Thursday, March 27, 2008

Village cooking lessons

I'm back in "cooking school" with my Cambodian mom. I am learnign how to make some standard Cambodian dishes so that I will be able to make them in the future.

Day #1: Fried meat and vegetables (aka stir-fry)
Now I already know how to do this, but was told I needed to know how to make it tasty.

Step 1: heat oil (any kind will do).

Step 2: add freshly minced garlic to cook until golden, then add a spoonful of sugar.

Step 3: add chopped meat. We used pork, but beef will do just fine, and of course tofu. Let cook thoroughly so there's no pink in the middle.

Step 4: when meat is cooked, add the vegetables. We used sliced onions and angle-sliced cucumber, but you can choose you can choose your favorite. I think using onion is a must, and you can choose carrots, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, or any other vegetable. The key thing, however, is to pay attention to your chosen vegie's density to determine cooking order and time. Cauliflower takes longer so it should go in first. Onions and cucumbers tend to be softer so they go in later.

Step 5: I think there is some salt added to taste, but I must have been looking away when it was added. Very important: check the taste of the dish using a spoon. If it isn't salty enough, add salt. If it's too salty, add water and/or sugar. Finally serve it in a serving bowl alongside steamed rice for your meal.

[sorry no pics for this one as I didn't have the camera with me.]

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