Cambodia: Phnom Penh - February 2011 - a photo essay

My second visit to Cambodia was in February 2011 for 10 days.  It was this trip that made me decide that I wanted to do some volunteer teaching and returned in July 2011 for four months (but that is for another post at another time).  The trip in February 2011 was great.  I managed to spend some time out of the city and into the jungle (or national park actually - same/same).

 

A few days in the capital first though.

 

I love wandering through any local food markets whenever I travel.  You get to chat with some very delightful and sometimes colourful individuals!  It is also the perfect way to get an outsiders view of a culture.  In the wet markets you will find an odd assortment of offerings at various stalls.  While most will cater for one or two specific things.  If they do that dish well they can gather a huge following as popularity grows.

 

Found these lotus flower pods.  Each lotus seed pops out of each whole. It's a slow snack and not very filling but they were something that I had never tried before.

 

lotus seeds

 

More often than not, local food markets can be confronting sights for some.  Cambodia is no different. The whole nose to tail concept here is just part and parcel of their daily dietary regime.  It is not a new trend or an ethical way of eating.  It is a necessity.   In a country where below poverty lines are the norm it is a must to use the whole beast and plant. Those extra bits are sometimes the most flavourful and a little can go a very long way with just rice as a staple.

Here is a cart on the side of one of the markets we were visiting where a lady assembled your porcine choices, weighed, chopped and served it up with a simple chilli sauce on the side.

bits and pieces of porcine goodness

 

In every local market and on pretty much every street corner in any town or village in Cambodia will have a banh mi cart. Filled with processed pork sausage, pate, mayo and pickled vegetables are slathered on crispy Vietnamese style baguettes. This is one addiction that has followed me back to Sydney.

Banh Mi

 

 

So a little tour around the many alley ways and walkways.   We come across some beautiful fresh fruits. Rambutans are a South East Asian treat.

 

Rambutan

You will see street sellers pushing their carts of snails through the streets throughout the day.  You can choose from a selection of snails and flavours.  After a morning being pushed around the hot sun I did pass on tasting these.

Snails (plain and chilli)

Here in the South East of Asia, fermented and dried fish is common practice.  Mainly it was way of preserving food where there was (and still is) little to no refrigeration.  Although this practice is still in place for the those reasons, it has also become part of the daily palate.

This preservation method, creates a very pungent product.  It offers big bold flavours that can enrich any basic meal.  Sadly, rice is the only option for sustenance for many families so a little dried fish with the rice can be a flavourful accompaniment.

Here are a selection of fermented foods found in the markets staring with  fermented crabs.

 

fermented crabs

 

I never found out what type of dried and smoked fish this was (can anybody help me)?  I thought mackerel but I could be way off.

 

dried fish

 

There is a large variety of prawns and shrimp that are dried and they are used in a multitude of ways.

 

 

dried shrimp

 

This product might be strong on the nose but when ground up or used in sauces and soups it does impart a more subtle flavour.

 

 

I saw these fritters in all shapes and sizes through out my travels.  These particular ones were fried dough and prawns muffins.  I also saw them in a crispy flat disc.

 

 

prawn fritters

A great drinking snack is dried flattened squid that are then char grilled.  They are sun dried and then flattened through a press (like a pasta machine) and then put on the grill.  They remind of a jerky and go perfectly with cold beer.

 

dried and fried squid on sticks

 

One of my all time favourite dishes (which is actually a Vietnamese dish) is Banh Xeo (pronounced ban chow).  Given the proximity you will find a lot of Vietnamese dishes around Cambodia.  Is a pancake stuffed with prawns, beansprouts, herbs, sometimes pieces of pork and topped with pork floss.  It is a winner

 

 

Banh Xeo

Another great find is the sour sausage particularly when it is sold alongside a bucket of smelly prahok, which is the most famous fermented food found in the Country. 

sour sausage and prahok

 

It is a salted, fermented fish paste that truly is ripe on the nose but mix it with pork mince and steam it you get what is in the dish below and is so perfect with rice I was addicted to it.

 

prahok and pork

 

 

Just up the road a couple of blocks from my guest house, Nordic House on 136 St, is a small Chinese restaurant offering up some delicious dishes especially for breakfast and I indulged in a Westlake Beef soup.  A bowl of very light but flavourful pork broth with cubes of silky smooth fresh tofu and bits of beef mince.  (This has since become a staple in my own kitchen).

Westlake beef soup

They even offered yum cha items like har gau (or prawn dumplings) and steamed pork busn.  These are plump and juicy with the glutinous wrapping translucent soft with a bit of chew.  The buns were fluffy and filled with delicious steamed pork mince and garlic.

prawn dumplings and pork buns

Another morning we shared this soup.  I can't remember what it is called.  It was tofu and a purple vegetable that was shredded (not cabbage!).

Cambodia's proximity to Thailand and Vietnam has naturally brought in their dishes too.  You can find many restaurants serving up an array of international flavours.  Thai is authentic and a good curry cannot be passed up.

More wandering through markets around town led me to see and sample so many other offerings.   Here is a little photo tour around.

The market is bustling during our visit.  Got to go early and get your fresh produce....well fresh!

Lots of dried fish from this lady.

It's not all about food, fresh flowers too and check out those glorious lotus flower buds!

 

One last meal before hitting the road.  Chiang Mai chicken curry from a Thai restaurant down along the Riverside and if memory recalls I think it was actually called Chiang Mai Riverside

 

chiang mai chicken curry

The special of the day was these crab 'spring rolls' which were actually an omelette style roll filled with delicious crab meat.

crab pancakes

 

On the road to Kep, we made a roadside stop for a cold fruit smoothie.  Very popular on the dusty hot roads and quenched the thirst.  Thick with mango and milk and lots of blended ice.

roadside fruit smoothies

and as I said, I'm on the road to Kep...stay tuned for what's next on this trip.