Num Banh Chok

Cambodia's breakfast noodle, fermented fresh rice noodles under a pale green fish and kroeung gravy, buried in a mound of raw herbs, banana flower, and water lily stem

Origin: Angkor and the Tonlé Sap, Cambodia

From the journey of Rice.

Num banh chok is what Cambodia eats in the morning, sold from baskets carried on a shoulder pole or from a stall at the end of a lane, and it is often simply called Khmer noodles. Soft white rice noodles, made from rice that has been fermented for a day or two before grinding, are laid in a bowl and covered with samlor, a thin pale-green gravy of pounded river fish, green kroeung, and coconut milk. The whole thing is then buried under a heap of raw vegetables. That heap is not a garnish and it is the reason the dish is so unlike its neighbours: shredded banana flower, water lily stem, cucumber, long bean, bean sprouts, and a great deal of mint, Thai basil, and sawtooth coriander. The eater mixes it all together. Cambodian food is the most herb-forward in mainland Southeast Asia and this is where that shows most clearly. The noodles are the oldest part. Fermenting the rice before grinding it gives them a faint sourness and a particular slippery softness, and the technique is shared across mainland Southeast Asia with Burmese mohinga and Lao khao poon, which are close cousins of this dish. The fermentation is also what makes them a specialist product: almost nobody makes num banh chok noodles at home, and they are bought fresh, in the morning, from someone who does. The dish belongs to the countryside as much as the city. It is made in quantity at Khmer New Year and at pagoda festivals, where the noodles are pressed by hand through a perforated gourd or cylinder directly into boiling water, which is what the name describes.

Ingredients

Noodles

  • 600 g fresh round rice noodles (num banh chok, or Vietnamese bún)

Gravy

  • 600 g whole freshwater fish, or 400 g firm white fillet
  • 1.2 litres water
  • 4 tbsp green kroeung
  • 400 ml coconut milk
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp palm sugar, grated
  • 2 tsp prahok, or 1 tsp shrimp paste
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil

Raw vegetables

  • 1 banana flower, shredded and held in acidulated water
  • 150 g bean sprouts
  • 100 g long beans, finely sliced
  • 1 cucumber, shredded
  • 1 large bunch mint, Thai basil, and sawtooth coriander

To serve

  • 2 limes, cut into wedges

Method

  1. Poach the fish in the water with a pinch of salt for eight to ten minutes until cooked through. Lift it out, reserving every drop of the liquid, and let it cool.
  2. Flake the fish meticulously, discarding all skin and bone, then pound the flesh in a mortar until it breaks into fine threads.
  3. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the green kroeung for three to four minutes until fragrant and darkened slightly.
  4. Add the pounded fish and stir for two minutes, then pour in the reserved poaching liquid and bring to a simmer.
  5. Stir in the coconut milk, fish sauce, palm sugar, and prahok, and simmer gently, uncovered, for fifteen to twenty minutes.
  6. Meanwhile prepare the raw vegetables and pile them on a large platter. Shred the banana flower last and drop it straight into water with a squeeze of lime.
  7. Rinse the noodles briefly in warm water and divide between four deep bowls.
  8. Taste the gravy for salt and sourness, then ladle it generously over the noodles.
  9. Let each person bury their own bowl under the raw vegetables and herbs, with lime on the side, and mix it all together before eating.

Notes

Almost nobody makes the noodles at home, in Cambodia or anywhere else; they are bought fresh from a specialist. Vietnamese bún is the closest widely available substitute. Prahok is the fermented freshwater fish paste that underpins the Cambodian kitchen. It is pungent and is used in small quantities; shrimp paste substitutes at about half the amount. Burmese mohinga and Lao khao poon are close relatives and the three are worth eating in sequence. A vegetarian version replaces the fish with pounded mushroom and firm tofu and the prahok with fermented soy bean paste.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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