Cuisine
Updated on Monday, April 14, 2025
In every Cambodian dish, you’ll taste a colorful harmony of Southeast Asian flavors, where the boldness of Thai cuisine and the freshness of Vietnamese cooking come together in perfect balance.
Table of contents
- Amok Trey – This is perhaps Cambodia’s most famous dish among tourists, although similar versions can be found in neighboring countries, particularly in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Freshwater fish fillets (often snakehead or Mekong catfish) are coated with an aromatic kroeung mixture (pounded shallots, lemongrass, garlic, kaffir lime), roasted crushed peanuts, coconut milk, and egg, then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed until it reaches a mousse-like texture. Unlike the Thai, Lao, and Malaysian versions of this dish, the Cambodian Amok is not spicy but rather fragrant, tangy, and flavorful.
- Ansom Chek – A cylindrical rice cake wrapped in banana leaves and filled with sweet bananas. There’s also a savory version filled with pork and mung bean paste, known as ansom chrook.
- Babor – A type of rice porridge, plain or with chicken or pork, and served with fresh bean sprouts and green onions. Babar Praey is a salted version of this congee.
- Bay Chha – A Khmer variation of fried rice made with Chinese sausages, garlic, soy sauce, and herbs, typically eaten with pork.
- Ban Chao – The Khmer version of the Vietnamese bánh xèo, a rice pancake folded in half.
- Ban Hoaw – Steamed rice vermicelli noodles served with mint, crushed peanuts, pickled vegetables, and deep-fried egg rolls, cut into bite-sized pieces and drenched in sweet fish sauce.
- Bok L’hong – A Khmer green papaya salad pounded in a mortar and pestle. Similar to the Lao Tam Mak Hoong, this salad may include herbs like kantrop, Asian basil, string beans, roasted peanuts, cherry tomatoes, salted small crabs, smoked or dried fish, and chili peppers. Mixed with a savory dressing of lime juice, fish sauce, and/or prahok (fermented fish paste).
- Khor – A braised pork or chicken stew with eggs, flavored with caramelized palm sugar, fish sauce, and black Kampot pepper. Tofu or bamboo shoots can also be added. This dish is common among the Khmer Krom people in southern Vietnam and resembles the Vietnamese Thịt Kho and the Filipino Humba.
- Chha Knyey – A spicy stir-fry with meat, julienned ginger root, black pepper, and fresh jalapeños or other fresh peppers.
- Chrouk Sway – A green mango salad flavored with fish sauce and chili peppers. It is often served as a side dish with fried or baked fish and rice.
- Kuy Teav – A popular Khmer breakfast dish, kuy teav refers to both the rice noodles and the soup made from pork broth. It is enjoyed in both Cambodia and neighboring countries with a large Khmer population. Developed by Cambodians of Chinese descent, this soup is garnished with fresh bean sprouts, chopped scallions, sawtooth coriander, black Kampot pepper, lime, and nutty caramelized garlic oil. There are two ways to enjoy it: mixed in the soup or with the broth served on the side to control the balance of flavors. The Phnom Penh version of kuy teav (known as Hu Tieu Nam Vang in Vietnam) is the most extravagant, often featuring toppings like pork belly, ground pork, pig’s blood jelly, offal, roasted duck, Mekong river prawns, fish cakes, and squid.
- Kralan – A cake made from steamed rice mixed with beans or peas, grated coconut, and coconut milk.
- Lok Lak – Stir-fried marinated beef cubes served with fresh red onions on a bed of lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes, and dipped in a lime juice, sea salt, and black Kampot pepper sauce (tek merec). This Cambodian version of the Vietnamese Bò Lúc Lắc retains a distinct Cambodian twist with its dipping sauce and the necessary garnishes of salad leaves, barely-ripe tomatoes, and sliced onions.
