The Exotic Food of Cambodia

Last weekend, I went to the Fall Festival with other International students of the International Club. I heard lots of people talking about different types of food. Probably, one that arouses the most interest is the so-called “Brain Sandwich”. Just the name of it makes my friends cringe. I just shrugged and said “What is it about brain sandwich?” And so I bought one just to see what it tasted like. My decision to buy that sandwich was met with many kinds of reaction: “You’re gross”, “You’re so brave”, “Are you sure?” Well, what was the big deal about it? It’s not my first time to eat pig’s brain. In fact, many types of food that is considered gross, or not common in the States, make tasty snacks and meal in my homeland, Cambodia.

Cambodian people believe that pig’s brain is particularly healthy for human. We believe that it helps lessen migraine headache and stimulate intellectual development of children. The mother would make her child who has limited intelligent eat pig’s brains for seven consecutive days. In whatever form it takes, I have to admit that the brain tastes incredibly good, I mean the one cooked in Cambodia, not here in America. The brain is wrapped in the pig’s gut, and then steamed for around 2 or 3 hours.

Another typical Cambodian food that might taste weird to the American is frying cricket as well as other types of insect. It is also my favourite snack. Crickets are deeply fried using vegetable oil. It is eaten with a special sauce, made up of pepper, salt, and lemon juice. Just the thought of it makes my mouth water. Similar insects that make mouth-watery deep-fried snack includes deep-fried “a-ping” (tarantulas which we believe to stop breathlessness), fried “kantes-long” (a black beetle), deep-fried “kantea-touk” (a menthol tasting beetle), fried “mea phleang” (winged termites), fried pupas, dried clams, “lies” (freshwater clams), “kchorng” and “kchav” (types of snails). They are found everywhere and available throughout the year. For Cambodian people who know the flavours of those insect, they are mouth-watering, but for foreigners, they might be grimacing with disbelief.

Another exotic animal is snake. People ferment it rice and other fruits to make alcohol. It is believed to additional strong flavor to the drink. People who are sick might also drink that alcohol as medicine. Other than that, snake is roasted and eaten with beer or wine by some men. I have never tasted that before but heard that it is not bad.

Nonetheless, we also have delicacies that foreigners considered “normal” in Cambodia. An ordinary meal would consist of a bowl of hot watery soup which is made of meat and vegetable, a plate of stirred-fried vegetable, and a bowl of rice. There are dozen types of soup in Cambodia. It varies according to the ingredients used, such as meat, vegetable, or special flavours. Cambodia also has an abundant amount of freshwater fish. That is why we eat fish almost in every meal. One rarely finds such food sold here in America except in some major cities where a large population of Cambodian people can be found, for example, Boston and Long Beach.

In a nutshell, if you have chance to travel to Cambodia, don't forget to give a shot of Cambodian typical food. It might not taste delicious for you, but it’s really worth a try. Trying different types of food do not only add new variety to your meal but it also allows you to experience different cultures.