A unique noodle dish of the Khmer people.

The Khmer people mainly eat dried and grilled dishes, but the number one delicacy of Angkor is Num Ban Chok, a soup dish.

In Khmer, "Num" means cake; "Ban Chok" means to feed. Some say Ban Chok is handmade rice noodles, molded from perforated tin cans. In Vietnam, many places sell Num Ban Chok, but it's not the same as in Cambodia. The flavor and taste can't compare. The ingredients are similar, but the preparation methods are different.

Num Ban Chok platter is for many people.

In Cambodian Num Ban Chok, the fish is finely ground into a broth, not left in whole pieces. The fresh vegetables are also different. At first glance, only the vegetables seem appealing, and the broth appears a bit plain, but when you eat it, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Rice noodles are made from freshly harvested Rumduol rice, a variety that has won first prize in the World 's Best Rice competition many times. The rice is soaked in clean well water, ground into flour, and then pressed into noodles. In the past, it was made by hand. The dough was poured into pre-perforated cans. A wooden pin, like a piston, was used to push the dough out through the holes into hot water, forming the noodles. It was laborious work, but the noodles tasted many times better than machine-made noodles today.

Making the broth requires concentration and precision. From selecting the ingredients, the weight and quality of each component, to the preparation process, every step is crucial. A single flaw will immediately ruin the noodle dish. The main ingredient is live, naturally caught snakehead fish. The best fish are small ones weighing around 0.7-1 kg. Next is premium quality fermented fish paste (prohoc) and other spices such as lemongrass, turmeric, coconut milk, and galangal.

Clean well water is best. Boil it, add the fish sauce (prohoc) for about five minutes, then add the cleaned fish. Once the fish is cooked through, remove it, debone and skin it, and grind it into a fine powder in a mortar. Cook it again for about 15 minutes over low heat with turmeric, lemongrass, galangal, and coconut milk. The cook should turn off the heat when the color of the broth and the aroma is strong enough.

A delicious Num Ban Chok must have a complete set of fresh vegetables including cucumber, long beans, water lily stems, okra, and finely chopped cabbage; plus Sesbania grandiflora flowers, water hyacinth flowers, bean sprouts, banana blossoms, and various types of wild leaves (wild greens). Onions are not used. Lime, green chilies, chili powder, and garlic are added when eating, according to personal taste.

Put the rice noodles in a bowl, add the vegetables, pour in the broth, and it's delicious even without being hot. Num Ban Chok has a subtly sweet, slightly fatty, and delicately fragrant flavor... Surprisingly, the fish broth, which includes prohoc fish sauce, is not at all fishy. The secret lies in galangal – a culinary treasure of Khmer cuisine . Galangal is a common spice in Khmer noodle dishes such as noodle soup, fish noodle soup, and fermented fish noodle soup because it eliminates fishy odors, creates a unique flavor, and has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving, and fever-reducing properties.

Nowadays, there's Num Ban Chok with chicken curry broth, aimed at Europeans, but it's not as good. To truly enjoy Num Ban Chok, you have to go to Siem Reap. The ancient capital of Angkor has a different climate and soil, so the ingredients, spices, and well water are different; the chefs pour their hearts and souls into it, resulting in a delicious and soulful dish.

Enjoying Num Ban Chok cannot be rushed. You must leisurely admire the colors of the broth and vegetables; slowly inhale the aroma; and carefully add the noodles, broth, and vegetables to the bowl. Slowly bring it to your mouth; attentively listen to the chewing sound and feel the Khmer flavors spreading across your tongue, brain, and entire body. Only then will you fully appreciate and understand why Num Ban Chok is the number one delicacy of the mysterious land of Angkor.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/du-lich-xanh/mon-bun-doc-dao-cua-nguoi-khmer-20230413213625293.htm