Touk Trey Bok: Khmer Vinaigrette

Every household in Cambodia has a jar of this dressing at hand, as we use it in many dishes: as a dressing in relishes, salads (the ngiom category of salad), as a base for Num Banh Chok Kampot (one of the Khmer noodles), and as a dipping sauce for various seafood.

Touk Trey Bok: Khmer Fish-Sauce Dressing 7 to 10 garlic cloves 2 bird’s eye chilies (optional) ¼ cup fish sauce ¼ cup lime juice ¼ cup palm sugar A pinch of salt Pound the garlic, salt, and chilies (if using) in a mortar. Spoon out and place the garlic/chili mixture in a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Taste it and adjust accordingly.

You can drizzle this on top of a grilled salmon filet or over a whole fried or grilled red snapper. Serve it with some trimmings, such as cucumber and tomatoes, or over a bed of greens. Use it as a dipping sauce for grilled squid, shrimp, or boiled crabs. Dilute it with water and simmer it down a bit. Drizzle it over deep-fried chicken; just make sure you use plain batter or flour. Try it as a dressing for various salads. Here’s a simple one to start (we’ll cover Khmer salads later).

Khmer-Style Apple Salad or Ngiom Pomme in Franco-Khmer 3/4 lb. poached shrimp, peeled 3 large Granny Smith apples (the sourer, the better), julienned 3 medium shallots, or 1/2 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced Some mint leaves ¼ cup roasted peanuts, coarsely grounded ⅛ cup fish-sauce dressing Toss apples, shallots, shrimp, and mint leaves together. Add the dressing and toss again. Add more dressing, if needed. Sprinkle it with peanuts and serve.

Final notes: Palm sugar sold at oriental markets in America comes in small blocks. Use your knife to shave it so it can dissolve more easily. But you can now find granulated palm sugar at some big supermarkets as well. Most fish sauces sold overseas are produced mostly in Vietnam, Thailand, and other Southeast Asian countries. Most of these countries prefer their fish sauce very strongly. Most of their fish sauces are aged for a few years before being used. In Cambodia, we prefer our fish sauce light, with an almost fresher taste. Just go easy when you cook with fish sauce.

Bon appétit!