Asia unusual cooking ingredients

Many chefs love to use secret ingredients, but some foods are a little more unusual than others. The chefs at Secret Tables like to give the more adventurous diners the opportunity to experience something different and the chance to explore new worlds of flavour through cuisine.

Chefs Kimsan Pol and Kimsan Sok – Embassy – Siem Reap

Chef duo, the "Kimsan Twins” seek forgotten recipes and ancient methods giving diners a new way to discover Khmer gastronomy.

One of their secret ingredients, more colloquially known as Khmer Cheese, is Prahok. Named “Khmer cheese” due to its strong smell, Prahok is a fermented fish paste made from fish that is fermented for 20 days, then salted. Mostly eaten as a condiment with fresh vegetables and rice, it can also added to soups. Due to its imposing scent from the fermentation, some foreigners can be reluctant to taste Prahok, but to the locals it is a delicacy! The chefs at Embassy restaurant, serve Prahok in soups or sauces, and not as a condiment, where it would be too strong for those who are not used to it. They add just a little to allow guests to discover its flavour such as in their dish of roasted chicken marinated with honey from Anlong Veng Mountain, served with mashed jackfruit, prahok and red ant sauce, and black sticky rice.

Secret Retreats Concierges and Reservation

Global Reservation office
Contact : dream@secret-retreats.com
Phone +66 612 869 293
(Mon - Fri from 9am to 6pm Thai Time GMT+7)

Australia (Melbourne office)
Contact : sr-australia@secret-retreats.com