Cambodian Cookbooks

Khmer dishes derive their flavor from spices and aromatic herbs, with little use of fat. Cambodian cuisine is a combination of complex, vibrant flavors and a very delicate balance between saltiness, sweetness, sourness and bitterness, with a keen appreciation for textures.

With the growing popularity of Khmer cuisine, recently a number of new cookbooks have been published.

A Taste of Cambodian Cuisine

by Demaz Tep Baker

This cookbook is geared to food lovers who would like to expand their cooking repertoire and to young Cambodian Americans who would like to learn the dishes they may have grown up eating and now miss.

Author Demaz Baker seeks to make Cambodian cuisine accessible to the average cook who may not have the time to roast and grind spices from scratch due to the realities of modern society.

Demaz Tep Baker was born in Cambodia and came to the United States in 1976, basing herself in the Washington, D.C. area, where she is well-known for the delicate subtleties of her Cambodian dinners.

Baker has introduced many to the art of Cambodian cuisine through her Khmer cooking classes, now held at her home in Annandale, Virginia.

This book is available in hard and soft cover and can be purchased online at XLibris.com.

ISBN13 (TP) 978-1-4415-2873-5, ISBN13 (HB) 978-1-4415-2874-2

The Cuisine of Cambodia

by Nusara Thaitawat

Nusara Thaitawat is a Thai journalist, who was struck by the cuisine of Cambodia when she covered the start of the peace process in the early 1990's. Despite being made with ingredients that were all available in her native Thailand, the Khmer dishes were to her a revelation of subtle, balanced flavors.

This is a magnificent Cambodian cookbook full of traditional menus. With chapters on appetizers, salads, fish, pork, fowl, beef, shelfish, frogs, insects, sauce, rice and noodles, fruit preserves and desserts. Plus chapters with menus specifically from the Royal Household, the kitchen of the Royal Phnom Penh Hotel and Siem Reap home cooking.

Unfortunately this book is out of print, but still available at Amazon. We have a copy at frizz restaurant, just to have a look at.

Published in 2000, ISBN-10: 9748778851, ISBN-13: 978-9748778853

The Elephant Walk

by Longteine De Monteiro, Katherine Neustadt

Written by the chef-owner of Boston's restaurant chain The Elephant Walk, this cookbook is a fascinating introduction to the lively and sophisticated flavors of Cambodia. Apart from showcasing Cambodia's foods, this cookbook tells the inspiring story of Longteine De Monteiro.

Published in 1998, Houghton Mifflin Cookbooks, ISBN-10: 0395892538, ISBN-13: 9780395892534

Cambodian Cooking

Joannès Rivière

Joannès Rivière used to work at the Sala Bai school, where young adults from the poorest families throughout Cambodia get free training in restaurant service, cooking, front office, housekeeping and English language. At the school there is a fully functioning restaurant and a four-room hotel, offering students skills readying them to seek employment in Siem Reap's hospitality sector.

The Food & Cooking of Cambodia

by Ghillie Basan

Ghillie Basan is a travel writer and has been a regular contributor to the Sunday Tribune, the Sunday Herald and various cookery magazines.

This cookbook has 60 authentic recipes, all shown with easy-to-follow, step-by-step photographic instructions, include the refreshing Bamboo, Fish and Rice Soup, the tasty savoury snack of Deep-fried Prawn Sandwiches, the rich Khmer Fish in Coconut Custard, the warming Braised Black Pepper Pork, a tangy vegetable dish of Stir-fried Pineapple with Ginger and Chilli, a light and delicious Marinated Fish Salad and the deliciously sticky Cassava Sweet.

Published in 2007, Southwater Books, ISBN-10: 184476351X, ISBN-13: 9781844763511

Cambodia on a Plate

The booklet contains a selection of dishes that captures some of the best tastes, textures and colours of Cambodian cuisine, and also has some great easy recipes to try at home. This 24-page booklet is available for free at numerous outlets in Cambodia, or you can download it online: Cambodia on a Plate.

‘Cambodia on a Plate’ is part of sustainable tourism project ‘Stay Another Day’.

Nyum Bai

by The Green Gecko Project

The Green Gecko Project is a safe place for Siem Reap street kids, providing shelter, education, care and stability, positive role models, micro businesses, family support, nutrition packs, and medical treatment.

‘Nyum Bai’ literally means 'eat rice', but as Cambodian dishes invariably include rice, it really just means 'eat'. This cookbook will not only entice and inspire you with 31 of Cambodia’s finest recipes; it will take you on a brief journey into Cambodian culture and the stories and smiles behind the Green Gecko kids.