A floating stilt-house village on the Tonlé Sap lake

តំបន់Regional cooking

The Tonlé Sapទន្លេសាប

The beating lake. Floating villages, the prahok harvest, and more freshwater fish per person than anywhere on earth.

8 recipes

Samlor & Soups · 65 min · Advanced

Samlor Proherសម្លប្រហើរ

Samlor proher is the deep herbal fish soup of the countryside — a thick green broth of pounded lemongrass, kroeung and a dozen leaves, thickened with fish.

៥

Grills & Street Food · 25 min · Beginner

Trey Ngeat with Watermelonត្រីងៀត

Trey ngeat is Cambodia's salted sun-dried fish, fried crisp and eaten with cold watermelon and rice — the plainest, most eloquent meal of the lake.

៥

Grills & Street Food · 55 min · Intermediate

Grilled Snakehead Fishត្រីរាស់អាំង

Trey ros ang is a whole snakehead grilled over charcoal in a jacket of salt, split open and eaten with rice paper, herbs and a fiery lime dip — lake feast.

៦

Salads & Pickles · 42 min · Intermediate

Nhoam Trayong Chekញាំត្រយូងចេក

Nhoam trayong chek is a Khmer banana-blossom salad tossed with poached or smoked lake fish, herbs and a bright lime dressing — crunchy, sour, alive.

៦

Salads & Pickles · 60 min · Beginner

Khmer Fish Flossត្រីឆា

Fish floss is poached lake fish dry-fried down to fluffy golden threads — a frugal, keeping-jar staple that turns a bowl of plain rice into a meal.

៤

Amok, Curries & Stir-Fries · 45 min · Intermediate

Prahok Ktisប្រហុកខ្ទិះ

Prahok ktis is a rich pork-and-coconut dip built on fermented fish and yellow kroeung — the lake's pantry turned into a table full of raw vegetables.

២

Samlor & Soups · 55 min · Intermediate

Samlor Machu Treyសម្លម្ជូរត្រី

Samlor machu trey is the sour freshwater fish soup of the Tonlé Sap — bright with tamarind and lake herbs, built around a whole fish and a clear broth.

១

Foundations · 90 min · Advanced

Prahokប្រហុក

Prahok is the fermented fish paste at the bottom of every Khmer dish — here is an honest, home-scale way to make and understand it, timeline and all.