People ask about Cambodian cooking, or Khmer cooking, but not all Cambodian cooking is Khmer, especially if you come from a family that is of Vietnamese heritage, or of Chinese heritage. Because Chantha’s mother was Vietnamese, she cooked a lot of Vietnamese dishes. She also cooked a lot of French dishes, in fact. Chantha’s Cambodian food includes lots of different kinds of dishes from French, Vietnamese, to Khmer.
LA: Some of Chantha’s fondest memories are sneaking out to buy street food snacks in Battambang, a town known for its culinary traditions, especially from one particular Chinese vendor.
CN: That’s a sound of his music, bamboo, and his wife sells fruit, select what you call it. She put the fruit in the glass and then grated ice, and then the syrup on the top. That’s my favorite place I spend money on, any time of day or night, and whatever the money I can get. I asked from my mother, after every day, I came from school, I asked for two riels, because that jackfruit in ice and syrup was my favorite. Every day after school, I asked my mother for two riels and runs straight there. A while later, when my father finished his work, and he had his desk, so he emptied his pocket and he had showers. While he was in shower, my mother was in the kitchen. I just borrowed two riels more from his pile, and run straight to the jackfruit salad. That’s my favorite. I never had enough.
LA: I love that sort of thing when you’re a kid, because you think that you’re totally getting away with it and that no one knows. I’m sure both your parents knew you were going for seconds.
Battambang is a hub in the northwest of Cambodia. Could you explain a little bit about where it is in? Kim and Clara, I’m interested to know if you’ve gone there?
CK: Yes, I can talk about that. I actually grew up in Northeastern, bordering Laos. I have been to Battambang a few times, because it’s actually the second-biggest city in Cambodia. It’s wonderful. The food is very, very good. I remember the first time I went there with my mom. It was actually a very emotional trip, because she talked a lot about her childhood, the church, and the school she went to. We ate a lot of really delicious food there.
My mom’s amok, for example, is one of a very well-known dish from Battambang, and it’s very different than any version of amok in the country. It’s a steamed fish marinated in curry paste, or we call it Kroeung paste, with coconut milk, and you steam it in a banana bowl. It’s probably the best version you can find in the country. It’s from Battambang. Kim, maybe you can talk a little bit more about your trip to Battambang with my mom.
KG: Here we are arriving at the grounds of the compound where Chantha’s childhood church and the Catholic school she attended as a kid. The church compound was actually part of a functioning Catholic parish again, and it looked like it was really thriving; a beautiful lush, serene compound. There’s some kind of a funeral song playing in the distance, which is beautiful and ethereal.
