Ponh Pa Leum: Recipe from Phia Sing (c. 1898-1967) who was for many years the Master of Ceremonies and Chef at the Royal Palace in Luang Prabang, Laos. 1 piece of pa leum (a large catfish), free of bones, wash it, slice it thinly, put it in a pot with...

There are street food snacks that are easy to get off the streets so you never think of cooking them. Among these, the pork sausage 'nem chua' or 'som mou' in (Lao), lean pork and skin fermented with glutinous rice, salt and crushed garlic, wrapped generously...

Rice, sesame, mung beans, pigeon peas, yardlong beans. That's what archeologists found in Angkor Thom (Bayon Temple) excavations. The authors found that "of the identified plant parts, rice has the highest representation across all samples analyzed. Other...

This is a popular beef ratatouille and dills from Luang Prabang, the royal city of Laos. It is earthy and finds its roots in our forest and garden but it is the kind of national dish that one does not dare to take up when untrained. Our auntie Pa Thouaithong...

One of the French legacy in Cambodia is the baguette. We eat it with la-vache-qui-rit, the famous cream cheese spread, with grilled chicken or beef ragout, with sweetened condensed milk, canned sardines with tomato sauce, butter and granulated sugar (try...

In Phnom Penh, the Tamarind on street 240 offers the best couscous in town. We used to go so often that it became a favorite dish of Panhlauv, my bro and younger member of our family. Now studying in the US, he still comes home asking for a couscous,...

I have traveled many countries and have been studying in New England (USA) where the lobsters and blue crabs are legendary. But no place can offer the sweet and plump crabs of Kep, a seaside provincial city of Cambodia. There, you go and select the crabs...

Our family is of Chinese descent so we celebrate both Chinese and Khmer New Year. The tradition is to prepare the Hot Pot or Huo Guo that we call Culao in our family as my great grandfather probably landed on the shores of South Vietnam when fleeing China...