Book of Days Tales

Today used to be a public holiday in Cambodia (where I currently live) celebrating the Paris Peace Accords of 1991, សន្ធិសញ្ញាសន្តិភាពទីក្រុងប៉ារីស, formally titled Agreements on a Comprehensive Political Settlement of the Cambodia Conflict, which were signed on this date, and marked the official end of the Cambodian–Vietnamese War (1975 – 1991). The agreement marked the first occasion when the UN took over as the government of a state. The last quarter, or so, of the 20^th century was a horrific time to be living in Cambodia, so that as the century closed with the Paris Peace Accords there was a sense in the country that a modicum of equilibrium and normalcy in the country was possible, although a quarter century later there is still much to be done.

Here is a version of the classic Khmer noodle and fish dish called នំបញ្ចុក, num bânhchŏk, usually eaten as the first meal of the day. It appeals to Vietnamese as well as Cambodian diners, so it can be a symbol of peace between the two nations.  Good luck finding all of the ingredients outside of S E Asia, although online sources might help.  Good luck also replicating the tastes of Khmer cooking if you have not tasted authentic Khmer cuisine before.  Don’t be tempted to replace the mortar and pestle with a food processor.  The consistency will be all wrong.

Ingredients

½ teaspoon sugar palm sugar
400 ml coconut milk
½  tablespoon prahok
½  teaspoon MSG
½  teaspoon salt
1 inch turmeric root
3 stalks lemongrass
5 kaffir lime leaves
5 garlic cloves
1 mudfish (medium sized, approximately 1 lb) any freshwater fish will do
1½ inch galangal
3 fingers fingerroot
2 stalks green onions
1 lb rice noodles

Herbs and condiments for serving Nom Banh Chok

banana flower to taste
bean sprouts to taste
sesbania blossoms to taste
cucumbers to taste
green chiles to taste
Thai basil to taste
cilantro to taste
fish sauce to taste

Instructions

Scale and gut the mudfish, then boil in a large pot for 20 minutes with a pinch of salt.

Meanwhile, cut the lemongrass into thin slices and place in a mortar. Clean and thinly slice the  galangal, turmeric, fingerroot ginger, chile peppers, and garlic cloves, and place in the mortar. Slice the kaffir lime leaves into strips and add to the mortar. Pound the ingredients in the mortar using a pestle until you achieve a paste-like consistency.

Remove the fish from the boiling water and set aside. Strain the fish boiling water through a sieve and set the fish broth aside.

Separate the fish meat from the skin and skeleton, ensuring that you discard all bones. Add the fish meat to the mortar with the paste (called kreung), and discard the skeleton, skin, and head. Gently pound the fish meat together with the kreung paste until you create an even mixture of all ingredients.

Boil half a can of the coconut milk in a large pot over medium heat. Add the fish mixture to the boiling coconut milk and mix together. Add a small amount of fish broth to the pot and mix all the ingredients together. Add prahok to the pot and stir. Add the other half of the coconut milk can to the pot and mix all the ingredients together. Add all the remaining ingredients to the pot and stir. Cook the resulting fish curry for 15 minutes over medium heat.

Cut green onions and add them to the fish curry just before turning the heat off. Remove the fish curry from the heat.

Boil the rice noodles until soft (usually 10 minutes), then remove from heat and strain.

Place julienned cucumbers, along with herbs and greens of your choice, into large serving bowls (1 per diner).

Distribute the boiled rice noodles among the diners’ bowls, placing them on top of the vegetables. Pour the fish curry over top of the rice noodles. Sprinkle the sesbania flowers over top of the fish curry.