Cambodia Food

Khmer food takes influences from an array of countries. In the Khmer diet, rice and freshwater fish play big roles because of the profusion of both. Cambodian cuisine is greatly influenced by Vietnamese and Indian cultures. Though the food is not heavily diverse, it is cheap and usually very tasty. A key item in a Cambodian meal is a soup or savoury meats served with rice, or sometimes noodle. Tap water is usually frowned upon by tourists, but bottled water is drinkable and comparatively cheap. Vietnamese coffee is very familiar and can be found most anywhere. Coconuts are a staple food and drink as well.

 

Cambodia was a French colony for many years and also has many Chinese colonizers, so both French and Chinese foods are broadly found. In the west of the country, the cuisine is, obviously, influenced by the food of bordering Thailand while in the east the flavours of Vietnamese cuisine are more palpable. Coastal towns such as Sihanoukville in the southwest are famous for their seafood, cooked in many styles, counting Japanese and European. Common ingredients in Khmer cuisine are similar to those found in other Southeast Asian gastronomic traditions – rice and sticky rice, fish sauce, palm sugar, lime, garlic, chilies, coconut milk, lemon grass, galangal, kaffir lime and shallots.