Siem Reap: Khmer Noodles

Even though the previous day had been pretty full, from sunrise until our afternoon trip to Lake Tonle Sap, we were ready to go the next morning. I was especially rarin' to go, since Narin had told me we'd stop at his favorite noodle stand on the way to our first stop Kbal Spean, which was a bit out of Siem Reap.

We stopped at a crossroads village outside of Siem Reap. The place was colorful and bustling, dusty and yet somehow alluring. And tons of tourists and visitors in sight....except these were mostly from Phnom Penh. There were several mini-buses parked alongside the road, along with SUVs, and motorbikes.

This place was doing some major business.

Narin ever so concerned with our welfare, first stepped out and checked the well water....

This is the noodle dish that arrived:

A very nice and mild coconut milk based fish noodle soup. The noodles provided were rice noodles, which looked just like the "Bun" we had in Vietnam.

Along with the noodle soup several garnishes arrived. At the bottom of this bowl are some of the most amazing long beans we've ever tasted. So very sweet.

A bowl covered with a plate arrived at our table. On top lime and chilies.

Underneath was a brown fragrant sauce, that at first glance I mistook for some tamarind based sauce. Until I tasted it, a strong and complex sweet flavor, with pungent, savory undertones. I was told it is called Tik Pha Em, and is a basic sweet fish sauce.

 

I also had Narin write down the name of the noodle dish, he called it Num Banh Chok. The only real reference I could find to it was a recipe found here. Apparently, what makes this dish unique to Siem Reap is they way it is served, with the sweet sauce, and with all of the herbs, many of which I hadn't tasted before. No it's not table decoration, it belongs in your Rice Noodle Soup!

It was a staggering variety of herbs, some tasting peppery like cilantro, some had a celery like saltiness to it. The most amazing were the green leaves, which tasted almost like curry leaf:

I asked Narin to write the name of it down for me. Poor guy, he must think I'm a nut! He spelled it Kantrop. I found several citations of it, in English it's called Wampee, or Chinese clausena. It is the leaf of a certain type of citrus fruit tree. In Vietnam it's called Hồng bì, I had never had anything like it before. We even saw the trees growing on the trail up Kbal Spean.

All of the herbs like the Lily Stems added an amazing flavor to the dish, making it unforgettable.

We were also told that dish was famous in Khmer legend. After searching a bit, I found a post, here. The story of Thun N'chey and the Chinese Emperor. Who'd have thunk, revolutionary noodles, in a little village outside of Siem Reap.

Narin insisted on paying for the meal, telling us that, if we paid, they would overcharge, and would not take reimbursement. I was determined to make up for this later.

Meanwhile, the Missus had wandered away......I just knew She was up to no good!

Comments

[kat]

wonder where the Missus went? Those noodles look delicious!

[Sandy]

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode of ... Kirk and the Missus in Siem Reap!

Sorry, couldn't resist :-) But I look forward to the next installment where you rescue the Missus!

[nhbilly]

Blending sweetness and saltiness together in a dish is a pretty hard task IMO. I've have yet to be blown away from the combination of the two beside thit kho.

[Kathy]

I bet the Missus wandered off and discovered some awesome dessert! ^_^

[Kirk]

Hi Kat - You'll find out soon!

Hi Sandy - LOL! You should be doing the writing! ;o)

Hi Billy - It's all about keeping the balance, while letting each flavor still stand out.

Hi Kathy - Spoken like someone with sweet tooth. You are pretty close!

[Beach]

Kirk,
You are such a tease. Keep giving us one installment at a time. Damn!

[Kirk]

Hey Beach - LOL! I did intend on doing longer posts, but it's been so busy at work, that I don't have the time!

[Robyn]

Hey - imagine my surprise at landing here when I googled num banh chok ... we ate at this very intersection just 10 days ago and I'm about to post it. There's a very similar dish in Thailand called kanom jeen, the noodles are made with 'fermented' rice dough, just as these are. Wonder which came first ...

Cheers!

[Kirk]

Hi Robyn - That's pretty cool. Thanks for the info, we really enjoyed the noodles

[noodle]

On the weekends there is a Cambodian lady who sells bbq sticks in front 79 Supermarket on University Ave. She also sells num pachok/$1.00 per noodle bundle... her version is a little heavy on the prahok and she does not have tuk pa'em (sweet sauce/Siem Reap style) but, it's decent. Sometimes she has samlor kari (curry) and nom krouk (rice croquettes).