Ingredients: Khmer water spinach  (trokuon)pork ribs, cut in pieces  ripe tamarind or tamarind powderChicken flavored broth or chicken broth cubefish sauce saltcooking oil [...]]]> Somlor Machu Kreung Ktih Sach Chrook – Flavorful Cambodian pork rib and beef tendon braised coconut with water spinach, lemon grass paste and ripe tamarind. A combination of nutty and tangy taste.

Ingredients:
Khmer water spinach  (trokuon)
pork ribs, cut in pieces 
ripe tamarind or tamarind powder
Chicken flavored broth or chicken broth cube
fish sauce
salt
cooking oil
coconut milk
prohok (fermented fish)
Mreas Prov (holy basil)
beef tendon (optional)
Lemon grass paste – Kreung

Making Kreung: (Lemon grass paste) 1) Remove seeds from dried chili and soak in water until soft.  Squeeze the water out. Then mince it. 2) Thinly cut lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, galanga, tumeric root, garlic and  fresh shallots *Pound  # 1 & 2 well together  in a (Cambodian) mortar or grind them in the blender.	**Extract tamarind: Put water and ripe tamarind together and bring to first boil. Smash it with a ladle or spoon to release the sourness. Then drain and keep it for later use.	Separate trokuon leaves from the stalk. Then wash well. Drain it and keep it for later use.

Preparation:

A) In medium high heat, add cooking oil in a pot, then add Kreung, a little bit of fish sauce and salt. Cook for about 7 or until Kreung is a little dry. Then add coconut milk. Stir well, cook the coconut milk until thick.	B )Add pork ribs. Stir well  until the meat is cooked. Then add beef tendon, prohok. Add water and loosely cover and let it boil until the meat is tender.	C) Add trokuon stalk. Cook until soft then add tamarind extract or powder, stir and add trokuon leaves. More or less salt, sugar, chicken flavored broth or cube… adjust your taste! *Serve hot and top with mreah prov (holy basil).

**Note** 
-In case you can’t find ripe tamarind, you may use tamarind powder made by KNOR. It’s more convenient. And if you are using tamarind powder, you do not need to use chicken flavored broth or chicken cube since both have the MSG base. 

-Beef tendon (optional). If you’d like, in a separate pot, slow cook it for hours until translucent and tender. Then slice cube and add  it to the soup (see letter B).

Sngou Muoan NamNgau- Cambodian chicken soup [...]]]> Request from Bosba (“Satrey Khmer, do you have a recipe for sngou namgau sach moan? Is it ok if you show me how to make it? My mother made it last it
was so good. I want to get this recipe from you. Thank you.”)
-Yes Ms.Bosba, SKO has your request.

Sngou Muoan NamNgau- Cambodian chicken soup with homemade preserved lime.  It’s national and one of favorite preserved dish eaten by Cambodian ( in midland, Kampuchea Krom, Isaan-former Khmer territory).
 
Ingredients:
      
2 1/2 tsp oil
6 cups water
1 chicken breast
1 preserved lime, cut in half
1 garlic, chopped
1 1/2 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 sugar
1/2  yellow or white onion (medium size), sliced
1/2 tsp chicken bouillon
1 stalk green onion, chopped (diagonally- optional)
8 sprigs coriander, washed
3 tiny rings chili (see photo)

Method:

1) Heat the pot and add oil. Saute garlic until golden, then add onion. Cook onion until  soft. Save it aside on the plate.

2) In the same pot, add water and preserved lime, cover it and bring to boil over medium high heat. -Then add chicken and sauteed garlic/onion bring to boil until chicken is tender. *Break  one of the halves preserved lime to release the the aroma and flavor.

3) Season with salt, sugar, fish sauce, and chicken bouillon. Stir well. Remove the white bubble. -Turn off heat. Sprinkle with green onion and coriander.

**NOTE** I tried the imported preserved lime I got from an Asian market, the taste nothing at all like the Cambodian homemade preserved lime. The commercial ones, the peel taste bitter. Perhaps they didn’t process it right or fermented long enough. Traditional Cambodian homemade preserved lime both peel and inside flesh are well harmonized. The lime peel shouldn’t be bitter. Cambodian method focuses on age, how long the limes place in the sun and how long they are kept air tight in the jar. Very important. I stopped using the commercial ones. This time, I used homemade, the taste is amazingly good. Very tasty and refreshing. Good luck in finding homemade ones. You may ask around, most Cambodian homes have them.

-I used chicken breast because it took less time to cook but it is best to use rock hen (koun muoan- small chicken) or regular whole chicken, they give a lot of flavor to the soup, tastier.