Cambodian Fish Cakes

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

The recipe will be posted at the end of the month along with my 'Lord Jim' film review.

I've made variations of this dish for menus from several Asian cuisines, including Indian, Korean, and Japanese. The batter is a basic flour, egg and water base, to which I added some coarsely chopped catfish, along with garlic, scallions, water chestnuts, carrot, green chili pepper, soy sauce, Asian fish sauce, and a dash of sugar. The dipping sauce is Asian fish sauce, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and a few drops of chili oil for spice.

The recipe will be posted at the end of the month along with my 'Lord Jim' film review

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

11:05 PM PDT Permalink |

Cambodian Barbeque Chicken Wings

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

This recipe was so tasty, I've made it twice this month. The marinade is a combination of soy sauce, Asian fish sauce, chili oil, lime juice, ginger, garlic, and scallions. The barbeque sauce is a simple blend of brown sugar, honey, and oyster sauce. The chicken wings are braised in the marinade for most of an hour, and then finished in the broiler with a slather of the sauce. So easy. So tasty.

The recipe will be posted at the end of the month along with my 'Lord Jim' film review.

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

12:45 AM PDT Permalink |

Cambodian Prawn Stir Fry

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

According to my research, this dish is a Cambodian favorite, and now it's one of mine. The stir-fry is a medley of shrimp, garlic, carrot, mushrooms, onions, and baby corn in a sauce of soy sauce, oyster sauce, and brown sugar, thickened with a little cornstarch.

The recipe will be posted at the end of the month along with my 'Lord Jim' film review.

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

12:36 AM PDT Permalink |

Spicy Cambodian Noodles

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

No Asian meal is complete without a bowl of spicy noodles. These were made with ginger, garlic, mushrooms, carrot, scallions, water chestnuts, cabbage, and sesame oil over vermicelli noodles, in a sauce of soy sauce, oyster sauce, chili oil, and chicken stock.

The recipe will be posted at the end of the month along with my 'Lord Jim' film review.

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

12:10 AM PDT Permalink |

Cambodian Beef Skewers

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

This was a simple and tasty addition to my 'Lord Jim' Cambodian menu. The marinade is a classic Southeast Asian blend of sesame oil, lemongrass, garlic, scallions, sugar, Asian fish sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and chili oil. For the dipping sauce, a mixture of soy sauce Asian fish sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, chili oil, ginger root, and garlic.

The recipe will be posted at the end of the month along with my 'Lord Jim' film review.

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

04:43 PM PDT Permalink |

Cambodian Shrimp Skewers

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

This recipe was so tasty that I'm going to add it to my permanent collection to enjoy on a regular basis. The reicpe is deceptively simple and easy, needing nothing more than a pound of shrimp, some scallions, garlic, salt and pepper, and a little cornstarch to hold it all together. After shaping the shrimp paste on bamboo skewers, I grilled them to a golden brown on my electric grill. The finished appetizers were so tasty that they needed no condiment, and disappeared faster than you can say 'bamboo'.

The recipe will be posted at the end of the month along with my 'Lord Jim' film review.

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

01:28 AM PDT Permalink |

Deep-Fried Spring Rolls

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

These crispy little treats were the star of the show. I used ground turkey for the meat element of the filling, along with shredded carrot and cabbage, scallions, and garlic. I seasoned the filling with fish sauce, soy sauce, and oyster sauce, and served the deep-fried rolls with sweet chili dipping sauce. The result was so tasty that I was grateful that the recipe made two dozen rolls, so there were enough left over for dinner the next evening.

The recipe will be posted at the end of the month along with my 'Lord Jim' film review.

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

05:01 PM PDT Permalink |

Rice Paper Fish Rolls

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

Every time I make any kind of Southeast Asian cuisine, I always make some variation of these light and lovely rice paper rolls. This time, I grilled some catfish to add to the filling of red leaf lettuce, fresh mint, grated carrot, and julienne cucumbers. The flavors of Asian fish sauce, lime juice and rice vinegar in the dipping sauce completes the dish.

The recipe will be posted at the end of the month along with my 'Lord Jim' film review.

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

05:11 PM PDT Permalink |

Spotlight on Spice: Lemongrass

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

Lemongrass is one of the most widely used elements in Asian, Caribbean and African cuisines. Its scientific classification is Plantae Magnokiophyta Liliopsida Poales Poaceae Cymbopogon. There are about fifty five different species of lemongrass, which are also known as barbed wire grass, fever grass, citronella grass, silky heads, and Hierba Luisa. Lemongrass is a perennial, native to temperate and tropical climates, where it grows in thick tufts.

Lemongrass adds a citrus-like flavor to recipes, and is available fresh, dried, or powdered. Only the soft, inner core of fresh lemongrass is edible, but the harder stalks may be crushed to release its flavor and aroma. Lemongrass is used to flavor teas, soups, and stews, and is also valued for its antiseptic and medicinal properties. Citronella grass is used as a mosquito repellent, as well as in perfumes, soaps, and candles.

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

02:08 PM PDT Permalink |

Sources for Cambodian Ingredients

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

Many if not most of the ingredients needed to prepare a Cambodian meal are quite readily available at grocery stores and Asian markets. But in the event that you don't have a variety market in your community, you can order most of these products at AsianFoodGrocer.com, GroceryThai.com, and ImportFood.com.

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

04:10 PM PDT Permalink |

Cambodian Serving Dishes

This Month's Film: Lord Jim
Cuisine: Cambodian

When I make tropical foods, I like to use colorful serving dishes. Most of the time, I like to use natural materials such as baskets and bamboo. And since there's a lot of seafood on this menu, I'm going with standard ceramic dishes in a palette of blues and greens.

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

04:08 PM PDT Permalink |

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.

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

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 |