May 30, 2026
In Cambodia, one of the first things we say to each other is not “how are you.” It is “have you eaten yet?” Food is how we ask after the people we care about here. I grew up inside that, and Khmer food is the part of Cambodia I most like handing to a guest.
Khmer food is its own thing, and the first point to clear up is what it is not. It is not spicy Thai food. Cambodian cooking leans on herbs far more than heat. The backbone of it is kroeung, a pounded paste of lemongrass, turmeric, galangal and kaffir lime, and under that sits prahok, a fermented fish paste so old that the fish being made into it is carved onto the bas-reliefs of Angkor Wat. Nearly every meal also has rice, and freshwater fish from the Tonle Sap is rarely far away.
Below are the dishes I would put in front of a guest first. Then the braver street-food corner, for anyone who wants it. And the Siem Reap restaurants where I would book the table myself.
Key Takeaways
- Khmer food is not spicy Thai food. It leans on herbs, fermented fish and palm sugar, not chilli heat.
- Fish Amok is the dish to try first: a steamed fish mousse set in a banana leaf, and the one most often called Cambodia’s national dish.
- The other essentials are lok lak, the kuy teav noodle soup, nom banh chok, bai sach chrouk and samlor korko.
- Cambodia’s adventurous street food, crickets and the rest, is genuine Khmer eating with deep roots, not a tourist gimmick.
- Where to eat runs from a morning noodle cart to fine dining. The post ends with the Siem Reap tables I would book.
The Khmer Dishes to Try First
If you only learn a handful of names before you arrive, learn these. They are the dishes I order for guests on a first night, the ones that tell you what Cambodian cooking is actually about.
Fish Amok, set soft in a banana leaf.
Lok lak, with its lime-and-pepper sauce.
Beef saraman, a rich Khmer curry.
Fish Amok
Start here. Amok is the dish people mean when they talk about Khmer food, and it is the one most often called our national dish. It is a curry, but not a curry you pour. Freshwater fish is folded through kroeung and coconut cream and egg, then steamed in a banana-leaf cup until it sets soft, closer to a savoury mousse than a soup. The cup is often lined with a noni leaf, which leaves a faint bitter edge under the richness. One thing worth knowing: plenty of places serve a loose coconut curry and call it amok. The real version holds its shape. If it sets like a custard rather than sloshing in the bowl, you have the proper one.
Lok Lak
Lok lak is the one guests order again before they leave. Cubes of beef, marinated and seared fast and hot, served over fresh salad with rice and usually a fried egg on top. What makes it is the dipping sauce on the side: lime juice, salt, and a heap of cracked Kampot pepper. That pepper is a small piece of national pride. It was the first Cambodian product to win protected Geographical Indication status, and one squeeze of lime into it tells you why.
Kuy Teav
Kuy teav is breakfast. A clear pork-bone broth poured over rice noodles and minced pork, with bean sprouts and fried garlic scattered on top, and some bowls add prawns or offal. It came to Cambodia with Chinese traders and settled in completely. You find it from a roadside cart before dawn, and most stalls have sold out and packed up by lunch. The bowl arrives plain on purpose. The herbs, lime, chilli and sauces on the table are yours to drive.
Nom Banh Chok
Ask for nom banh chok and you will often hear it called, simply, Khmer noodles. Soft rice noodles, fermented just slightly, under a pale green gravy of freshwater fish and kroeung, with a pile of raw vegetables and herbs you tear in yourself. It is a morning dish, sold off shoulder baskets through the lanes. It also carries weight: in 2019, Cambodians across the country were asked to eat it on the same day, together, as a small act of national unity. A bowl of breakfast noodles, holding the country together.
Bai Sach Chrouk
If you are out early, this is the breakfast to find. Thin slices of pork, marinated in coconut milk and garlic, grilled over coals until the edges char and caramelise, then laid over broken rice. A saucer of pickled vegetables cuts through it, and a small bowl of clear broth often comes alongside. It is simple and it is everywhere, and a good plate of it is one of the finest cheap breakfasts in Southeast Asia.
Samlor Korko
Samlor korko is the home-cooking dish, less likely to be on a tourist menu and more likely to be on a family table. It is a thick soup, almost a stew, built on green kroeung and prahok and thickened with rice that has been dry-roasted and ground. Into it goes whatever the season gives, green papaya, pumpkin, eggplant and long beans, with fish or pork. It is also called a national dish, and it tastes like the inside of a Khmer kitchen.
Khmer Red Curry
Khmer curry will surprise anyone expecting Thailand. It is gentler. Less chilli, more turmeric and fresh herbs, and the coconut milk sits back rather than taking over. It is not an everyday dish. You are most likely to meet it at a wedding, or during Pchum Ben, the festival when families cook for their ancestors. It comes with rice, or with a baguette.
The Braver End of the Menu
Somewhere on your trip a tray of fried insects will come past, and you will have a decision to make. Make it the easy way: try the crickets. They are deep-fried, salted, faintly nutty, and closer to a bar snack than to anything frightening. From there the tray opens up, silkworms, water beetles, grasshoppers, the occasional frog.
None of this is a stunt for tourists. Insects have been eaten here for a very long time, and they mattered more than ever during the Khmer Rouge years, when protein from any source was survival. What looks like a dare on a night-market table is, underneath, a country that has never had the luxury of wasting a food source. You do not have to eat all of it. But try the crickets, and try them before someone tells you what they are.
The braver tray, crickets and the rest.
Beef with red ants, a genuine Khmer dish.
And a cocktail to finish the night.
My Pick
The easiest, and the most fun, way to eat through all of this is our After Dark Food Tour. We take you to the stalls we trust, hand you the crickets at the right moment, and make sure you know what is in the bowl before you commit to it. See the After Dark Food Tour.
Where to Eat Khmer Food in Siem Reap
Knowing the dishes is half of it. The other half is knowing where to sit down, so here is where I send guests. For the everyday classics done properly, Amok on Pub Street is where I start people, named, of course, after the dish, and unfussy with it. Cafe Indochine does the same traditional cooking in an old wooden Khmer house wrapped in garden, and its roast duck with Kulen honey is worth the trip on its own.
When you want the meal to be the event, Embassy is the table to book. The work of Chef Kimsan, it is the most ambitious Khmer kitchen in the country, and busy enough that you should reserve ahead. Abacus is the easier call: a French bistro that has been part of Siem Reap since 2004, and a good change of pace if you want one. You can walk in most days. The exception is the Sunday brunch, a proper feast worth booking a table for.
For one evening that puts the food and the culture on the same table, the Kanell dinner show pairs a Khmer set menu with traditional dance. And do not skip the cheap end. A charcoal grill on Road 60. A bowl of kuy teav from a morning cart, before it sells out. Kralan, sticky rice and beans baked in a length of bamboo, bought by the stick at the roadside. That is the best of Cambodian food as much as anything with a tablecloth. Finish, when the heat wins, with a scoop from Khmer Gelato.
Come Hungry
Cambodian food does not announce itself the way some of its neighbours do. It is quieter and herb-led, and it rewards patience. Give it a few days and it gets under your skin. Come hungry, ask people what they are eating, and say yes more often than you say no.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cambodia’s national dish?
Cambodia has no single official national dish, but Fish Amok is the one most often given the name. It is a steamed fish curry set soft in a banana-leaf cup, almost a mousse. Lok lak, nom banh chok and samlor korko are also called national dishes by different people.
Is Cambodian food spicy?
Generally, no. Khmer cooking is built on herbs, fermented fish and palm sugar rather than chilli heat, and it is usually milder than Thai food. Chilli is on the table for you to add yourself.
What are the best Cambodian dishes to try?
Start with Fish Amok and lok lak. Add the breakfast dishes, kuy teav noodle soup, nom banh chok and bai sach chrouk, and the home-style samlor korko soup. If you eat meat and want one special-occasion dish, try a Khmer red curry.
What do Cambodians eat for breakfast?
Breakfast in Cambodia is savoury. Kuy teav, a clear pork-broth noodle soup, is the most common, alongside bai sach chrouk, grilled pork over rice, and nom banh chok, rice noodles under a fish-and-herb gravy. Most are sold from carts and stalls, and many sell out by late morning.
Where can I try the best Khmer food in Siem Reap?
At every price. Street grills on Road 60 and morning noodle carts cover the cheap end. For a proper sit-down, Amok and Cafe Indochine do the classics, while Embassy and Abacus are the fine-dining names. Book the bigger restaurants ahead.
