The freshness of Cambodia

BY GRAHAM HAWKES

These days with travel we seem to be heading more and more to places that were once considered either exotic or perhaps more dangerous than the norm of 20 years ago.

One such country is Cambodia. Dominated by "the big river" the Mekong, the kingdom of Cambodia is boundaried by Thailand, Laos and Vietnam and the home of 14 million Cambodians (or Khmer as they are commonly called).

Cambodia was also famous as a once-powerful home of Hindu and Buddhist Khmer Rouge.

Unfortunately, you may well see some of the remnants of that era when you visit Cambodia today.

You will also note the many cheap, faded plastic chairs that were never made for we more weightier Westerners. These are not great to sit on, especially over open slats, where there is often quite a drop below.

While Cambodian restaurants and takeaways are few and far between in New Zealand, they are much more prevalent in Europe, where the style of cuisine has become popular.

If there is a single word to describe the cuisine of Cambodia it would surely be freshness. Coriander, basil and mince are popular, along with crunchy vegetables. Lightly cooked squashes and green fruits often used as vegetables. Shrimp paste, fish paste and fish sauce add saltiness to the cuisine, while lime leaves and lemongrass will add fragrance.

Palm sugar will add the sweetness, and the heat will come from Birdseye chili. In earlier times, pepper was used instead of chili and today some of the best pepper in the world comes from the farms around Campout.

Fish is the staple of the Cambodian diet and cooked whole is nothing short of delicious. We tend to spoil ourselves with fillets of the local fish in this country, perhaps in fear of having to fight our way to remove the flesh from the carcass. It is, however, well worth the effort as the fish itself is nothing short of spectacular in flavour, especially when it is fresh.

Today, let's look at doing exactly that. While I have used blue cod because of its local popularity, the dish is equally as pleasant with green bone, gurnard or even teriyaki.

FRIED WHOLE FISH IN GINGER SAUCE

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

• 2 medium-sized fresh blue cod headed and gutted
• Rice bran oil to cover around 5ml of a heavy-based frying pan
• 4 cloves garlic peeled, crushed and finely chopped
• 1 thumb-size piece of fresh ginger, peeled, sliced then chopped into slithers
• 3 dstsp good fish sauce
• 200ml chicken stock
• 1 tsp lemon grass
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• Good handful chopped coriander
• 1 piece palm sugar
• Optional: red chilies as a garnish

Method: Scale the fresh fish by scraping.

Heat the rice bran oil in a heavy-based saucepan and, when hot, fry the fish until the skin is crisp: 2 to 3 minutes. Turn during the cooking process.

Remove the fish and place on absorbent paper and pour all bar about 1 dstsp of the oil from the pan and return the pan to the heat.

Add the garlic and ginger and toss for about 1 minute.

Add the fish sauce, chicken stock, lemon grass and bring to the boil.wReturn the fish to the pan and cover. Cook for a further 3 to 4 minutes, depending on the size of the fish, with the lid on.

Once you have completed the cooking process, remove the fish directly on to serving plates and sprinkle with the coriander and spring onions. Pour the sauce over the top.

Present to your guests alongside crisp lettuce leaves, salad garnishes and chili if desired.

Bon appetit.

- © Fairfax NZ News