Most Popular Dishes in Angkor – A world of culinary delights.

The awe inspiring cultural experience of visiting the ancient Angkor Wat temples is not complete without sampling some of the region's infamous Khmer food at a restaurant in Siem Reap, the gateway to Angkor Wat. Fish Amok is the most celebrated dish. The dish is made by first combining the ingredients, primarily fish and curry paste, used to give it a unique, spicy flavour. Scoops of the mixture are placed it in small cups made of banana leaves. Next the cups are topped with thick coconut milk and steamed. If the sound of this dish makes your mouth water, Anantara Angkor Resort has three restaurants that serve the finest Khmer cuisine. A variation of Fish Amok is Amok Chouk, where the curry paste is used to flavour snails in their shells, before steaming and serving accompanied by hot rice.

A typical Cambodian meal includes a soup of some kind. Samlor Machu Trey is a popular choice in households all around the country as it is easy to make and delicious. It is a sweet and sour soup with fish, garlic, lemongrass, celery, tamarind juice, bean sprouts, pineapple, sugar, fish sauce, and salt. A few pinches of fresh green herbs and hot chili pepper can be sprinkled on top for added flavour before eating.

Stir-fried lemongrass beef known as Char Kroeung Sach Ko is another Khmer dish that has gained popularity across Cambodia. The beef is stir fried with garlic in hot oil until tender, next vegetables like red peppers and onion are added to the wok along with a special paste known as Kroeung. Kroeung is made from lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and galangal. The paste is believed to have wonderful health benefits.

Twa Ko is a sausage that was created by Khmer cuisine. It contains either beef, pork or pork belly for more fat content, and is flavoured generously with spices. This homemade sausage can be barbecued, grilled or pan-fried and is delicious enough to eat without any accompaniments.

Many Angkor natives start their day with a bowl of noodles, which they call Nom Banh Chok. The rice noodle base is bathed in a rich green fish gravy and piled high with fresh vegetables like cucumbers, green beans and banana blossoms. Bean sprouts and mint leaves are added for more flavour. This dish shows influences of Thai cuisine.

Noodles are a popular choice with the Khmer people. Kuy Teav is a noodle soup that is made using pork or beef stock and fine rice noodles. Any type of meat can be added to the broth: beef, pork, chicken, seafood or fish balls. The soup is finished with a sprinkling of bean sprouts and green onions. Kuy Teav is a popular street food dish that is offered with a sweet, spicy, garlic condiment and a lime wedge.