13 Best Traditional Food and Drinks in Cambodia

Khmer dishes are close to Thai food, but the hot and sour is not strong, the sweet taste is strong, mainly based on fresh seafood, beef, chicken, etc.. Cambodians usually eat rice as the main food. In addition, Khmer has also absorbed the characteristics of Vietnamese cuisine due to its inextricable links with Vietnam. During the Ming Dynasty, a large number of Chinese immigrants moved in, making the cooking techniques and ingredients of Chinese cuisine also joined the Khmer cuisine, especially in the capital city of Phnom Penh. Later, due to French colonial rule, baguettes, coffee, sausages and sardines also became elements of the Cambodian table.

The price in Cambodia is about half that of Taiwan. The sightseeing areas use mainly dollars.  But when you pay for the bill, the waiter will pay you the Cambodian currency. What to eat in Cambodia? There are 13 popular recommended food and drinks in Cambodia that you must try.

1、Rice noodle

The rice noodle is one of the most popular breakfasts in Cambodia. It is delicious because of the addition of special soy sauce, fish sauce, lemon juice and other ingredients. Remember to go to eat it before 12：00 at noon, because the rice noodle here is only for breakfast.

2、Amok

Amok is one of the most popular traditional Khmer cuisines and is available in almost every Cambodian restaurant. The practice is to wrap the meat or other materials in the banana leaves, then add the coconut milk, lemon leaves and local vegetables and spices, then add the main ingredients to cook, and finally in the coconut shell or porcelain bowl. 

3、Khmer curry

If you want to taste the spicy flavor of Southeast Asia, try Khmer-style curry. Almost all Khmer curries are added to the soup. Khmer curry is very spicy and tearful. These dishes can be tasted in the most authentic restaurants in Phnom Penh.

4、Sour soup

Beef, pork, chicken, and fish can be used as the main ingredients of sour soup, and then put into various vegetarian dishes such as spinach, lotus stem, melon, sauerkraut, lemon leaf and so on. Lemon juice, fish sauce, and vinegar pepper are also essential. Although the sour soup tastes heavier, in hot weather, drinking sour soup is also very beneficial to the heat.

5、Beef loc lac

This dish is made from oyster sauce, soy sauce and beef, sometimes with some palm sugar. Traditionally, rice is used to absorb the honey juice, but now it is often accompanied by French fries or an omelet at the top.

6、Prahok

Whether it is like or hate prahok, many foreigners think it is a strong taste. Usually added to local dishes, it can also be served separately with rice and salad. Crushed, salted and fermented fish sauce is used as a seasoning to add a strong salty taste. Its strong smell makes it the nickname of Cambodian cheese.

7、Soup chhnang Dae

The traditional Cambodian hot pot uses a ceramic pot, and the soup base is accompanied by spices and herbs. The taste is sweet and fresh. Similar to China's small hot pot, there are small pot of soup, plate of beef, plate of fresh vegetables (including a few bananas, etc.), plate of transparent small round cake, dishes of sauce. Put the pieces of meat into the hot pot, turn the 2 small round cakes into the empty dish and place them on the empty plate. After a while, the meat is cooked, put on the cake, and then put the fresh vegetables. Then, the cake is soft, rolled up, and seasoned.
 

8、Spring roll

The Cambodian spring rolls are the same as the Vietnamese spring rolls, they are made of glutinous rice, wrapped in stuffing made of bean sprouts, vermicelli, squid, shrimp, and onion. It is divided into fresh spring rolls and fried spring rolls. When eating, it is seasoned with fish sauce, sour vinegar and pepper.

9、Cambodian BBQ

It is a kind of hot pot that is baked. It is very popular in Southeast Asian countries. The baking tray is round metal, and a circle on the side is a "hot pot" zone, and the middle is a place for barbecue. On the raised flat plate, the meat broth will flow along the pot to the hot pot, which will increase the flavor of the soup.

10、Tarantula (Fried poison spider)

Tarantula, fried poison spider, is a famous street food in Cambodia. In the small streets of Phnom Penh, you can see a lot of specialty snacks, grilled wild birds, roast ducks, toasted turtles, etc. The most amazing thing is to roast the poisonous spiders. You can try this street food when traveling to Cambodia.

11、Baguette sandwiches

The stalls selling baguettes on the roadside can be seen everywhere. Cambodia was once a French colony. It was deeply influenced by France. The French bachelor is not a simple French bread. Instead, people cut the baguette from the middle and painted it in the middle. Bolognese, butter, stuffed with a few pieces of meat, pickled cucumbers, pickled papaya, radish, green onions and then topped with a layer of tomato sauce, this is the baguette sandwich. This baguette sandwich has a crispy taste and is affordable. It is very popular street food in the local area.

12、Angkor beer

Angkor beer is a famous domestic brand in Cambodia, and its output is huge. It is very popular among tourists. It can be bought in most restaurants and bars in Cambodia. The price of a bottle of 660ml is about $0.9- $ 1.5.

13、Fruit shake

Fruit Shake is a very popular drink in Cambodia. Cambodia is tropical and rich in fruit. Freshly squeezed fresh fruit, together with ice cubes, is made into a unique Fruit Shake. It is a great drink for the summer. If you travel to Cambodia in summer, Fruit Shake is a drink that you can’t miss.