COPPERWhat is the national dish of Cambodia?
Cambodia has no official national dish, but fish amok (amok trei) is the one most often cited. It is a Khmer fish curry made with coconut cream, eggs and a pounded herb paste called kroeung, steamed in a banana-leaf cup until it sets into a soft mousse. Num banh chok, a fish-gravy rice noodle dish, and the soup samlar kako are also named as national dishes.
What is fish amok?
Fish amok is a steamed curry, not a soup. Slices of white fish are folded into a mixture of coconut cream, egg and yellow kroeung, poured into small cups of banana leaf and steamed for 20 to 30 minutes. The egg sets the mixture into a moist custard that holds its shape on the spoon.
Cooks who learned the dish the old way are blunt about it: if it is not steamed, it is not amok, it is curry. Many restaurants serve a looser, liquid version, and versions with chicken, tofu or beef also exist, but the set, mousse-like texture is the reference.
What is in fish amok?
Everything starts with the kroeung, the Khmer fresh herb paste that flavours most curries and soups in the country. For amok it is the yellow kroeung, coloured by fresh turmeric. The other ingredients are simple:
- Fish: snakehead, catfish or goby in Cambodia; cod, snapper or perch abroad.
- Yellow kroeung: lemongrass, fresh turmeric, galangal, kaffir lime leaves and garlic, pounded together.
- Coconut cream and eggs: the eggs are what make the curry set.
- Noni leaves (slok ngor): laid in the bottom of each cup, they give amok its slightly bitter, green taste. Swiss chard is the usual substitute.
- Fish sauce and palm sugar for seasoning, and banana leaves to make the cups.
How fish amok is made
The kroeung is pounded in a mortar for about 15 minutes, until smooth. A blender leaves it fibrous. It is whisked into coconut cream, then beaten with eggs, fish sauce and palm sugar.
The fish is sliced about 5 mm thick, never blended, and stirred into the mixture in one direction for 5 minutes until it thickens. Squares of banana leaf are folded into cups, lined with shredded noni leaf, filled three quarters full and steamed. A last spoon of coconut cream, shredded kaffir lime leaf and red chilli go on top for 5 more minutes. It is eaten hot, with steamed rice. Our fish amok recipe gives every quantity.
Amok variations, and what is not amok
Amok trei means fish amok, and fish is the classic. Cambodia uses freshwater fish such as goby, snakehead or catfish; abroad, cooks use cod, snapper, barramundi, salmon, whiting or perch. The same steamed custard is also made with chicken, tofu or beef, especially in restaurants.
Watch for shortcuts. Some kitchens use a store-bought herb paste instead of fresh kroeung, a different kroeung, or simmer the mixture in a pan instead of steaming it, which gives a runny curry. Those versions can taste good, but they lose the defining set texture.
Presentation is part of the dish. Amok is brought to the table in its banana-leaf cup, or sometimes in a coconut shell, with jasmine rice on the side.
Where amok comes from
Amok is widely believed to have been a royal dish of the Khmer court, going back to the Khmer Empire. That belief rests on tradition rather than written records, and some people question whether it originated in Cambodia at all.
Neighbouring kitchens have close relatives. Thailand's hor mok pla, another fish curry steamed in banana leaf, is often described as a descendant of Cambodian amok trei; see our article on the national dish of Thailand. Indonesia's pepes, also cooked in banana leaf, is another relative.
Other dishes to know from Cambodia
Amok is the name foreigners know best, but many Cambodians would name num banh chok or samlar kako (also spelt samlor korkor) as the national dish. Num banh chok is lightly fermented fresh rice noodles under a yellow gravy of poached river fish pounded into kroeung, with prahok, the Khmer fermented fish paste that flavours almost every Khmer dish, either cooked in or served as a dip. It is eaten lukewarm, piled with raw banana blossom, bean sprouts, mint and basil.
Lok lak is the everyday beef dish: cubes of marinated beef seared in a very hot pan, served on lettuce, cucumber and tomato with a fried egg, and dipped in tuk meric, a sauce of cracked Kampot pepper, lime juice and salt. A so-called "English" version adds fried potatoes.
You will find all three recipes, with ingredients and step-by-step methods, on our page about the food of Cambodia. For the wider picture, see our guide to Southeast Asian food and the national dish of Laos.
The recipes
- Fish amok🇰🇭 Cambodia · 1 hour and 20 minutes
Nom banh chok🇰🇭 Cambodia · 1 hour and 20 minutes
Lok lak🇰🇭 Cambodia · 50 minutes
Questions people ask
Is fish amok officially Cambodia's national dish?
No. Cambodia has no officially designated national dish. Fish amok is the dish most often called the national dish, alongside num banh chok and samlar kako.
Is amok from Cambodia or Thailand?
Amok is a Khmer dish, traditionally linked to the royal court of the Khmer Empire. Thailand's hor mok pla is a similar steamed fish curry and is often described as a descendant of Cambodian amok trei.
What is served with fish amok?
Fish amok is served hot in its banana-leaf cup, or sometimes in a coconut shell, with plain steamed rice.
What does amok taste like?
Coconut cream and egg carry the citrus notes of lemongrass and kaffir lime, the earthiness of turmeric and galangal, and a slightly bitter green note from noni leaves.
How do you pronounce amok trei?
Roughly "ah-MOK trey". Trei is the Khmer word for fish.
Keep reading
- Traditional food of Cambodia: 12 dishes to know
- What is the national dish of Brunei?
- What is the national dish of Indonesia?
- What is the national dish of Laos?
- What is the national dish of Malaysia?
- What is the national dish of Myanmar?