What to eat in Cambodia? Hint: more than just Amok and fried tarantulas! This massive list includes all the popular dishes and street foods that you should be experiencing on your journey through Phnom Penh, Siem Reap/Angkor, Sihanoukville, and beyond.
Cambodia is very underrated and is a surprising foodies heaven, food is not only cheap, but it’s also delicious and incredibly nutritious. Khmer cuisine is rich in its own right, and diverse, sharing much with its regional counterparts and also from its French colonial heritage.
The country is also highly regarded for the quality of its rice, sugar, pepper, fruit, and pork while also having abundant fish resources thanks to the Mekong River and the Tonle Sap. So, there really is no reason not to go nuts and have a foodie holiday! With this guide, inc. pics plus Khmer and English, you should be able to do just that.
Jump to: Noodles | Samlor (Soup) & Samlor Kari (curry) | Hot Pot | Stir Fry | Salads | Savoury Sticky Rice & Dumplings | Bread & Pastry | Sweets & Dessert | Beverages | Common ingredients
Noodles
Cambodia features of a variety of noodle types which are interchanged between broths. Types of noodle include
- Kuy Teav – Cut noodle made from long-grain rice
- Banh Kenh – Large flat square rice noodle
- Misua – Wheat Vermicelli
- Num Banh Chok – Rice vermicelli noodle
- Banh Sung – Rice and tapioca flour Noodle
- Num Lort – Tapioca noodle
- Mee – Yellow egg noodle
Noodle salads and noodle soups
Banh Hoy (បាញ់ហយ)
A fresh noodle salad with rice noodle, fresh herbs, cucumber, lettuce, tender pork belly, chopped peanuts, and sometimes fish cakes. It is served with cabbage leaves which are used to wrap pickings of all the bits which can then be dipped in sauces.
Kuy teav Phnom Penh (គុយទាវភ្នំពេញ)
Kuy teav is a type of cut noodle made from long grain rice and Kuyteav Phnom Penh is a popular breakfast dish eaten across the country in varying versions. The noodles are served in a pork broth along with lettuce leaves, bean sprouts, chopped scallions, sawtooth coriander, a slice of lime, caramelised garlic oil and other additions or sides may include pork belly, ground pork, congealed pig blood, pork offal, heart, liver and lung, roasted duck, prawns, fish cake and squid.
Kuy teav Sach Kor (គុយទាវសាច់គោ)
Kuy teav noodles with a pork broth and fresh slices of beef, flavored with deep-fried garlic and herbs.
Mee Kiev (ស៊ុបគាវ)
Mea Kiev (sometimes mi kheav) is a Khmer version of the Chinese wonton soup. Dumplings are added to a chicken-flavored broth and topped with Chinese chives and a few slices of pork. There are versions with egg noodles and wheat noodles.
Num banh chok (នំបញ្ចុក)
Often called simply Khmer noodles, or Nom Banh Chok Samlor Khmer, the dish features rice noodles of the same name which are topped with a fish-based green curry gravy made from lemongrass, turmeric root, and kaffir lime. It is served with sides inc fresh mint leaves, holy basil, bean sprouts, green beans, banana flower, cucumbers and other greens which you can add as you feel. It is a cold dish.
Num Banh Chok Somlar Kari
Num Banh Chok rice noodles in a curry soup (Somlar Kari/Samlaw). The curry may be yellow (Turmeric soup base) or red (Chili curry soup base) and may include chicken or beef, potatoes, onions, and carrots.
Num Banh Chok Namya
Sometimes just called Samlor Namya. Num Banh Chok rice noodles with fish paste based curry served with fresh herbs.
Num Banh Chok Samlor Yuon
Num Banh Chok noodle with crab/tomato soup base, congealed pigs blood, bean sprouts, herbs, and various veg.
Banh Sung
Rice noodles with coconut milk, fish sauce, pork, fresh mint, and sliced cucumber or another veg. It often comes with a chopped up fried spring roll and topped with crushed peanut.
Fried Noodles
Chha Kuy Teav
Stir-fried rice noodles with soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic, spring onions (scallions), bean sprouts, egg, and sometimes crushed peanut. Sometimes the egg is mixed in, sometimes fried and plopped on top.
Cha Mi Sua (មីឆា)
Cha Mi Sua is stir-fried egg noodles. You can find numerous variants in street stalls including mee cha with vegetables, chicken, pork, shrimp etc. The common base ingredients are bell pepper, celery, bok choy, broccoli, soy sauce, sugar, and oyster sauce. It is equivalent to Chow Mein.
Lort Chha (លតឆា)
Featuring lort noodles which are short tapioca noodles, often called pin noodles, stir-fried with soy and oyster sauce, fish sauce, garlic, bean sprouts and topped with an egg. Sometimes it is vegetarian but some stalls sell it with chicken.
Mee katang (មីកាតាំង)
A Cambodian variation of chao fen featuring rice stick noodles topped with stir fry beef, vegetables, and scrambled eggs.
Mee Sua Cha (meaning stir-fried sewed noodles)
Misua noodles are stir-fried with garlic, vegetables, mushrooms, and oyster, fish sauce, and soy sauce. Meats added can vary but sausage is common.
Mee Kola (មីកុឡា)
A meatless dish featuring rice stick noodles, steamed and stir-fried with soy sauce, garlic chives and then served with pickled vegetables Jroak (ជ្រក់), sliced boiled eggs, and garnished with crushed peanuts.
Mee M’poang
This uses yellow egg noodles, Mee, which are deep-fried and topped with a beef and oyster sauce gravy, Chinese broccoli, carrot, and mushroom.
Kuy Teav Kat
Similar to rice rolls, or Cheong Fen, where a liquid made from rice is steamed, ground pork is added and then rolled up and served with leafy greens, cut spring rolls, nuts, Khmer style ham and sometimes sausage.
Samlor (soup/stew) and Kari (Curry) dishes
Samlor refers to soup dishes that are eaten with rice and Sup refer to dishes that can be eaten without rice. Kari ការី is Khmer for a curry with its roots traced back to India.
Khor Cherng Chrouk
Khor, means braised, and Khor Cherng Chrouk or Braised Pig Trotter Stew, is a popular braised dish including pig’s trotters with whole eggs flavored with caramelized palm sugar, fish sauce, and black Kampot pepper. Other Khor dishes include Khor Sach Chrouk, braised pork stew, and Khor Trey, being braised fish, and Khor Ko, being beef. There is also shrimp and even frog versions.
Samlar machu kroeung
Also known as Sour Soup. It is part of the samlar machu (សម្លម្ជូរ) family. It features prahok, kroeung paste, turmeric, holy basil, water morning glory, coriander, stewed beef ribs, and tripe. Other variants of Samlor machu include khmer krom which features tomato, pineapple, catfish, and lotus root. Another is Samlor machu Siem Reap which has bamboo shoot and freshwater shrimp.
Samlor kakou (សម្លកកូរ)
Also written as Khor Ko or Kor Kou. One of Cambodia’s national dishes it features pork belly, kroeung, beans, basil, mushroom, ivy gourd leaf, pumpkin, eggplant, and some recipes even include green papaya, green banana, green jack fruit.
Babor (បបរ)
It is a rice porridge that can be plain (Borbor sor), or with a chicken or pork broth, and served with fresh bean sprouts, caramelized garlic oil, spring onions scallions, shredded omelet, fried breadsticks (Borbor kroeung). Babor prai is salted dried fish with rice porridge.
Somlor chap chai (សម្លរ ចាប់ឆាយ)
A soup featuring pork, Chinese broccoli, garlic, carrot, radish, cabbage, mushrooms, and quail eggs.
Ngam nguv (ង៉ាំង៉ូវ)
It’s a soup that uses pickled lime or lemon to bring out a citrusy taste including chicken (or pork or duck), garlic, fish sauce, scallions and usually served with herbs which you can add as you please.
Amok Trey (អាម៉ុកត្រី)
Amok is a coconut milk-based curry where the meat (traditionally fish) is covered with a kroeung made from spring onion, lemongrass, galangal, garlic, and kaffir lime, and then coconut milk/egg mixture, then steamed. It takes around 40 mins to make which is why most restaurants in touristy areas sell a quickly make fish curry. Regardless, it is Cambodia’s most well-known dish.
Samlar kari (សម្លការី)
A coconut chicken curry that often includes sweet potatoes, onion, snake beans, and bamboo shoot. It is the same base that is used for Nom ban chok samlor kari. It can also be served with a baguette for dipping.
Hot Pot យ៉ាវហន/នាំងភ្លើង
Yao hon (យ៉ៅហន)
A banquet-style hot pot for dipping beef, shrimp, spinach, dill, napa cabbage, rice noodles, and mushrooms. It differs from chhnang plerng or other Asian hot pots in that it features a tangy coconut broth rather than a clear broth.
Soup Chhnang phnom plerng (ឆ្នាំងភ្លើង)
Cabbage, organ meat, meat dumplings, shredded carrot, pork, broth, scallions are all added to the special pot and simmered, and when done, everyone can pick away with their chopsticks.
Ko lerng phnom
Literally meaning beef up the mountain. You can grill your meat with the juices running into the hot pot with your veg. That’s enough to make me hungry!
Chha (Stir-Fried Dishes) and Rice Dishes
Chha Kh’nhei (ឆាខ្ញី)
Stir-fried peppered chicken, with soy, garlic, and julienned ginger root.
Char Kroeng Sach Ko
Is stir-fried lemongrass beef that is made from a kroeung of lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal and tumeric, and beef that is marinated in soy and oyster sauce, and added to the wok with vegetables. Served and topped with crushed peanuts. There is also a chicken version being Char Kroeng Sach Moan.
Lok lak (ឡុកឡាក់)
Cubed and marinated beef is stir-fried and served alongside lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes. As simple as it is, it is one of the common dishes in restaurants serving visitors.
Bai Chha (បាយឆា)
Fried rice which may include pork, prawns, or sausage.
Bai Sach Chrouk (បាយសាច់ជ្រូក)
A very popular breakfast dish featuring bbq glazed pork rice, rice, pickled carrot/radish, and egg either whole, boiled or scrambled.
Bai Sach Moan
A kroeung is mixed with rice and together with chicken is steamed retaining all the flavors of the chicken into the rice.
Phak Lav (ផាកឡៅ )
Pork organs, typically liver, pork ears, stomach, are sliced and caramelized/braised. It is served with cucumber, herbs, a dipping sauce, and with rice if you like.
Chha Trokuon
A simple dish of stir-fried morning glory/water spinach with garlic, red peppers, and minced pork, fermented soybeans, and soy sauce.
Sach Chrouk Sa See (Char Siu)
You will often see beautifully colored long strips of pork hanging ain street cart windows, it is Sach Chrouk Sa See which is used in num pang sandwiches and also in Bai Sach Chrouk.
Kwah Ko/Kwah Chrouk
Cambodian sausage, Kwah Ko or Twa Ko, is beef sausage that includes salt, rice, palm sugar, oyster sauce, kaffir lime leaves, garlic, and galangal. Kwah Chrouk is the pork version. They can be long fat sausage and also in round balls.
Phahut
A fish cake that is made from fresh fish, lemongrass kroeung, garlic, oyster sauce, sugar, baking powder which is mashed together in a mortar and pestle, then deep-fried. Generally served with rice, a dipping sauce, and raw assorted veg.
Nhoam (Salads), Rolls, and Chamhoy (Steamed Foods)
Nhoam means mixed raw vegetables or salad and you will find many variations including green fruits such as mango or papaya and meats such as pork, chicken, squid, and smoked fish.
Pleah sach ko (ភ្លាសាច់គោ)
The dish consists of lime and prahok-cured beef salad, sometimes also including beef tripe, tossed with thinly sliced purple Asian shallots, finely shaved radish, crushed roasted peanuts and fresh herbs such as mint and basil.
Nhoam Svay
Green mango salad which has many variants including Nhoam Svay Kchi (green mango salad with squid), Nhom Svay Trey Chaer (green mango salad with lemongrass and smoked fish), Nhoam Svay Trei Ang (green mango salad with pan-fried fish and palm sugar), Nhoam Svay Moek Oeng (green mango salad with grilled squid), etc.
Bok L’hong (បុកល្ហុង)
A green papaya salad that includes shredded green papaya, Thai basil, galangal, tamarind, string beans, roasted peanuts, chili, and prahok, along with salted preserved small crabs, or smoked/dried fish.
Mam L’hong
A green papaya salad that features shrimp, roasted jasmine rice and green papaya which is fermented and sugar, basil, and garlic added on serving, noting that there are lots of versions.
Bai Damnaeb (Sticky Rice Dishes) and Kiev (Dumplings)
These are all savory versions, in the dessert section you’ll find many sweet versions.
Num Sakoo
A tapioca ball stuffed with a minced meat mix or pork, shallots, garlic, roasted peanut, preserved radish, and cilantro which is then steamed.
Num ansom chrook (អន្សមជ្រូក)
A savory rice cake filled with pork and mung bean.
Num Chang
Similar to Khmer Ansom except it is a triangular shape and feature aged-garlic bulbs, beans and pork.
Sieu Mai (សៀវម៉ៃ)
A dumpling made from ground pork with mushrooms, shrimp, ginger, carrot, and wrapped in a dumpling skin made from flour. It comes from Cantonese culture where it is commonly served in Dim Sum restaurants and bought to Cambodia by Chinese immigrants.
Naem Chao (ណែម)
Fresh spring rolls, or Naem Chao, are made from rice paper dipped in warm water and filled with fresh vegetables, herb, and chicken or pork then served with a dipping sauce.
Chhai Yor (ឆៃយ៉)
A deep-fried version of Naem Chao with multitudes of differing recipes for ingredients.
Bread and Num (Pastries)
Num pang sach
Take a fresh, light, and crispy baguette then fill it with bbq pork, pickled carrot and radish, fresh cucumber, and some sauce. There are many variations inc some with pok lav (pork intestine), char sui, pate etc.
Chak Kwai (ចាខ្វៃ)
Fried dough stick – A soda leavened dough made from wheat flour and rice flour and deep-fried. Bought as a snack to eat with tea, and commonly eaten alongside many breakfast dishes.
Chek Chien (ចេកចៀន)
Chek Chien or fried banana, is local banana that is dipped in a coconut milk, sesame seed, and flour batter, then deep-fried. Banana can also be exchanged for taro or yam.
Num Pang Ang Prai M’tes
Featuring a grilled flattened and diced buttered baguette topped with pork floss, mayo, hot sauce, grilled spring onions, and sliced local ham.
Num Pav or Nhum Pao (នំប៉ាវ)
Steamed pork buns that are similar if not the same as Chinese Baozi where a flour bun is stuffed with meat fillings, steamed and served hot from the steamer. You may also spot sweet green ones where pandan juice is used in the dough – pandan steamed bun (នំប៉ាវរស់ជាតិស្លឹកតយ).
Num Bong-Kaong
Khmer shrimp cakes that are deep-fried in a ladle and eaten with various rice and noodle dishes.
Num pang chen
A spring onion pancake
Num Banh Chao (បាញ់ឆែវ)
A thin crepe made of coconut milk, rice flour and turmeric to which ground pork and bean sprouts are added and then folded into a half-moon. It is generally served with a fish sauce and fresh herb/veg.
Num Poum (ធ្វើនំពុម្ព)
A waffle made from rice flour, egg, coconut milk, and coconut shaved meat.
Kralan (ក្រឡាន)
Steamed in a bamboo tube, the cake is made from rice, mung beans or red beans, grated coconut, coconut milk, and palm sugar.
Num Chak Chan
A pandan and coconut milk 4 layered cake that is steamed. It is a common Southeast dessert and also featured within the dessert banquet in Khmer weddings.
Num Krok
Is a Khmer, Thai (Khanom Krok), and Laos (Khao Nom Kok), coconut-based street food snack. Coconut milk is combined with rice flours with scallions added and cooked on a cast iron griddle with half-spherical moulds.
Num Ka’Chai
It is a rice dumpling combine with chives and fried on a hot surface resembling a think scallion pancake. In Cambodia, the cake is eaten in combination with other dishes to add texture or eaten with sweet fish sauce.
Num Pia
Pia is a rich cake made from mung bean introduced by southern Chinese living in the Mekong Delta region.
Num Kroch
A rice flour dough is stuffed with red mung bean paste, balled, covered in sesame and deep-fried.
Num Kong (នំកង)
A deep-fried donut with sesame.
Nom Pong Ansong
A round donut made from rice flour that is filled with mung bean paste. It offers a contrast of sweet outside and salty inside.
Desserts
Sankya Lapov (សង់ខ្យាល្ពៅ)
Pumpkin Coconut Custard – A dessert made of pumpkin, eggs, and coconut cream.
Num Banh Duc
A pandan dessert made with rice flour and tapioca starch.
Num Plae Ai (ផ្លែអាយ)
Made from rice flour or tapioca flour, a dough is made and formed into balls which are filled with palm sugar. they are simmered in water, removed and covered in grated coconut.
Num Poh Peay (នំ ពពាយ)
Is a glutinous rice flour mix is molded into a worm-like shape and boiled, then topped off with coconut shavings, mung beans, toasted sesame seed, and sweet coconut milk.
Saku Dom
Pandan tapioca pearls – steamed tapioca pearls that are flavored with pandan and topped with coconut.
Num Ansom Chrouk (នំ អន្សមជ្រូក)
Is cylindrical rice cake wrapped in banana leaves and filled with pork lard and yellow mung beans.
Num Kom
Uses a dough made from sticky rice which is filled with coconut and palm sugar that is wrapped in banana leaf and steamed. It is a popular treat on special occasions. It is most commonly flat and square-shaped but some households make it in a pyramid shape.
Num Bot
Similar to Num Kom but this time with a mung bean filling.
Bai Damnaeb (បាយដំណើប)
A sticky rice dessert made with sweetened coconut milk and durian fruit. Another variation includes other fruit such as mango (Bai Damnaeb Svay).
Num Treap
Is a sticky rice dessert that is slightly hardened and topped off with roast sesame seed.
Nom Lort
A dish consisting of noodles made from pandan flavor rice flour noodles in a sweet coconut milk soup.
Banh Cheneuk
Mung bean-filled rice dumplings in a ginger sauce.
Thav Ker Khmer
Grass jelly with soy milk. Traditionally it is made from boiling the leaves and stalks of the Mesona Chinensis plant with a small amount of starch or rice flour but it is made from a packet nowadays.
Sarai K’tiss
A layered agar jelly dessert featuring pandan and coconut layer jelly.
Babor Skor Tau Suan
Yellow mung bean pudding is one of the countries oldest know desserts.
Tur Tim Krop
Often called Red Rubies, is made from water chestnut (with red food coloring added) and served in sweet coconut milk. Some like to add jackfruit and shredded coconut.
Bang’Aem Bobor Sandaek Khiev (បបរសណ្តែកខៀវ)
Green bean dessert – made from tapioca, green mung beans, sugar, and coconut milk.
Chek K’tiss
Tapioca banana coconut pudding
Babor Skor Mien
Longan Pudding – A fresh fruit pudding featuring sweet coconut milk flavored with palm sugar and thickened with tapioca starch and topped with Longan.
Babor Skor Bot
A sweet corn pudding that includes rice and coconut milk.
Beverages
Te Khiev (Green tea)
A local tea beverage of Cambodia that is commonly served in restaurants either iced or hot.
Kafe
Traditional coffee, be it a legacy of the French is made from ground coffee filtered through a sock. You can have it black or with condensed milk. Kafe Teuk Doh Ko/Kafe Blanc: Coffee with Milk. Kafe Khmao: Black strong coffee. Pictured is sweet milk coffee, in a takeaway bag!
Teuk/Tak Ampau (ទឹកអំពៅ។)
Fresh juice extracted from sugar cane is popular and refreshing on hot days.
Teuk Krolok – Smoothies
Smoothie and fruit juice stalls are ubiquitous
Teuk San Daek
The green version of soy milk is made from green beans and can be sold hot, iced, sweet or no sweet. It can also be made from soy beans and pandan leaves.
Sra sor
Fermented rice is boiled and distilled to become a 50-percent-proof rice wine. Very popular in villages but also the cause of some fatalities from bad batches from backyard brewers. Stick to known or trusted sources.
Common Ingredients in Khmer Cuisine
Proteins
Pork, fish, and chicken are commonplace. Beef and duck are not as common but readily available. other protein sources include eggs, frogs, tofu, bean curd, insects and spiders.
Translations for common meats are
- Beef – កូនគោ – Sahch Ko (or sach ko or just ko)
- Pork – សាច់ជ្រូក – Sahch J`ruk (or sach chrouk or chrouk)
- Chicken – មាន់ – Sahch Mornn (or sach moan)
- Fish – ត្រី – Trei (or trey)
Vegetables
Radish, eggplant, ginger, galangal, garlic, water spinach, chili, carrot, sweet potato, are all commonplace along with many herbs such as holy basil, Thai basil, mint etc. See here for a full list of vegetables and herbs in Cambodia.
Fruits
Fruit is very very popular in Cambodia and there are a lot of choices including durian, mangosteen, sapodilla, milk fruit, romduol, pineapple, star apple, rose apple, coconut, palmyra fruit, jackfruit, papaya, watermelon, banana, mango, and rambutan. Some fruits such as mango and papaya are eaten green and used in salads or sliced up for a snack with sweet chili salt. See a full list of fruits in Cambodia.
Fermented sauces
Mam (fermented seafood) – Mam is made from snakehead fish, roasted red sticky rice and palm sugar which is fermented for one year.
Prahok (ប្រហុក) – a very popular fish paste that is used in many dishes. It is made from local fish that are scaled, deboned, crushed, and then salted and left to dry. After drying they are left to ferment until maturity. Not only used in cooking it is also used as a dip.
Kapi – is a fermented shrimp paste that is used in cooking and as a dipping sauce.
Teuk trey – is fish sauce and is used widely in cooking and also as a common dipping sauce, tuek chr’louk.
Teuk krom – oyster sauce is used widely and often combined with soy and fish sauce.
Teuk si-iw – soy sauce is used in many dishes and commonly placed at the table of most restaurants.
Teuk siang (hoisin sauce) – used for marinating pork and in some noodle dishes.
Teuk ampil – a sauce using tamarind as a base, often mixed with garlic, palm sugar, and chili peppers.
Kroeung
Kroeung is a curry paste that is formed from ingredients such as lemongrass, galangal, garlic, shallots, cilantro, kaffir lime leaves, cardamom, star anise, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and turmeric. The common curry pastes are: k’tis (kroeung samlar k’tis), Saraman (kroeung samlar saraman), yellow (kroeung samlar m’chou), red (kroeung samlar kari), and green (kroeung prâhoeur).
Spices
Khmer cuisine does not lean as heavily on chili as its neighbors with pepper being preferred in many dishes. Common spices used in Cambodian cuisine include jungle cardamom, turmeric, tamarind, star anise, galangal, ginger, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaves.