by

Khmer Cuisine

Khmer Cuisine- Its History

Cambodian cuisine is a strong indication of the ancient Khmer civilization and its long colonial history. The word Khmer is derived from the Pallava language of southern India that refers to predominant ethnic group, food, and language of Cambodia.

Khmers are considered descendants of mixed ethnic group combining Indians and natives of South East Asians who first migrated and inhabited South East Asia region originally called Austroasiatic region since over 3,000 years ago. It wasn’t certain whether the migration from the north was due to invading Tibetans or due to agricultural purposes since fertile land along major rivers was suitable for growing crops.

In its early days, the Khmer’s language, religion, and cultures were heavily influenced by Indian and Chinese traders as evidenced by the introduction of noodles and curry in Khmer cuisine.  The use of coconut milk and turmeric to make curries and desserts shows traces of Indian influence. In fact, one of the popular Khmer dishes is Amok or steamed fish cake made from curry mixed with coconut milk and wrapped in banana leaves. Thais have the same dish but called it Hormok.

Because of its location to many waterways, the staples of Cambodians remain fish and rice. Fish is the most common meat as they are abundant from the Mekong River, Bassac River and Tonlé Sap (the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia) and can even be freshly caught from rice paddies. Fish can be grilled and called Trey Aing, fried with vegetables called Trey Chean Neung Spe, added to sour soup called Samlor, fermented into paste called Prahok. Prahok is an integral ingredient of Khmer cuisine to add salty taste when friend with meat and chilli or eaten as dips with boiled vegetables. Prahok is a very authentic Khmer cuisine. In Thailand, the similar fermented paste is made from small shrimps called Kapi while the Philippines called it Bagoong (pronounced as Bah-Go-Ong).

Going back a little bit to the history. Khmer empire was much bigger before than today (refer to Map 1: Cambodia Today). During the 9th to 13th century, the empire extended to include parts of today’s Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Burma, and Malaysia and made Angkor its capital (refer to Map 2: Khmer Empire).

Map 1: Cambodia TodayMap 1: Cambodia Today
Map 2: Khmer (10th century)Map 2: Khmer (1oth century)
Map 3: Ayutthaya KingdomMap 3: Ayutthaya Kingdom

Following the decline of Khmer empire in the 13th- 14th century, Sukhothai Kingdom and Ayutthaya Kingdom of Siam (old name of Thailand) ascended and annexed part of Khmer including the capital city of Angkor (refer to Map 3: Ayutthaya Kingdom).  The Khmer was forced to move to a new capital city, Phnom Penh in 1434 by King Ponhea Yat. Ever since then, this part of Khmer remained under Siamese territory for more than 400 years. This is why Khmer cuisine received much Thai influence and vice versa. It shares many common dishes with Thai food, but generally not as spicy and sweeter. For example, jasmine rice, glutinous rice, fermented fish paste eaten with boiled vegetables, and sour spicy soups using galangal, lemongrass and kaffir leaves.

Due to Siamese and Vietnamese continuous invasion, Cambodia appealed to French for protection and became a French protectorate in 1864. For nearly a century, Cambodia was drawn into the French Indochina union which includes southern Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Interestingly, in the olden times, the Khmer called Vietnam ‘Khmer Krom.’ Sharing the same colonial heritage being part of Indochina Union, it borrowed many dishes from Vietnam and adapted to suit their tastes. Moreover, as a French legacy, Cambodians were taught to eat baguettes (long French bread) with pâté (minced meat spread), sardines, or eggs as breakfast.  It is usually accompanied with strong black coffee in sweet condensed milk.

Post World War II, King Norodom Sihanouk proclaimed its independence in 1953 but later overthrew by General Lon Nol who changed Kingdom of Cambodia to a Republic. Political situation remained chaotic in Cambodia. Only 5 years after came the notorious genocidal period of Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot. As mentioned by Sachin and Manish, this period destroyed the country and left people emotionally marred. Four years after the brutal period, in 1979, Vietnam ousted the Khmer Rouge and slowly rebuilding the country for more than 10 years. The situation was rescued when the United Nations intervened in 1992 and helped restored monarchy in 1993 until today.

It is fascinating how Khmer’s long tumultuous history can be depicted through Khmer cuisines. How a variety of its menus created from unique blend of ingredients show traces of cultural influences from India, China, Thailand, Vietnam and France. And, this is what makes Khmer cuisine authentic and special.

Linibel (sent from Kai’s blog account due to some technical problem)

2,774 thoughts on “Khmer Cuisine”

  1. عطر شنل چنس یکی پر فروش ترین ادکلن های زنانه است که با وجود نه چندان ارزانی که دارد، همواره در ایران محبوب است.
    خانم های آرام و صورتی با رایحه این عطر زنانه بسیار سازگار هستند.

  7. I definitely enjoy every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff of your blog a must read blog! We operate a website where you can play online games. visit here: 바카라사이트

  9. کلمه کلیدی با خواندن این مقاله به درستی از مواد شوینده در دستگاه خود استفاده کنید.

  10. Sri Lanka is in the middle of its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948. The country has been rocked by protests as people seethe with anger over soaring prices and shortages of food and fuel. -> 카지노커뮤니티

  16. “You are so hypnotizing! I figure I haven’t really inspected anything vague now.
    Amazing to find someone has a conceded thought on this point.
    Really, thank you for starting this. 토토사이트“

  17. Your writing is perfect and complete. casinocommunity However, I think it will be more wonderful if your post includes additional topics that I am thinking of. I have a lot of posts on my site similar to your topic. Would you like to visit once?

  19. this is a very nice website. I also run a website. Mobile and PC versions are also operated as the best solution. Golden-evolution is very proud of you.
    카지노사이트

  21. خرید دستگاه tms هم اکنون از طریق سایت تیم healthy8 برای شما فراهم شده است. این وسیله برای درمان الکترومغناطیسی مغز است که با تمرکز بر نقاطی که درگیر مشکلات روانپزشکی هستند، روند درمان را تسریع می‌بخشد. در این مطلب با کاربرد این وسیله و نحوه خرید دستگاه tms در شیراز آشنا خواهید شد.

    خرید دستگاه tms

  22. It’s really great. Thank you for providing a quality article. There is something you might be interested in. Do you know casino online ? If you have more questions, please come to my site and check it out!

  24. Your article has answered the question I was wondering about! I would like to write a thesis on this subject, but I would like you to give your opinion once 😀 bitcoincasino

  25. It’s the same topic , but I was quite surprised to see the opinions I didn’t think of. My blog also has articles on these topics, so I look forward to your visit. baccarat online

  26. It’s too bad to check your article late. I wonder what it would be if we met a little faster. I want to exchange a little more, but please visit my site bitcoincasino and leave a message!!

  29. Looking at this article, I miss the time when I didn’t wear a mask. baccaratsite Hopefully this corona will end soon. My blog is a blog that mainly posts pictures of daily life before Corona and landscapes at that time. If you want to remember that time again, please visit us.

  31. I’ve been looking for photos and articles on this topic over the past few days due to a school assignment, bitcoincasino and I’m really happy to find a post with the material I was looking for! I bookmark and will come often! Thanks 😀

  37. نرم افزارcrm دانا به صدها کسب و کار کمک کرده است تا فروش خود را افزایش دهند و مشتریان وفاداری را برای خود به وجود بیاورند.

  41. I have been looking for articles on these topics for a long time. 다낭식당 I don’t know how grateful you are for posting on this topic. Thank you for the numerous articles on this site, I will subscribe to those links in my bookmarks and visit them often. Have a nice day

  42. I have been looking for articles on these topics for a long time. 다낭식당 I don’t know how grateful you are for posting on this topic. Thank you for the numerous articles on this site, I will subscribe to those links in my bookmarks and visit them often. Have a nice day.

  43. It’s really great. Thank you for providing a quality article. There is something you might be interested in. Do you know casino online ? If you have more questions, please come to my site and check it out!

  44. As I am looking at your writing, majorsite I regret being unable to do outdoor activities due to Corona 19, and I miss my old daily life. If you also miss the daily life of those days, would you please visit my site once? My site is a site where I post about photos and daily life when I was free.

  49. Hello – Good night – I am very happy and I enjoyed this article, it was really useful for me

    I enjoyed you – thank you very much کاشت مو | hair transplant

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *