Cha Kroeung — Stir-Fried Beef with Red Tree Ants
ឆាគ្រឿង
Beef seared hard in lemongrass kroeung with red tree ants and holy basil — a fierce, citric-sour Siem Reap stir-fry that turns a foraged insect into a spice.
By Cambodian Cookbook Kitchen · June 14, 2026
សៀមរាប Siem Reap & AngkorThe Modern Kingdom era, 1993–present
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Serves
- 3
- Level
- Intermediate
Cha kroeung is the fast fire of the Khmer kitchen — beef seared hard, then dragged through lemongrass-chilli paste until it glistens — and in Siem Reap it comes with a wild-card ingredient that stops visitors cold: red tree ants. Foraged from the mango and cashew trees around the province and sold by the cup in the markets, the ants and their pale eggs bring a clean, lemony sourness, closer to sorrel than to anything you would flinch at. This is not novelty cooking. It is a modern, market-town dish of the present kingdom, but it draws on a very old Khmer instinct: that sourness is a seasoning to be foraged, and that the forest and the orchard are part of the pantry. Chefs writing the cuisine down at last have finally put it on menus abroad, ants and all.
The cooking is quick and unforgiving, which is why it belongs to the street stalls and not the slow samlor pot. Everything hinges on a screaming-hot wok: sear the beef in a single layer, fry the red kroeung until it scorches and blooms, season sharp with fish sauce and palm sugar, and only then — off the heat — fold in a fist of holy basil and a scatter of ants. Their sour pop is the last flavour to arrive and the one that defines the plate. No ants to hand? Sour green mango or a hard squeeze of lime will stand in honestly. What you cannot fake is the heat of the pan and the nerve to leave the beef alone long enough to brown.
Red tree ants bring a bright lemon-sourness, not shock value. Add them off the heat at the very end so their acidity survives — cooked hard, they just vanish.
ពាក្យពីចុងភៅ · A word from the kitchen
Ingredientsគ្រឿងផ្សំ
Serves 3
០ of ១០ gathered
Optional group name
Methodវិធីធ្វើ
Step 1: Sear the beef hard
Get the wok smoking, add the oil, and sear the beef in a single layer without stirring for a full thirty seconds before you move it. You want a brown crust, not grey steam; crowd the pan and you have boiled beef.
Step 2: Fry the kroeung
Push the beef aside, drop in the red kroeung, garlic, and chilli, and fry until the paste darkens and its raw edge cooks off, about a minute. The kitchen should smell of scorched lemongrass and chilli — that is the signal.
Step 3: Season and toss
Season with fish sauce and palm sugar, add the green peppercorns, and toss everything together over high heat until the beef is glossed in paste and just cooked through. Do not let it sit and weep.
Step 4: Finish with basil and ants
Kill the heat. Fold in the holy basil until it just wilts, then scatter the red tree ants over the top and give one last toss. Their lemon-sour pop is the last thing to hit the pan and the first thing you taste. Serve with rice.
ឧបករណ៍ · The tools
Equipment
Granite mortar & pestle
ត្បាល់THE 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.
Shop on Amazon →Carbon-steel wok
ខ្ទះFor 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.
Shop on Amazon →Tiered steamer
សម្ភារៈចំហុយStacked 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.
Shop on Amazon →Charcoal grill
ចង្ក្រានអាំងCambodian 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.
Shop on Amazon →
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Questions from the kitchen
Red tree ants — really?
Really. In Siem Reap they are a market staple, foraged from mango and cashew trees, prized for a clean citric sourness closer to sorrel than to anything alarming. Treated as a souring agent, they make perfect sense. If you can't source them, young sour mango or a hard squeeze of lime does the same job.
What cut of beef works best?
Anything you can slice thin and sear fast — sirloin, flank, skirt, or tri-tip. The enemy is not the cut but the heat: a cool wok stews the meat grey. Slice across the grain, dry the surface, and cook in batches if your burner is shy.
My basil went black and slimy. What happened?
You cooked it too long. Holy basil is added at the very end, off or nearly off the heat, and folded through only until it wilts. Its job is perfume, not texture; give it thirty seconds and pull the pan.
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