Special Cambodian Cooking Utensils

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

In addition to my regular cookware, for my 'Lord Jim' Cambodian menu, I will need a wok, and a grill. Since a charcoal grill yields better flavor, I'm going to make the extra effort to build a fire instead of using my electric countertop grill. The dishes that will be grilled outdoors are the beef skewers, the pork and pineapple skewers, the chicken wings, and the pork ribs.

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04:06 PM PDT Permalink |

Beverages to Go With a Cambodian Meal

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

Most of the Cambodian beverages I've been able to discover are fruit based concoctions like blended smoothies and tropical punch. Cambodia also has a national brewery, however, I doubt that I will be able to find any Cambodian beer here in town. So I may have to settle for a more widely distributed Asian beer like TsingTao. Or I may even serve a lightly sweet wine such as White Zinfandel or Johannesburg Riesling. The flavors of Cambodian food are quite similar to Thai food, with lots of coconut milk and ginger, both of which go well with sweeter, more fruity wines. Hibiscus tea also sounds tasty. So...Maybe I will serve a variety of several different beverages.

For questions, comments, or to subscribe to Chopstick Cinema's monthly menu and film review, send e-mail to cheiter at thingsasian dot com

04:02 PM PDT Permalink |

Deciding on My 'Lord Jim' Cambodian Menu

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

For my 'Lord Jim' Cambodian menu, I have decided on an abundant array of finger foods:

Rice Paper Fish Rolls
Deep-Fried Chicken Spring Rolls
Shrimp Paste Skewers
Beef Skewers
Pork and Pineapple Skewers
Prawn and Vegetable Stir Fry
Broiled Chicken Wings
Cambodian Fish Cakes
Roast Pork Ribs
Spicy Noodle Stir Fry

For questions, comments, or to subscribe to Chopstick Cinema's monthly menu and film review, send e-mail to cheiter at thingsasian dot com

10:18 AM PDT Permalink |

Researching Cambodian Recipes

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

Most of my inspiration for my 'Lord Jim' Cambodian menu came from the KhmerKrom website. However, similar versions of many of those same recipes are contained in my cookbooks. As usual, the recipes I create for my menu will be adapted and synthesized from them all.

For questions, comments, or to subscribe to Chopstick Cinema's monthly menu and film review, send e-mail to cheiter at thingsasian dot com

12:08 AM PDT Permalink |

Cambodian Cookbooks

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

Among the many cookbooks in my library, only Corinne Trang's Essentials of Asian Cuisine, The Complete Chinese and Asian Cookbook, and Bangkok to Bali in 30 Minutes have any Cambodian recipes. These handy volumes, which have served me faithfully through many Asian meals, have quite a few choices. But I'm still probably going to get some of my inspiration from the web.

For questions, comments, or to subscribe to Chopstick Cinema's monthly menu and film review, send e-mail to cheiter at thingsasian dot com

03:25 PM PDT Permalink |

Cambodian Recipes on the Web

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

When researching Cambodian food on the Internet, a simple keyword search for 'cambodia recipes' turned up 162,000 hits. I only had to visit a few of the top sites to discover more than enough recipes for a Cambodian dinner. So, with remarkably little effort, I have already begun to develop Lord Jim Cambodian menu. Here are four of the best:

KhmerKrom Recipes

AsiaRecipe.com

Cambodian Cooking Class

Asia Online Recipes

For questions, comments, or to subscribe to Chopstick Cinema's monthly menu and film review, send e-mail to cheiter at thingsasian dot com

01:47 PM PDT Permalink |

My Cambodian Cooking Experience

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

In my four years of creating menus for Chopstick Cinema, I have featured Cambodian food twice. My first menu included Lemongrass Broth with Chicken and Rice, Marinated Seafood with Mango Salsa over Cambodian Cole Slaw, Carmelized Shrimp, White Fish Steamed in Banana Leaves (Amok Trei), Vegetable Stir-Fry Medley with Baby Corn, Jasmine Rice, and Coconut Pudding with Tropical Fruits. Last year's Cambodian menu featured Cambodian Fish Cakes, Sweet & Spicy Pork Ribs, Ginger Chicken Wings, Pork Skewers with Coconut, Fresh Spring Rolls with Ginger Dipping Sauce, and a Pickled Vegetable Medley. Both were tasty and successful. But I've still never eaten in a Cambodian restaurant...

For questions, comments, or to subscribe to Chopstick Cinema's monthly menu and film review, send e-mail to cheiter at thingsasian dot com

01:43 PM PDT Permalink |

Stocking a Cambodian Pantry

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

I've been preparing Asian food for ChopstickCinema for four years now, so my pantry is pretty well stocked with the basics. For a Cambodian menu, I will need Asian fish sauce (nam pla), soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, coconut, lime, mint, corriander, basil, lemongrass, chili peppers, kafir lime leaves, curry powder, and sesame oil. And with the exception of the fresh ingredients such as limes, mint, basil, chili peppers, garlic, and lemongrass, I have pretty much everything I need.

For questions, comments, or to subscribe to Chopstick Cinema's monthly menu and film review, send e-mail to cheiter at thingsasian dot com

11:26 PM PDT Permalink |

Popular Cambodian Favorites

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

A dish called Amok Trei, seasoned fish or meats steamed in banana leaf parcels, is considered by some to be the national dish of Cambodia.

Appetizers (Mahope-Sra) include spring rolls, both fresh and deep fried, grilled chicken wings, skewered meats, dumplings, frog legs, fried seafoods, and fish cakes.

Soups (Salor) tend to be broth-based, such as hot and sour, or savory stews, featuring a seemingly endless variety of vegetables such as winter melon, spinach, taro root, cabbage, mushrooms, as well as all kinds of meats and seafoods. And Rice Soup (Bor-Bo), is a traditional favorite.

Salads (Nhoam and Lap) are often topped with meats or marinated seafoods.

There are an infinite number of Stir-fry combinations (Char), many of which are categorized as Caramelized (Kho).

Deep-fried dishes (Chien) are popular and widely varied, as are steamed dishes (Chamhoy), boiled dishes (Sngo), grilled meats and fish (Dot), as well as those that are baked or broiled (Ang).

Fried Rice (Bai Lieng) and Fried Noodles or Noodle Soups (Num Pa-Chok, Mee, Katiev Char) are everyday staples.

Many dishes are served with tangy dipping sauces (Tirk Salouk), which are made with lime juice and fish sauce, seasoned with ginger, chili peppers, garlic and other seasonings.

Desserts often take the form of puddings and custards, made with coconut and fresh fruits.

For questions, comments, or to subscribe to Chopstick Cinema's monthly menu and film review, send e-mail to cheiter at thingsasian dot com

11:47 PM PDT Permalink |

About Cambodian Cuisine

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

When it comes to Cambodian food...anything goes. The bounty of ingredients in typical Cambodian dishes includes nearly every kind of vegetable, meat and seafood imaginable. Spices and condiments are consistent with other Southeast Asian cuisines, including Asian fish sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, coconut, lime, mint, corriander, basil, lemongrass, chili peppers, kafir lime leaves, curry powder, and sesame oil, just to name a few.

For questions, comments, or to subscribe to Chopstick Cinema's monthly menu and film review, send e-mail to cheiter at thingsasian dot com

08:08 PM PDT Permalink |

Cambodia on ThingsAsian

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

ThingsAsian features dozens of articles about Cambodia. A keyword search using 'Cambodia' will list them all. Here are links to several good ones:

Cambodia

Cambodia on the Web

Journey to Angkor

Exploring Cambodia

For questions, comments, or to subscribe to Chopstick Cinema's monthly menu and film review, send e-mail to cheiter at thingsasian dot com

12:32 AM PDT Permalink |

Lord Jim and a Cambodian Menu

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

Perhaps it appears as if I'm fixated on lengthy epic films starring Peter O'Toole these days, but it's really just a happy coincidence. Last month I featured Lawrence of Arabia because I was craving Middle Eastern Food and wanted to feature a sweeping epic classic that included several Middle Eastern countries. Lawrence of Arabia perfectly fit the bill.

And this month, I'm featuring Lord Jim because I've been craving Cambodian food, and Cambodian films are hard to come by. So Lord Jim seemed like an excellent choice, especially since it's well reviewed and I've never seen it. For my Cambodian menu, I think I'm going to feature an array of finger foods that can be enjoyed throughout the film, rather than big, a multi-course meal with a main dish. With Lord Jim at 154 minutes long, we're probably going to need a little nourishment along the way.

For questions, comments, or to subscribe to Chopstick Cinema's monthly menu and film review, send e-mail to cheiter at thingsasian dot com

02:05 AM PDT Permalink |

Lord Jim

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

It isn't always easy finding films from some of Southeast Asia's smaller cinematic industries. Cambodia is one of them. So when I discovered that Lord Jim, a cinematic classic, takes place in Cambodia, I couldn't wait to feature it so that I could revisit those seductive flavors of Cambodian cuisine. Here is the NetFlix synopsis:

"Writer Joseph Conrad's stirring maritime novel charts the emotional course of British seaman Jim (Peter O'Toole), a thrill-seeker aboard a merchant vessel who longs for adventure. He finds that in spades when the ship is caught in an all-consuming storm. But he also discovers that he has no courage to spare, and he soon abandons ship -- an act that drives him to redeem himself in a dangerous Southeast Asian jungle."

For questions, comments, or to subscribe to Chopstick Cinema's monthly menu and film review, send e-mail to cheiter at thingsasian dot com

11:49 AM PDT Permalink |

Welcome to Chopstick Cinema for the Month of June

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

With the arrival of summer, also comes a craving for seafood, lots of it. So for the month of June, I have chosen to feature Cambodian cuisine, with all its fresh, tropical Southeast Asian flavors. To go with my Cambodian menu, for this month's film selection, I have chosen Lord Jim, another classic starring Peter O'Toole.

For questions, comments, or to subscribe to Chopstick Cinema's monthly menu and film review, send e-mail to cheiter at thingsasian dot com

02:09 AM PDT Permalink |

'Lawrence of Arabia' Recipes & Photos

This Month's Film: Lawrence of Arabia
Cuisine: Middle Eastern

This Middle Eastern menu features a savory array of international dishes, including Pan-Fried Chickpeas, Black Bean Hummus, Falafel with Tahini, Snapper with Savory Tomato Sauce, Lamb Kefta Kebabs, Spicy Tunesian Carrots, Rice-Couscous-Lentil Pilav, and Yogurt Fritters with Rose-Scented Syrup.

Here is a link to the Recipe & Photos.

For questions, comments, or to subscribe to Chopstick Cinema's monthly menu and film review, send e-mail to cheiter at thingsasian dot com

12:42 AM PDT Permalink |