Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #220663 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 96 pages

Synopsis
Demonstrates the distinctive diversity of Cambodia's cuisine and culture, along with advice on equipment and general preparation techniques and includes more than sixty recipes for a variety of dishes.

Customer Reviews

Authentic and accessible
Having recently returned from Cambodia and like most other visitors to this stunning country, been seduced by its wonderful cuisine, one of my first tasks, upon returning home, was to trawl Amazon for something to help me to banish the British winter blues. And boy, does this book do that!

Covering everything from soups and snacks to main dishes to desserts, this terrific book has all the recipes that you will need to reconjure memories of your trip. If you haven't already visited Cambodia, after trying some of the recipes in this book, you will certainly want to.

Contrary to what one of the previous reviewers states, this book does include the most popular recipes but the heading has often been anglicised. For example 'Amok' is listed as 'Fish in Coconut Custard', Khmer Curry is listed under various guises (e.g. 'Aubergine Curry with Coconut Milk'). It is also worth noting that the ingredients for many popular Cambodian dishes are often variable, depending upon the region or personal taste, so just because a recipe in the book uses chicken, for example, does not mean that the same dish cannot be made with fish, beef, pork, vegetables, etc. The important thing is to get the spices right.

My only slight criticism of the book is that it fails to highlight the difficulty in securing 'Prahoc', a fish-based condiment that is an essential component of cambodian cuisine. The author suggests that it is available in Asian stores but I have definitely not found this to be the case, nor did it appear to be available via retailers on the internet. However, I simply substituted it with the Thai or Vietnamese fish pastes, which are available in Asian supermarkets and this has proved to be effective.

Unlike many cook books, which promise to deliver authentic examples of local food but then fail to do so, when one attempts to follow the instructions, all of the attempts that I have made have been exactly as I remembered them during my trip. Surely this is the best recommendation that anybody can make about such a work. In addition, the instructions are easy to follow and the ingredients used (aside from that already noted)are easy to obtain, either online or at Asian supermarkets.

Do not hesitate to purchase this. I promise you that you will not be disappointed!

missing some essentials....
Having just returned from a month in Cambodia and already missing the food I was really disappointed to discover that this book doesn't include Luc lak, fish amok or khmer curry recipes - three of the most common (and yummy!) of Cambodian dishes.

Some of the recipes could do with a bit more detail and I would have given it two starts but the lemongrass prawns are amazing and well deserving of a third!

A triumph of form over content........
250 stunning photographs, 60 authentic, classic recipes is the tag line and that sums the book up really: a good approach, an art director's delight - but a cook's disappointment. Limited recipes, some basics and staples missing. Don't fall for the hype.