Amok Trey

Cambodia's national dish, river fish folded through coconut cream and yellow kroeung and steamed in a banana leaf cup until it sets to a fragrant, delicate custard

Origin: Siem Reap and the Tonlé Sap, Cambodia

From the journey of Coconut.

Amok trey is the dish Cambodia puts forward, and it is genuinely unlike anything in the neighbouring cuisines. Freshwater fish is folded through thick coconut cream and yellow kroeung, bound with egg, and steamed inside a cup folded from banana leaf until it sets into something between a curry and a savoury custard: soft, barely holding its shape, fragrant with lemongrass and kaffir lime rather than hot. It belongs to the Tonlé Sap, the great lake at the centre of the country whose flow reverses twice a year when the Mekong floods, and which is among the most productive freshwater fisheries on earth. The classic fish is trey ptuok, a snakehead, and the abundance of the lake is the reason a fish custard rather than a meat curry became the national dish. The word amok describes the steaming technique rather than the ingredients, and versions exist with chicken, with tofu, and with snails. What defines the real thing is that it sets: a loose amok served as a soupy curry in a coconut shell, which is what most tourist restaurants serve, is not what a Cambodian cook is aiming at. It also carries a weight most national dishes do not. Khmer cooking came closer to being lost than any other major cuisine in the region, and dishes of this complexity, which take an hour of pounding before any cooking begins, were exactly the kind that stopped being made during the years when the family kitchen itself was abolished. That amok is now the first thing Cambodia names is part of a deliberate recovery.

Ingredients

Fish

600 g firm white river fish fillet (snakehead, catfish, or cod), cut into 3 cm pieces

Base

4 tbsp yellow kroeung
400 ml thick coconut cream
2 eggs, beaten

Seasoning

2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp palm sugar, grated
1 tsp shrimp paste, or 1 tsp prahok
0.5 tsp fine salt

To line

100 g noni or spinach leaves, shredded

To steam

4 banana leaf squares, about 25 cm, softened, or 4 ramekins

To finish

4 tbsp coconut cream, to finish
2 kaffir lime leaves, very finely shredded
1 red chilli, deseeded and cut into fine strips

Method

If using banana leaf, pass each square briefly over a flame or dip in boiling water until it turns glossy and pliable, then fold into a shallow cup and pin the corners with cocktail sticks.
Warm 100 ml of the coconut cream in a pan over a medium heat until it splits and the oil separates, then fry the kroeung in it for three to four minutes until it smells cooked rather than raw.
Take off the heat and whisk in the remaining coconut cream, the fish sauce, palm sugar, shrimp paste or prahok, and salt until smooth. Let it cool to lukewarm.
Whisk the beaten eggs into the cooled coconut mixture.
Fold the fish pieces gently through the mixture and leave to stand for ten minutes.
Lay a bed of shredded noni or spinach leaves in the base of each cup, then spoon the fish and coconut mixture on top, filling to about two centimetres deep.
Steam over simmering water, covered, for twenty to twenty-five minutes, until just set and barely wobbling in the centre.
Spoon a little coconut cream over each, scatter with shredded kaffir lime leaf and chilli strips, and serve hot with jasmine rice.

Notes

The test of a proper amok is that it sets. A loose, soupy version served in a coconut shell is what tourist kitchens serve and is not the dish Cambodians make at home. Snakehead is traditional and hard to find abroad; any firm white fish that holds together works, and catfish is the closest in texture. Amok sach moan with chicken and a tofu version are both entirely standard and use the same base. Make the kroeung first; it is the bulk of the work and it keeps for a week in the refrigerator.

The Gastrographer

Name: Amok Trey
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Cambodia
Ingredients: 600 g firm white river fish fillet (snakehead, catfish, or cod), cut into 3 cm pieces; 4 tbsp yellow kroeung; 400 ml thick coconut cream; 2 eggs, beaten; 2 tbsp fish sauce; 1 tbsp palm sugar, grated; 1 tsp shrimp paste, or 1 tsp prahok; 0.5 tsp fine salt; 100 g noni or spinach leaves, shredded; 4 banana leaf squares, about 25 cm, softened, or 4 ramekins; 4 tbsp coconut cream, to finish; 2 kaffir lime leaves, very finely shredded; 1 red chilli, deseeded and cut into fine strips

Mapping Culinary History

To explore — select an ingredient below.

To explore — select an ingredient below · click any location dot on the map for recipes and stories · browse the information panel on the right · trace the full journey on the timeline.

Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control