Book of Days Tales

Today is the third day of Bon Om Touk (បុណ្យអុំទូក ) the Cambodian Royal Water Festival, that marks a reversal of the flow of the Tonlé Sap river. The Tonlé Sap river is unique in that it reverses flow twice a year. The river runs between Tonlé Sap lake in central Cambodia and the Mekong river in Phnom Penh and its direction of flow is determined by the height of the water in the lake. At the end of the monsoon season the lake reaches its maximum height and the Mekong is at its minimum, so flow begins out of the lake into the Mekong. In May/June inflow begins.

The full moon this lunar month, the Buddhist month of Kadeuk, is considered especially fortuitous. At midnight on the full moon (15 November in 2024) the faithful worship in temples throughout Cambodia. They also make offerings of, and eat, ak ambok, a special rice dish produced only for the festival. It is made by parching rice in the husk, pulverizing it flat, then mixing it with banana and coconut. Don’t try this at home !!! Instead, you can make lok lak, a much-loved beef dish.

Ingredients

300 gm beef steaks, thinly sliced
¼ cup light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp tomato sauce 
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp fish sauce
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
2 tbsp vegetable oil

To serve (salad)

2 small tomatoes, sliced
1 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
½ small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
large lettuce leaves

Dipping sauce

juice of a lime
2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp water

Instructions

In a large bowl, mix the beef with soy sauce, oyster sauce, tomato sauce sugar, fish sauce and ground black pepper and garlic. Marinate for about one hour.

Make the dipping sauce by combining the ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

Decorate two dinner plates with sliced tomatoes, cucumber and onion. Set aside.

Place the lettuce leaves on a separate platter.

Heat the oil in a wok over a high heat and stir-fry beef until cooked. Divide between the two dinner plates.

To eat, hold a lettuce leaf in your hand and put in it some beef and salad. Roll it up and dip in the dipping sauce.