Essential vegetables for a traditional bowl of Nom banh chok.
When traveling to Phnom Penh city, it is not difficult to hear the cries of women carrying Nom banh chok (five-sided rice noodles) along the streets. Cambodians eat Nom banh chok at any time. Perhaps since childhood, they have loved the soft noodles with the fragrant curry broth, with green beans and crispy lotus root, and a little bit of spicy chili. Just thinking about it makes you crave it.
At one end of the Nom banh chok stall is a basket of fresh vegetables, including banana flowers, papaya, lotus root, long beans, celery, some herbs, mint leaves, lemon and chili. All are covered with a large lotus leaf, at the other end is a jar of white fish curry sauce, rich in fat, sweet and rich in flavor, giving off a very attractive aroma.
Nom banh chok broth is the secret to the magical appeal of the dish. Khmer people in Cambodia consider banh chok fish sauce as a specialty to entertain distinguished guests and as the main ingredient to cook broth in noodle dishes. The fish sauce is made from the main ingredient of freshwater fish along with other spices such as salt, sugar, pepper, garlic, chili, cold rice in a certain ratio, through the hands of Khmer people, creating a traditional, long-standing fish sauce that is unique in the world.
To remove the unpleasant smell and retain the natural sweetness of the fish, Khmer people use traditional spices such as wild lemon, mugwort...
Looking at the steaming bowls of noodles, the fragrant aroma wafting from street vendors, few people know that the ingredients used to make it are cooked from fish sauce and do not have any fishy smell, still delicious, with just the right amount of salty and sweet taste.
Cambodian vermicelli does not contain borax, so it is often less chewy and elastic than vermicelli from other places. When eaten, it feels more floury and sticky, but it makes the eater feel safer and more delicious.
In just 2 minutes you will have a delicious and crispy bowl of Nom Banh Chok, priced at 2,000 riel (equivalent to 10,000 VND) to enjoy.
When a customer wants to eat, the vendor quickly sets down the stall and quickly shreds the banana flower. First, a layer of herbs is placed at the bottom of the bowl, then lotus root and long beans, adding shredded papaya, covering with a layer of vermicelli, then carefully scooping the golden, greasy fish curry sauce, rich in the aroma of lemongrass, lime leaves and turmeric, and pouring it over the vermicelli, and finally sprinkling the banana flower layer on top. The curry sauce should only cover the surface, so that when mixed well, the sauce will cover the vermicelli and vegetables. The fragrant aroma and rich taste of this rustic vermicelli dish will make any diner who finishes eating it crave more.
