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By
: H.P. Raingsy, Picture by : Nathan Dexter.
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H’mok. The finished product,
as prepared and served by
The Sharaton Hotel, Phnom Penh.
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Of all of
the aspects of Cambodia's culture fighting for survival,
its traditional cuisine is perhaps the one battling
the most assailants.
The Khmer Rouge years, which destroyed so much,
had a lasting effect on the art and tradition of
cookery here, although most of the classic dishes
have been successfully revived.
But in Cambodia, food has traditionally been prepared
by women, and each Khmer dish requires enormous
amounts of time and numbers of ingredients, so it
is modern life which is now proving to be the greatest
enemy of this integral part of an ancient culture,
according to the government officials. Khmer families
commonly serve up Chinese dishes at home during
the week because they are quick and simple to prepare.
The Ministry of Youth, Sport and Education has introduced
home economics classes a program including sewing,
methods of dress and a little cooking into its curriculum
for girls in Year 11 of high school. |
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But Under Secretary
of State for the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport,
Mr Chey Chab, concedes that the role of women in Cambodian
society is changing.
"In this modern time, cookery is no longer considered
a mark of superiority for a woman (seeking marriage) as
she is more involved in social development. Therefore,
the units regarding Khmer cuisine have been slimmed down,"
he said.
"Home economics as a subject is not yet comprehensive
enough for our children and we cannot fit everything in
as much detail as we would like. On the other hand, our
country's hospitality industry and other tourist sector
industries are crying out for Khmer cuisine to be available
for visitors to sample."
One of the casualties of this trend away from time consuming,
complex Khmer dishes has been the steamed curry, h'mok.
Even for Khmers, it has become a dish for the weekends,
or for restaurants.
At Ponlok Restaurant, on the riverside just northeast
of the Royal Palace, owner Lim Ponlok says his restaurant
has become most famous for its seafood dishes. |
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"But
local and foreign guests still order h'mok from
time to time," he said.
"Then I must serve it upon request but prepare
it in advance as the preparation consumes much time.
I propose fried h'mok instead to most customers,
which means the kroeung is fried with the meat and
not steamed. They accept it like this."
In a cozy corner just north of Wat Phnom, the Sharaton
Hotel Beer Garden is crowded every night with package
tourists and locals alike satisfying their cravings
for grilled chicken and papaya salad.
Seng On, 28, Second Master Chef at the hotel, said
H'mok and other Khmer dishes are served here alongside
the scores of European, Chinese and Thai dishes
on the extensive al la carte menu, but to provide
it in the timeframe visitors require, shortcuts
must be made.
"When I am home with my family I seldom eat
h'mok even though I like much it very much because
it requires so much preparation and cooking time,"
she said. "Even here in the restaurant we have
resorted to a combination of techniques, frying
the kroeung and meat first, then steaming it. This
means our customers only have to wait about 10 minutes.
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H'mok spicy, with a firm
but moist texture.
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East of Wat Phnom
on the river is the Chne Tonle, or Riverside Hotel and
Restaurant. This establishment is well known as a venue
for wedding parties.
Heang Sereivuth, manager of the hotel and restaurant,
said the wedding season begins in October and the peak
season is between December and March.
Between 30 and 40 per cent of wedding parties order h'mok
as one of the eight dishes (seven mains and a dessert)
for the reception meal, he said.
"Cambodians also like Chinese and European food at
weddings but for an average party of 600 people, they
will order h'mok and other Cambodian specialties such
as nhoam trayaung chek sach moan and cheung moan (young
banana flower salad with chicken and chicken feet webs),
s'gnor chruok bang-kaong (sour soup with shrimp). plear
sach ko (a raw beef salad marinated in lemon juice) and
samlor m'chu tai (sour soup with duck meat).
The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts sees Khmer cuisine
as a potential tourist attraction.
Mr Dek Sarin, Director of the Culture Development Department
under the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and Director
of the National Cultural Center, said efforts to promote
traditional cuisine include the Ministry holding the Third
Khmer Food Contest on January 12, 2002.
Restaurants from across Cambodia will be invited to compete
and tourists will be welcome to attend.
The Second Khmer Food Contest was held early this year
and 21 candidates from seven provinces competed.
The dishes judged in competition this year were h'mok
trei rah (h'mok of river fish), samlor kako (soup of mixed
vegetables and young fruit of the sugar palm tree with
chicken or the fish trei k'cheung), samlor k'tih (a coconut
milk-based soup), grilled lobster and n'hoam saray (a
kind of sea weed salad).
There are only a handful of recipes approved by the ministry
at present. A special team is examining each dish and
searching for Thai, Vietnamese and other influences which
might have crept in and rendered it less than intrinsically
Khmer.
The Ministry of Culture has approved recipes for these
approved dishes.
But even approved dishes like h'mok are shrouded in some
mystery.
"We do not know when and where h'mok was born or
where it got its name," Mr Sarin said.
"But we are sure knowledge of how to prepare it was
passed down from one generation to another and our ancestors
left many carvings in form of bas-relief or high relief
on the galleries of a number of temples, especially at
Prasat Bayon in the Angkor complex.
"We surveyed dozens of elderly persons in many provinces
and found three main stories explaining where the name
h'mok originated.
The first theory is that, because h'mok is a complicated
dish and consumes so much preparation time, its name is
a derivation of the Khmer word for complexity, smok-smanh.
Ancient Khmers cut the word short and it became the h'mok
of today.
Others say a pair of hawkers once sold this dish. The
husband of the couple was called Mok. Because the dish
was so delicious, it became his signature dish, with the
name changing slightly over time.
The third theory is that in ancient times, people did
not have many durable cooking pots and so to steam food
they used smok, a small box made of woven palm or banana
leaves. This name shortened eventually to H'mok.
Whatever the origin of the name, this is uniquely Cambodian
dish, and one to be savored by visitors and local people
alike. |
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Suite
B8, Regency Square, InterContinental Hotel, 294 Mao Tse Toung
Boulevard,
Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia.
Tel: (855) 23 213 133 Fax: (855) 23 213 033
E-mail:
editor@leisurecambodia.com |
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