Cambodian Amok Curry

Phnom Penh and Cambodian Amok Curry.

We arrived in Phnom Penh after a 10 hour overnight bus from Ho Chi Minh, the $6 drive only takes 6 hours but you have to pull up at the border crossing at Bavet and wait for it to open before processing your visa ($35) and proceeding to the Cambodian capital.  Depending on citizenship, you may be required to show $1000 at immigration to prove that you have sufficient funds whilst in the country.  Ian and I were ok, but a really lovely guy from Sri Lanka on our bus was not allowed in for this reason, so beware.

Anyway, we arrived at PP and after checking in at our hotel for £8 a night (http://www.khaviguesthouse.com) we negotiated with a tuk-tuk driver ($10) to take us to the infamous killing fields, 15km out of the city.  What used to be a Chinese cemetery before 1975, turned into a mass buriel ground during Pol Pot's reign as communit leader from 1975-1979.  It is estimated about 20,000 men, women and children were tortured, murdered and dumped here.  Whilst some of the mass graves have been exhumed, there are countless victims that will remain in the ground.  This was just one of the many so-named 'killing fields' from all over Cambodia, were it is believed over 3 million people perished from what was a country of only just over 7 million people in the 70's.  The majority of a generation wiped out by this barbaric and brutal regime, headed by a man  who failed his degree and so proceeded to kill any person with intellect and their families in case they threatened his ideology or leadership. 

As if the sadness of the killing fields in PP were not enough, we headed for the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.  Prior to 1975 it was a secondary school that during the Khymer Rouge regime became Security Prison 21, where tens of thousands of adults and children suspected of anti revolutionary behaviour where horrifically tortured.  

A somber and depressing afternoon and what angered me further was discovering that for 10 years after the Pol Pot resigned and went into exile in Thailand, some western governments (including the UK) still recognised the Khymer Rouge as the legitimate government in Cambodia.  

It is truly a testament to the Khymer people and Khymer traditions and culture that they are resilient and forgiving.  

The other must sees in PP include the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda, Wat Phnom, Independence Monument and the Central Market.

After spending the afternoon at these two sights, you don't feel immediately hungry.  Luckily we had the Khymer version of a Banh Mi en route, so after the prison we went for $2 pitchers of beer and I watched as ian delved into the local delicacies of snake on a stick and fried frogs!

After several beers, we decided to try a traditional Khymer curry, the Amok curry, for about £2 you can get either a meat or white fish amok curry with rice, add an extra 50p for an Ankor beer!  Similar in ingredients to Thai curries, but an Amok is nowhere near as spicy.  As an alternative, you can also have a traditional Khymer bbq, you select your marinated meat and fish and it comes raw to the table with a pile of uncooked veg and you then proceed to cook it on the table top bbq. It is slightly more expensive at around £5 per person, but also delicious and is served with seared veg (the best being seared cabbage), steamed rice and a chilli sauce.

Traditional Amok curry recipe.

Amok Paste

- one stick of lemongrass, sliced thinly

- thumb size piece of ginger, finely chopped

- 1 1/2 shallots, finely chopped

- 2 cloves of garlic (3 if small), finely chopped

- half an inch piece of tumeric

Place all ingredients into pestle and mortar or food processor and blend until paste.

Amok curry

- amok curry paste

- 200g of a white fish sliced (cod, pollock etc), you can also use prawn, chicken or tofu.

- half an onion finely sliced

- 100g mushroom (oyster are the best)

- 1 tbsp fish sauce

- 1 tbsp of sugar

- large handful of Chinese kale or spinach 

- half a cup of coconut milk

To make add a little coconut milk to a hot frying pan or wok, then add 2 tbsp of the curry paste and cook for a minute. Then add the onion, fish, fish sauce and sugar and cook for another minute then add the rest of the coconut milk.  Cook for three to four minutes until the fish is almost cooked, then add the mushrooms and kale or spinach.  Cook for another few minutes until all cooked through.  Check for seasoning.  Serve in a bowl, coconut or banana leaf with steamed rice!