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: Ly Vanna and Moul Jetr, Picture by : Nathan Dexter. |
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Ly Dara
watches the catch he has just bought grind its way
through the crushing machines at a little shop in
Kilometer 11, north of Phnom Penh.
Once a soldier, Ly Dara's whole business centers
on this time of year from December or early January
until the last full moon in February-or early March
when fish migrate up the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers
and provide the raw material he needs to create
the Cambodian staple, prahok. All along the river
banks at several spots like this around Phnom Penh,
and thousands more around the country, women especially
are washing and crushing small fish with their feet
in bamboo stalls, chatting and laughing as they
take time away from the rice fields to make enough
prahok. for their amities to see them through until
next year.
Prahok, or fish cheese as foreigners sometimes know
it, is a crushed brown paste of fish, salted and
fermented to preserve it. It is an acquired taste,
with a strong aroma that permeates everything it
touches. Ly Dara is a prahok wholesaler, and he
has made this annual journey especially from his
home in Bati district, Takeo province.
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This is a species called
riel (the same word as for the Cambodian
currency) and is highly prized as prime
prahok fish.
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"I've already processed 10 tons of prahok this
season. Last year it took me four days to get enough
fish for this amount. This year, it took me just one
night," he said.
"I'm getting it crushed here and loading it into
taxis to transport it back to my place."
Across the way, members of 20 neighboring families from
his home in Poun Phnom village, Trapaing Sam commune,
are gutting, scaling and cleaning their fish by hand
before trampling them underfoot. The sheer volume Ly
Dara must process makes the machines set up near the
road here a good option. But this is only the first
step in a long preparation process.
"We use 150 kilos of salt per ton of fish. Last
year, fish cost 250 to 300 riel per kilo and salt cost
five to six hundred riel a kilo. This year, fish is
cheap. I've been buying fish from the riverside for
just 130 to 180 riel a kilo and salt at 140 riel a kilo,"
he said.
The best catches are made during the full moon.
"After we crush them, we leave them in the sun
for a full day, then salt them and seal them in jars
full of salt," he explained.
Prahok can then be eaten after just 20 days of maturation,
but the better prahok has been left to ferment for one
to three years.
"A lot of Chinese and other foreigners don't like
prahok, but my father was Sino-Khmer. He told me that
the first time he tasted prahok, he loved it and he
wished he had eaten it sooner," Ly Dara said. From
that moment, his father’s passion meant his own
course in life was set out.
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One way to make prahok is to
crush the fish underfoot like wine grapes.
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There are
Khmers who don't like the strong taste and smell
of prahok, but most have been brought up on this
very Cambodian delicacy.
The larger the fish used to make it, the better
the quality of the prahok is generally considered
to be. Some regions, such as Siem Reap, are particularly
famous for their prahok and can demand higher prices
from connoisseurs of the product. Prahok originated
as a way of preserving fresh fish during the long
months when this other basic Cambodian food is not
in abundant supply. The high salt content made it
an ideal flavoring ingredient in the days before
MSG and seasoning powder arrived in the Kingdom.
In the countryside, prahok is often eaten simply
with rice.
But a typical Cambodian meal will often include
prahok as an ingredient in samlor, or soup, or as
a dipping sauce, such as teuk kroeung, which is
eaten as an accompaniment to grilled freshwater
fish wrapped in lettuce or spinach leaves.
Khem Kan is 70 now, and retired from his position
as an official in the Ministry of Commerce. He comes
to the river to buy fish to make his own prahok.
During the waning moon, the catch decreases and
the price rises to as much as 800 riel a kilo, but
he isn't worried. That is still cheaper than at
the same time last year.
"The only time you should not eat prahok is
if you have a cold, a cough, or a skin condition
like acne. Prahok can make these things more serious,"
he said.
"Singers often boycott prahok before a big
performance to help their voices." |
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Director general
of the Fisheries Department of the Ministry of Agriculture,
Nao Thuork, estimates about 500 species of fish migrate
up the Mekong in preparation for spawning in the wet season.
"About 350,000 tons of fish were caught this season
just past, and about one tenth of that will be processed
into prahok," he said.
All freshwater fishing is now banned between May and September
to give fish a chance to lay their eggs, so people make
the most of this season.
"Many of the larger species are no longer found here
in Cambodia. Once, we used to catch only large fish and
let small ones go. That was when we had just six million
people to feed. Now we have 12 million, and people keep
everything they catch, large or small," he said.
In Samrong Yong market, Bati district, prahok seller Mr
Chreb is gearing up for a big year.
"It is easy to make money with prahok. About 95 per
cent of the population eat it. Charities and non-government
organizations have been known to buy it to donate to flood
and drought victims, and I like this idea. I know most
Khmers would be much more grateful for a couple of kilos
of prahok than tins of sardines or dried noodles,"
he said. |
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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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