A jungle waterfall in the Mondulkiri highlands

តំបន់Regional cooking

Ratanakiri & Mondulkiriរតនគិរី

The highlands. Khmer Leu forest cooking — bamboo shoots, wild herbs, jar wine, and food cooked inside the forest itself.

8 recipes

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Sweets & Drinks · 25 min · Beginner

Grilled Bananas with Wild Forest Honeyចេកអាំងទឹកឃ្មុំ

Whole bananas grilled in their skins over coals and split open under wild forest honey and toasted sesame — the simplest sweet of the Mondulkiri hills.

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Salads & Pickles · 35 min · Beginner

Pounded Charred Eggplant Dipត្រប់ដុតបុក

Highland eggplants charred whole over coals, peeled, and pounded with garlic, chilli, and prahok into a smoky forest dip eaten with rice and raw greens.

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Samlor & Soups · 40 min · Beginner

Wild Mushroom and Forest-Leaf Soupសម្លផ្សិតព្រៃ

A clear rainy-season soup of wild mushrooms and tender forest leaves from the Ratanakiri highlands — humble, seasonal Khmer Leu cooking, adapted for home.

Wild Boar with Holy Basil and Green Peppercorn

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Amok, Curries & Stir-Fries · 35 min · Beginner

Wild Boar with Holy Basil and Green Peppercornជ្រូកព្រៃឆាម្រេច

Forest-hunted wild boar — or honest pork shoulder — stir-fried hard with holy basil and fresh green peppercorn, the fierce fast fire of the highlands.

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Sweets & Drinks · 105 min · Advanced

Sraa Peang — Rice Jar Wineស្រាពាង

An honest home explainer for sraa peang, the communal rice jar wine of the Bunong and Jarai highlands, drunk warm through shared reed straws.

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Grills & Street Food · 80 min · Intermediate

Chicken Cooked in Bamboo Tubesមាន់ដុតបំពង់

Marinated chicken and herbs sealed in green bamboo and roasted over coals — a highland forest technique adapted honestly for a home grill or oven.

Grilled Free-Range Hill Chicken with Wild-Herb Sauce

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Grills & Street Food · 80 min · Intermediate

Grilled Free-Range Hill Chicken with Wild-Herb Sauceមាន់អាំង

Free-range highland chicken grilled over hardwood and served with a pounded wild-herb dipping sauce — the Bunong and Kreung way with a village bird.

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Samlor & Soups · 55 min · Intermediate

Sour Bamboo-Shoot Soup with River Fishសម្លម្ជូរទំពាំង

A sour highland samlor of fermented bamboo shoots and freshwater fish from Ratanakiri's Tampuan and Kreung kitchens — forest-sour, clean, and ancient.