7 Kuy Teav (Noodle soup)

Kuy Teav noodle soup is a popular breakfast dish. Kuy Teav is known for its flavourful pork broth base, which is prepared from bones and meats usually cooked slowly overnight. The bones are one of the most important parts of a meat broth. As they give body to the soup during the long cooking process. The gelatin falls loose from the bones and thickens the broth. Besides the pork broth, the fermented ingredients are key parts of this soup. The fish sauce, the soy sauce and the rice wine give the final taste to the dish.

It is usually made from rice vermicelli and beef or pork bones. The broth is flavoured with fried shallots, green onion, garlic and bean sprouts. Pork or beef balls are then added just before serving.

8 Red tree ants with beef and spicy basil

Yes, you read that correctly. Upon the first bite, you will discover ants of all sizes stir-fried among heaps of fresh herbs and thinly sliced beef. The insects add a tangy, sour pop to the savoury, fragrant medley of chilli, basil, ginger, lemongrass, garlic, and shallots. Essentially, it is a large stir fry made using beef, basil, garlic, shallots, ginger, lemongrass, and lots of ants.

9 Bai Sach Chrouk

Bai Sach Chrouk — which means rice and pork in Khmer — is one of the most popular breakfast items in Cambodian food, along with noodle soups. This is a popular breakfast dish consisting of marinated pork served over rice, accompanied by pickled vegetables and a fried egg or sliced scrambled egg on the top. The pork is usually grilled or roasted with garlic and soy sauce.

10 Green Papaya Salad

The papaya salad from Cambodia is slightly different from that from Thailand or Laos and has its own, beautiful, fresh flavour. This popular dish is enjoyed for its vibrant flavours, crunchy texture, and the perfect balance of sweet, sour, and spicy elements. Containing lime juice, fish sauce, sugar or palm sugar, and frequently including dried shrimp, and garlic this Cambodian salad is less spicy, than its surrounding countries. frequently includes dried shrimp and/or fish, and uses less garlic

11 Sour Beef Soup (Samlor) with Morning Glory

This Cambodian sour beef soup with Morning Glory is a wonderful green vegetable-driven broth. Slowly cooked with morning glory, yellow kroeung, fish sauce, prahok (fermented fish paste), salt, palm sugar, and tamarind juice. Sometimes the seeds of a wood apple are added. This remarkable sweet yet sour dish leaves your mouth full of blissful delight.

12 Samlar Korko (Sour soup)

Samlor Korko, also known as “samlor kako,” “somlaw koko,” or Cambodian “Stirring-Pot” soup, is a hearty mix of seasonal vegetables, unripe fruit, and the meat of your choice. Which gives a distinct citrusy lemongrass flavour

The seasonal local vegetables and herbs might include water spinach, shallots, scallions, tomatoes, kaffir lime leaves, hot basil, coriander, galangal, and lemongrass. There’s also a version that has pineapples. Other key ingredients in this dish are the fermented fish paste, prahok, and the spice paste, kroeung. While the typical souring agents include Krasaing fruit seeds, tamarind, or kaffir lime juice.

13 Lok lak (Stir fry)

Lok lak is a Cambodian stir-fry utilising beef, chicken, or shrimp as the key ingredients, although beef is typically the most popular option. For the beef version, a bed of lettuce leaves is traditionally topped with cucumbers, tomatoes, raw onions, and stir-fried beef along with its juices.

14 Num Ansom Chek (Rolled Banana Rice Cake)

Ansom Chek is a traditional Cambodian sticky rice cake combined with slices of banana. But sometimes, jackfruit is also added. The dessert is made with a mixture of sticky rice, coconut milk, and coconut shavings then topped with a slice of salted, ripe baby banana which is covered with more rice, and then the whole thing is carefully enclosed within banana leaves and then steamed.

There are many more delicious sweets, which are readily available on street corners or in food carts. Puddings and sweet soups made with tapioca, coconut milk, beans, corn and fruit are popular and an inexpensive snack.

15 Prahok Ktis

It is a popular dip or condiment made from prahok, a fermented fish paste, combined with other ingredients to create a savoury and pungent flavour profile. Khmer loves dipping different vegetables into this thick paste or adding it to a variety of dishes.

16 Fried Insects 

In Cambodia, fried insects are often found in street markets or as snacks at local food stalls. The most commonly consumed insects include crickets, grasshoppers, silkworm pupae, and various species of beetles. These insects are typically cleaned, seasoned, and deep-fried until they become crispy and crunchy. Mealworms are one of my favourites.