The tools, and what they’re really for

The earthenware pot for kho — caramel-braised pork or fish. Holds a low, even heat that keeps a braise gentle and carries it to the table still bubbling.

Used in · Lort Cha, Samlor Proher, Sach Moan Carii — Red Khmer Chicken Curry, Sankya Lapov +5 more

For char kroeung, loc lac, and every fast fry — a well-seasoned wok gets screaming hot and moves food fast, the whole point of a stir-fry. Flat-bottomed for a home stove.

Used in · Lort Cha, Bangkia M'rech Ambel — Salt & Kampot Pepper Prawns, Nhoam Svay — Green Mango Salad with Grilled Fish, Samlor Mchou Kroeung +22 more

Cambodian grilling is charcoal grilling — sach ko ang, grilled fish, skewers. The smoke is half the flavour, and a small clay or steel grill is all you need.

Used in · Grilled Bananas with Wild Forest Honey, Lort Cha, Bangkia M'rech Ambel — Salt & Kampot Pepper Prawns, Nhoam Svay — Green Mango Salad with Grilled Fish +18 more

A hinged wire clamp that holds a whole fish or a raft of small ones over the coals and lets you flip everything at once without tearing the skin.

Used in · Nhoam Svay — Green Mango Salad with Grilled Fish, Trey Ang Tuk Kroeung, Trey Ang — Charcoal-Grilled Lake Fish with Teuk Kroeung, Grilled Snakehead Fish +3 more

The traditional bucket-shaped clay-and-metal stove that holds a small charcoal fire — for cooking outdoors, hot-pot at the table, or coaxing the slow, smoky heat older recipes assume.

Used in · Nhoam Svay — Green Mango Salad with Grilled Fish, Bai Sach Chrouk

Perfect jasmine rice with zero attention — rice is at every meal here, so the one appliance nearly every page leans on. A basic model does the job.

Used in · Pounded Charred Eggplant Dip, Trey Ngeat with Watermelon, Nem — Fermented Pork Parcels, Prahok Ktis +5 more

Stacked tiers for amok cups, steamed cakes, and fish — gentle, even heat that sets custards without breaking them. A wide pot with a rack stands in.

Used in · Lort Cha, Samlor Proher, Pounded Charred Eggplant Dip, Sach Moan Carii — Red Khmer Chicken Curry +22 more

The cone-shaped bamboo basket that steams soaked glutinous rice into fluffy, separate grains — the way sticky rice is meant to be cooked, not boiled.

Used in · Bay Damnaeb Tourain — Durian Sticky Rice, Num Ansom Chrouk, Num Ansom Chek — Banana Sticky-Rice Cake, Sraa Peang — Rice Jar Wine +4 more

THE Cambodian tool. Kroeung is pounded, never blended — the stone bruises fibre and oil out of lemongrass and galangal in a way a blade only chops. Buy the heaviest one you can lift.

Used in · Samlor Bongkong, Nhoam Svay — Green Mango Salad with Grilled Fish, Samlor Mchou Kroeung, Bok Svay — Green Mango Pounded Salad +36 more

One broad blade for everything — slicing lemongrass, smashing garlic with its flat, jointing a chicken, scooping prep off the board. Buy this before any specialist knife.

Lift blanched noodles, fried shallots, and spring rolls clean out of hot water or oil in one scoop, before they overcook or turn soft.

Used in · Nhoam Svay — Green Mango Salad with Grilled Fish, Cha Houy Teuk, A-Ping, Sankya Lapov +14 more

The cloth-bag filter behind Cambodian iced coffee — brews a thick, dark cup that stands up to condensed milk and ice. Cheap, and it makes the real thing.

Used in · Kafe Tuk Doh Ko, Sraa Peang — Rice Jar Wine