Fish Sour Soup and Cambodian souvenirs Giveaway...

January 22, 2011
Cambodian-Fish-Soup


My first 'Food' post for 2011... and what a better way to start 2011 with a humble yet refreshing Sour Fish Soup from Cambodia... plus I have 3 Souvenirs from Cambodia to give away to 3 lucky readers...anywhere in the world... just scroll down ... after the recipe... to enter the draw.


There is quite a distinctive similarity in Cambodian and Thai food..oops... I could be in hot soup for the statement... Cambodian uses a lot of fresh ingredients in their cooking ~ lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves and so forth.  They consumed plenty of fish ... fresh from Lake Tonle Sap ... Sap means freshwater... Fish is much cheaper and easier to get than any other meat... eg chickens were sold for US$4.50/kg... and the average wages for a busy tour guide could be from US$250-300 per month while the rest could be earning about US$100/ month...lets do our maths...  

I asked our Tour Driver, Rhowan, what is a typical Khmer food? Flat Rice Noodles in Vegetable Broth, Fish cakes and many more but Fish Sour Soup is his favourite dish...

So this my take on Fish Sour Soup... from our recent trip to Siem Reap click here ..to go to our Holiday Post.



Recipes
4 pieces of firm white fish - cut into 3 cm.
3 tablespoon of tamarind juice
3 lemongrass stalks - bruised it with the back of a knife
2cm of fresh galangal
2 coriander roots -washed and slightly bruised it with knife
1/2 brown onion - sliced
2 bird's eye chillies (optional)
2-3 tablespoon fish sauce
2 kaffir lime leaves
1 -1.5 liter of water
Juice of 1 lime
fresh coriander for garnishing
  1. Place water, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, tamarind juice, galangal, onion and coriander roots in a medium size pot. Bring to boil, then lower the heat and bring to a simmer for at least 10-15 minutes, to infuse the flavours of the fresh ingredients.
  2. Add fish sauce (and salt if required).
  3. Lastly add fish.
  4. Bring to a quick boil and turn off the heat.
Garnish with chopped fresh coriander and serve with steamed rice. Add more lime juice... if sourness is desired.

Cambodians Souvenirs to Giveaway.
My dear readers,
I have 3 items to giveaway... A soft Cambodian silk scarf, a set of beautiful chopsticks and a lovely embroidered purse.


For a chance to win... do one of the following or all 3...  and increase your chance to be the proud owner of one of these items... 
  1. Leave your name (or email address) in my comment box... No Anonymous please... it will be a difficult task for me to identify.. who is who if I have more than one anonymous...  or
  2. Click 'Like' button on my Facebook Fan Page here and let me know that you have done so... on my Facebook here ...(or click the 'Add as Friend' button...) or
  3. Follow @mykeuken here on Twitter and tweet "@mykeuken Cambodian Souvenirs Giveaway' or
  4. do all of the above and you get 3 chances in the 'hat'  ...
Giveaways are open to anyone anywhere on this planet... reachable by Mr Mailman...  and this offer ends at Midnight (Perth Time) 2nd February 2011 ( I like the number 02.02.2011)... so be quick... and Good Luck...

Winners will be chosen by using Random.org.

Comments

  1. your fish soup sound so sedap...I like the combination of serai n daun limau n coriander...esp. sejuk2 ni, makan panas2...ooooh, best!

    (now, tgh kutip duit siling masuk tabung ayam nak pi holiday...)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love to have this soup with rice on a hot day. Your bowl of soup look so nice.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, the soup looks so fresh and delicious.
    And wow...I love the giveaway open to ALL. :-))

    ReplyDelete
  4. p.s Just followed you at Twitter.
    Have a great weekend!
    Angie

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your soup looks delicious! thanks for sharing!
    Great giveaway :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Neat giveaway! thanks! Love that little purse.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Welcome back! I never tried a clear sour fish soup before but I love assam fish, so I know I would love this.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Kak Yati,
    Taste like Tom Yam minus the chilli paste.. yumm :)

    HN
    Thank you :)

    Angie,
    Thank you Angie for your great support... I've entered your name twice in the 'Hat'... Good luck :)

    Dimah,
    Thank you Dimah... Good Luck in the giveaway :)

    Space Monkey 1138,
    Good Luck... :)

    tigerfish,
    Its good to be back... and blogging ;)

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a lovely giveaway! So glad I found your blog. :)

    pestochango(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  10. I've also "liked" you on Facebook. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Amanda,
    Thank you... :) I have entered your name twice...
    and Good Luck

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love the flavours! I'm always up for anything sour and spicy.

    ReplyDelete
  13. pigpigscorner,
    nice to have with steaming hot rice on rainy day :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. The soup sounds delicious, and liek all the other commenters, I'd love it with a bowl of rice :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wow! Looks scrumptious (;
    I wish I was there to try it!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love the presentation of the dish. It looks great. Keep up the good work.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Looks good and I love your bowl. I also followed u on Twitter.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Little Corner of Mine,
    Thank you :).. I shall entered your name twice in the 'Hat'... Good luck :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. I can imagine the fragrant smell of this soup especially with limau purut and serai in it.

    ReplyDelete
  20. i'd like the scarf or the purse, but i bet that the chopsticks will come in handy ( after i'll learn how to use them :))
    cheers from codruta, from romania

    ReplyDelete
  21. i also add you as friend on FB.
    codruta

    ReplyDelete
  22. codruta popa,
    Thank you and good luck... :)

    I have entered your name twice...

    ReplyDelete
  23. I met my first Cambodian friend just recently. She loves to eat as much as me. I will be making this soup for her. Thanks for posting.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Amy
    Thank you for your comment. This is very lovely soup.
    Happy cooking :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Thanks for sharing ! I fall in love with this soup during my first visit to Cambodia 10 years ago and now I can simply enjoy it again.

    Thanks from Kuala Lumpur

    ReplyDelete