The Culinary Art of Cambodia Cookbook Recipes – Templation Angkor
Words: Monica Tindall
Photos: Han Sen Hau
This is our last meal in Siem Reap for this trip, and we are blessed to be dining with Chef Bunchhou at Templation Angkor. He has prepared a special menu showcasing recipes from The Culinary Art of Cambodia cooking book, as well as ingredients plucked fresh from the garden. These dishes are off the standard restaurant menu but can be enjoyed with an advance booking.
One of the best things about this meal is that we can replicate our favourite recipes at home thanks to the cookbook. All sales of The Culinary Art of Cambodia go to charity, The Sobbhana Foundation for Women and the Rasmi Sobbhana Pagoda (Wat Sanlong), helping to educate women in Siem Reap.
The Culinary Art of Cambodia Cookbook Recipes
Pomelo Salad
It’s a vibrant beginning with Pomelo Salad. We’ve had plenty of these to know that each chef has their own tweaks to the recipe. Chef Bunchhou has included springy, fresh prawns from Sihanoukville in the toss as well as laid out a beauty on the side. The salad combines thinly sliced red and yellow capsicum, toasted coconut, roasted crushed peanuts, mint, coriander and watercress from the hotel garden just metres away. It’s tossed in a tangy and mildly spicy Khmer dressing of fish sauce, sugar, chilli and lemon juice.
Samlor Korko
Despite the abundance of Amok and Lok Lak on menus, we were surprised to learn that many Cambodians consider Samlor Korko as their national dish. With a history as far back as the Khmer Empire and some traditional recipes boasting up to 100 different types of fruit and vegetables, we understand the prestige. It’s a deep green soup, thick in texture and deliciously herbaceous in the mouth. Chef highlights pumpkin, luffa, and many many greens in this recipe. It reminds me of Malaysian lei cha. I love it.
Fish Amok
We might not have recognized the Fish Amok if we had not already known today’s line-up. Chef Bunchhou has creatively presented it in a roulade, winding the snakehead fish and leaves in a long cylinder and then slicing them to resemble sushi rolls. Visual appearance aside, our mouths are greeted with those familiar flavours of kaffir lime leaf, lemongrass, dried chilli, garlic, shallots, green onions, noni leaf, egg and coconut milk that make the recipe so enticing.
Kampot Pepper Squid
We’ve been delighted by the abundance of local seafood on this trip and the chefs’ interest in using it. Kampot Pepper Squid features fresh squid stir-fried with Kampot pepper, basil leaves, garlic, onion, red, yellow and green capsicum, and whole clusters of green peppercorns. Shredded, deep-fried sweet potato makes a hairy top and vibrant orange contrast to the mix below.
Pumpkin Custard
To conclude, Chef Bunchhou has given us a very elegant, western-style plating of Cambodian Pumpkin Custard. A long log of egg and coconut milk custard sits atop a layer of steamed pumpkin on a vanilla crumble. A tuile leaf adorns the top, and a light green pandan sauce makes a pretty picture dotted around the sides.
Reasons to purchase The Culinary Art of Cambodia Cookbook: authentic recipes approved by royalty; you can replicate your favourite Cambodian dishes in your home following your visit; all proceeds go to charity, assisting in the education of women in Siem Reap.
The Culinary Art of Cambodia Cookbook – Templation Angkor
Rok Rak Street, Sangkat Sla Kram
171201 Siem Reap, Cambodia
[email protected]
+855 12 233 350
templationsiemreap
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