What's for breakfast???

My life is about food. People often say that, but if you know me, you know that I’m not joking. I am always planning future meals. You do not want to face me when I’m “hangry”. I am surprised that I haven’t told you all much about my food life in Cambodia thus far. I apologize, but white white rice for every meal hasn’t inspired me too much to get into the finer Khmer delicacies. I promise to be better, for all my friends who document their food consistently and my accomplished food blogger friends, and start to let you in on what some of the more common food items I consume are outside of my house. Let’s start with the variety of things I eat for breakfast on a daily basis.

Baee Sach J’rook (pork and rice)

Pork and rice is perhaps the most common breakfast in Cambodia and the most filling. This plate of rice, usually the broken variety which is cheaper), is topped with slices of marinated BBQ pork from a small grill, some sort of duck egg (either omelet or hard boiled) and a side of pickled vegetables. My grandma uses both kinds of egg and adds a few different sauces on top with garlic. After I add lots of bright red chili sauce, not spicy, to make sure the white rice no longer seems white. As mentioned in the article linked above, Cambodians must carbo-load when they wake up with the crowing of the roosters since they probably won’t eat lunch until 5 or 6 hours later. I tend to eat this at my grandma’s rice stall next door when I have several hours of teaching ahead and I know I can’t eat until after 1 PM (very late for Cambodians). It costs me 2000 riels (50 cents) but can cost as much as $2 when purchased in Phnom Penh.

Banh Chi Oh (Cambodian pancake)

I initially came upon Banh Chi Oh when I was looking for alternatives to eating rice for breakfast, however, I soon found out that this yellow pancake filled with fatty pork and bean sprouts, is actually made of rice. But it’s cleverly disguised so I try to forget this myself. It is accompanied by various leafy greens (literally leaves), some peanut sauce and spicy pepper thrown on top. I eat this when I have the time to bike over to the market, about 1 km away, to go to my favorite stall. The seating area is such that the chair is crammed against the wooden block I eat at, not the most comfortable, but the taste makes up for it. I also receive the most attention when eating this one since it’s right in the center of the market, so I’m sure to have many people who have never seen me before shocked to see a foreigner gobbling up this dish. This also costs me 2000 riels for a decent portion.

Jek K’tee (Banana Coconut pudding)

Cambodian sweets are often an afternoon snack found in the sides of the road in my town, but my favorite sweets lady is in full operation in the market starting in the morning, until she runs out of selection. These sweets are perhaps my favorite part of Cambodian cuisine as they’re delicious, super cheap (a small bowl is 500 riels – 13 cents), and endlessly fascinating. These ladies are surrounded by silver bowls filled to the brim with unknown brightly colored soups. The food looks like make-believe or created from play-doh. They often taste similar, and I tend to stick to a few of my favorites of the banana or pumpkin variety. My usual is a banana soup made with coconut milk, tapioca, with a bit of custard thrown in, sticky sweet rice and some sesame seeds on top. My host mom has taught me to make a few of these in hopes that I’ll continue to do so in America; maybe I’ll just open up my own bong ai-em (sweets) stand.

Mi Chaa jia muy bontia (Stir-fried noodles with egg)

This is perhaps the most simple of dishes, but it is quite satisfying and a good alternative to rice. A little shop near my school makes me favorite and it doesn’t hurt that they also recently got free wifi, always an exciting addition to a PC Volunteer’s site. They throw some ramen noodles in a wok with morning glory, fry a duck egg and throw that on top. In Phnom Penh, one of the few mobile street foods are these carts where they make the same with either ramen noodles or short fatter noodles called lo chaa. In Phnom Penh or in my town, this meal sets me back 2000-3000 riels.

http://khatiya-korner.com/blog/2009/10/23/cambodian-fried-rice-noodles/ (these are fried rice noodles, which is not the same, but on this blog are many varieties of Khmer food from a large Khmer immigrant population in Stockton, CA)

Oatmeal

It comes from packets that I have either bought in America or had generously sent to me. You can imagine what it looks like.

If you still haven’t gotten enough of food links… - http://travel.cnn.com/cambodia-best-dishes-cambodia-food-401118

Preview of future food blogs: I have in fact eaten duck fetus and crickets. Both are tasty, but I only got my family to sample the latter. If you’re curious, in the meantime, check this out: http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2012/08/fertilized-duck-eggs-arent-gross-theyre-actually-pretty-delicious/56181/