Forget your Friday night take away and try a delicious healthy fake away with my Amok curry recipe. Chicken Korma and Thai green curry will soon become a thing of the past once you get your teeth stuck into Cambodia's national dish. Here we learn how to make this delicious meal, bringing you a taste of Cambodia without having to step foot out of your home!
If you have ever visited South East Asia there is a good chance you have heard of the saying "same same but different", and in my view this a great way to understand how foods in this part of the world have evolved. Cambodia is bordered by Vietnam, Thailand and Laos and over time flavours within these countries have influenced one another amalgamating yet maintaining their own identities blurring the borders of tastes. This can be seen with Cambodia's national dish, Amok.
Amok is delicious, a subtly sweet and fragrant curry. It doesn't have the harsh spice of some Thai dishes instead it takes fresh and citrus flavours of South East Asia such as kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass and galangal and combines it with the abundant coconut (in the form of milk) and egg yolks to create a rich and aromatic dish. What makes this unique to Cambodia is that fish from the Tonlé Sap river is coated in sauce comprised of coconut and kroeung (a paste made from native herbs and spices that is the base of a dish) which is steamed in banana leaves to get a custard like consistency. Amok also uses distinctive ingredients that aren't well known to western cultures such as the soft and bitter noni leaf which are an earthy root similar to galangal.
The kroeung pastes are used in every day Khmer cooking, these set the foundation of flavour which will contribute to the end plate taste. Similar to Thai curry pastes Cambodia has three colours; red, yellow and green as well as unique and royal varieties. All pastes are formed from chopping finely and pounding in a pestle and mortar. Amok is based on red Kroeung with individual elements such as the addition of kaffir lime leaves and sometimes with or without turmeric.
To make this accessible for everyone I have made some adaptions to suit different diets and facilities as I don't want anyone to miss out on trying this delish curry. For instance if you are a vegan, I have used cauliflower in place of fish, along with a few other tweaks. And if you don't like fish, no problem, chicken is a suitable replacement. If you don't have a steamer don't worry I have tested it in a pan, and if you can't get your hands on the ingredients there are swaps. Although Amok purists may argue adaptions are not the traditional way, the adaptions allow me to bring a taste of Cambodia into your kitchen without you stepping a foot out of your home.
For Vegan Fake Fish Sauce Recipe - CLICK HERE
Now enjoy!
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