Fried Rice with Sausage

OK, so this is the ultimate "I'm afraid of eating anything strange, so I'll stick with something I know" food. Actually, it's a simple dinner that's inexpensive and filling all at the same time.

Fried rice is made with pre-cooked rice that has been chilled or cooled. There are several mystery sauces added to the fry, but mainly there is oil, chili sauce, egg and vegetables. The vegetable usually consist of bits of carrot and sliced stem pieces of collard greens.

I like my fried rice with bits of sausage because the sausage here is a bit sweet. The rice is fried up in a large wok with lots of stirring to keep it moving and thoroughly cooked.

Finished fried rice is place on an oval plate (no other style of plate is used) and served with a bowl of broth that either has a meatball or a bone in it along with some herbs. You can also order a fried egg to go on top of your fried rice.

Add some chili sauce and soy sauce to the rice and stir it in, then enjoy a tasty evening treat!

Note: real fried rice is only available at night, along with fruit shakes and fried noodles. There are stalls set up around town in designated places. Foreigner price: 5,000 Riel ($1.25). Local price: 3,000 Riel ($0.75).

Back to Cambodian Food!

I am so happy to be back in Cambodia enjoying Cambodian food. There is just nothing else that compares to the yumminess of food here. Besides that, if you get tired of Cambodian food there's plenty of Western food to enjoy.

Back to eating sour soup and rice, mom's cooking at the cottage with roasted salted fish.

I love the noodle soup in the morning at the Soup Dragon with iced coffee (no milk this time). It's become the place for locals to do business in the morning. I just enjoy watching the pubs open and clean up for a fresh day ahead.

Of course there is also the yummy street snacks of fresh fruit, roasted bananas, and roti with sweetened condensed milk.

Come on over to savor the flavors of Cambodia!

Polish Cabbage and Noodles Dish

OK, so this dish was inspired by an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives that I briefly caught. It was some Polish restaurant. I know there's a funny Polish name for this dish, but of course it escapes my memory.

I was mesmerized by this dish because 1) it was so simple, and 2) I had all of the ingredients sitting in my fridge. The Cal Poly Organic Farm cabbage heads from my CSA boxes have been crying out to be turned into something delicious, and one can only eat so much coleslaw.

So, I did a little online investigating and discovered many recipes for this dish. It's really very simple. All you need is:

1/2 head of sliced cabbage
1-2 yellow onions, sliced
1/2 package of egg noodles (other noodles will do, but these are the tastiest)
1 kielbasa sausage
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup sour cream
salt & pepper to taste (I used my mortar to grind some fresh white Cambodian Kampot pepper)

Fill your pasta pot with water to start it boiling.

Get the butter melted in a BIG frying pan, or wok. Add the yellow onions and cook on medium-low until tender then turn down to low to start carmelizing them.

Slice the kielbasa into somewhat thin rounds. Cook over medium heat in a skillet to brown them on each side.

If the water's boiling, add the egg noodles and boil them according to directions on package.

Add the cabbage once the onions are a nice golden brown and let that stir-fry until tender. Once nice and tender, add the egg noodles along with salt and pepper to taste. Toss in the kielbasa slices and stir in the sour cream. Allow it to continue cooking on low for a few more minutes.

Oila! Scoop into a bowl and have yourself some delicious Polish comfort food.

Feel free to veg it up a bit by add more vegetables in the onion and cabbage stir-fry and leave out the sour cream. Consider using another cheese, or none at all.