10 Best Siem Reap Dishes

The best Siem Reap dishes are often enjoyed everyplace within the quaint city, from dingy wayside stalls and ancient markets to luxury hotels and high-end Khmer restaurants. as a result of its close proximity to Tonle Sap Lake, seafood is commonly the main ingredients for noodles, soups, and curries while grilled beef, pork, and chicken are paired with rice and salads. Siem Reap is also heavily influenced by French colonialization, thus ancient soups are typically served with a baguette for breakfast. Siem Reap cooking is significantly healthier than most Southeast Asian offerings as its dishes also contain a myriad of fresh vegetables and herbs like lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime, and shallots. Not only are these dishes cheap (with costs starting at US$0.50), you’ll easily have them customized per your dietary specifications. read on for our list of ten must-try dishes in Siem Reap.

1 Bai Sach Chrouk (Pork with Broken Rice) Bai sach chrouk is sold by roadside food stalls and native markets in downtown Siem Reap for less than US$1. this simple nevertheless common Cambodian breakfast staple contains juicy pork slices, scrambled eggs, and rice. whereas the dish typically involves raw pork that’s slow-cooked over a charcoal stove, there are many Khmer restaurants that marinade the meat with coconut milk or garlic for added flavour. Once it’s cooked , the pork is thinly sliced and arranged atop a bowl of broken rice, sliced scrambled eggs, pickled cucumbers, and daikon radish. A bowl of broth, scallions and deep-fried onions is also served along with Bai sach chrouk.

2 Fish Amok Fish amok is freshwater fish fillet that’s steamed with curry and banana leaves, leading to a soft mousse-like texture. not like most curries in Asia, it exudes a fragrant flavour instead of a spicy one because of the mixture coconut milk and kroeung, a Khmer-style curry paste that contains garlic, lemongrass, turmeric root, Chinese ginger, kaffir lime, shallots, and galangal. Fish amok is traditionally eaten throughout the Water festival, however travellers can relish this classic dish (with a big plate of rice) any time of the day at local restaurants in Siem Reap.

3 Lok Lak (Stir-Fried Beef) Lok lak or stir-fried beef varies from one cook to another, however it’s typically accompanied with fresh lettuce, tomato, red onion, and cucumber slices. to provide its distinctive flavour, the meat is marinated nightlong with a unique combination of fish sauce, soy sauce, lemon, pepper, and oyster sauce. If you’re not a lover of beef, most restaurants will simply substitute it with venison, pork, chicken or even tofu. like most local dishes in Siem Reap, lok lak is served with rice, fried egg, lemony brown sauce, and a side of fresh lettuce leaves.

4 Khmer Red Curry Khmer red curry, despite its striking color, doesn’t contain chili, making it a much milder version of typical Thai and Indian curries. Ideal for those who can’t stand spicy food, this coconut milk-based dish utilises kroeung, that is a Khmer curry paste made with lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime zest, and turmeric. traditionally served with a French baguette, it’s cooked along with meat slices (beef, chicken or fish), eggplant, green beans, and potatoes. the best place to relish Khmer red curry is at Khmer kitchen eating house, although we highly suggest Malis Cambodian Restaurant’s Kampot rock crab red curry (US$22) for food lovers.[read more..]