Cambodia is using a pungent, powerful technique to meals diplomacy: put together for prahok

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a close up of a bowl of food: Home-made prahok, a Cambodian staple made from fermented fish. Photo: Instagram @kepmountainlodge

House-created prahok, a Cambodian staple made from fermented fish. Photo: Instagram @kepmountainlodge

Mention Indian delicacies and curry may possibly occur to thoughts, whilst sushi is just one of the most effectively-regarded dishes from Japan. But what foodstuff is generally affiliated with Cambodia?

If the country’s govt and persons have their way, it will most surely be prahok. Described as the mystery ingredient in any Khmer kitchen, the salted, crushed and fermented fish paste is made use of as a seasoning or condiment to include depth of flavour to just about every single dish. It truly is so pungent that it is also often acknowledged as “Cambodian cheese”, and is typically eaten with rice or vegetables, or as a dipping sauce.

As Rethy Chhem and Siriwat Chhem wrote in an short article titled “Food items Diplomacy for Cambodia’s Country Branding” – posted late very last month by the Asian Vision Institute (AVI), an independent consider tank in Phnom Penh – the place is known for the splendid temples of Angkor, but couple think of its abundant culinary traditions that have been made and refined over centuries.

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The authors position out that prahok delivers a special savoury sensation that “boosts and harmonises the four common simple preferences of sweet, sour, salty and bitter”. Khmer cuisine also typically uses sugar, lime, and fish sauce to deliver out the flavours of area substances, in blend with new herbs and aromatic spices such as lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, and turmeric.

Apart from being an critical component of a country’s intangible culture and 1 of the most impressive symbols of nationwide identification, Rethy and Siriwat also pointed out that “food can be strategically deployed as a diplomatic tool for country branding”.

a bowl of food on a plate: Fish amok is among the Cambodian dishes that will be promoted under the country's food diplomacy programme. Photo: Shutterstock

© Furnished by South China Morning Put up
Fish amok is amongst the Cambodian dishes that will be promoted underneath the country’s food items diplomacy programme. Picture: Shutterstock

They famous that Cambodia experienced not nonetheless completely exploited this extraordinary option for country branding right until lately, when foods became 1 of the pillars of its cultural diplomacy technique. When contacted by This 7 days in Asia, Siriwat Chhem reported an official doc on financial diplomacy, in which food stuff diplomacy was a essential factor, was produced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worldwide Cooperation in the Khmer language previous month.

Speaking at the launch, foreign minister Prak Sokhonn stated other Cambodian dishes that would be promoted integrated fish amok (a traditional stew-like dish), pomelo salad, somlor koko (a spice-primarily based soup), somlor ktis (pineapple curry), prahok ktis (a spicy dish built with minced pork and, of course, prahok), and num banh chok (a variety of rice noodle generally eaten at breakfast).

Two programmes will also be recognized as section of the foods diplomacy initiative: one particular to teach Khmer cooks to serve in Cambodian embassies abroad, even though another will present Khmer culinary information to ambassadors’ spouses.

“Equally of these programmes will fall beneath what the (overseas minister) phone calls ‘kitchen diplomacy'”, reported Siriwat Chhem, who is also director of the Centre for Inclusive Electronic Financial state at the AVI, who added that the ministry’s economic diplomacy crew is at present finalising a guide on Khmer food items known as The Taste of Angkor.

On the issue of prahok, he when compared the legendary component to anchovies, which are really salty and pungent in any type and utilised to period and flavour sauces and dishes in Italian and French cuisine. “Utilized in smaller amounts, (prahok) can increase character and human body to a dish without having overpowering the palette,” Siriwat Chhem reported.

a person standing in front of a building talking on a cell phone: Cambodia is known for the splendid temples of Angkor, but few think of its rich culinary traditions that have been developed and refined over centuries. Photo: AFP

© Furnished by South China Morning Article
Cambodia is recognized for the splendid temples of Angkor, but few assume of its wealthy culinary traditions that have been produced and refined more than generations. Image: AFP

To more generate dwelling the country’s meals-diplomacy attempts, Bunna Vann, a political science masters scholar at Jamia Millia Islamia College in New Delhi, stated Cambodia could also promote in international media retailers or tv demonstrates, and even organise cooking competitions in which foreigners could flavor food items geared up with prahok.

Citing Cambodia’s impending roles as host of the 13th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit in June and chair of the Affiliation of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit subsequent 12 months, Vann – who is also an Indian Council for Cultural Relations scholarship receiver – said “prahok should really be at the main of the menu to provide overseas leaders on these situations”.

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When it arrived to cuisine from Cambodia, he mentioned his own favourites incorporated fried pahok and prahok ktis – the latter also getting a favourite of Singaporean Diana Saw, who has lived in Cambodia because 2006, wherever she ran a social organization and a guest dwelling in Siem Enjoy.

Her favorite variation of prahok ktis consists of a tiny amount of money of prahok stir fried with meat, normally pork pea eggplant and coconut milk. Palm sugar, garlic, shallots and chilli could also be employed, she mentioned.

“You can take in prahok ktis with rice, or have it as a dip, with refreshing and uncooked vegetables this sort of as very long beans, cabbage, cucumber and carrots,” mentioned Observed, who also speaks Khmer. “It is a pretty flavourful dish and was one of my favorite matters to buy anytime we ate out at a Cambodian cafe.”

a bowl of soup: Num banh chok is a type of rice noodle commonly eaten at breakfast. Photo: Shutterstock

© Offered by South China Early morning Submit
Num banh chok is a sort of rice noodle usually eaten at breakfast. Image: Shutterstock

Even though admitting that prahok is pungent and has “an unattractive, greyish color”, she does not see it as an impediment to advertising and marketing the dish.

“It may perhaps not search attractive, but each and every solitary visitor I launched prahok ktis to beloved it. It actually is scrumptious,” Saw reported, including that she imagined it was “nowhere close to as undesirable as surstrOmming” – the fermented bitter herring that is common to Swedish cuisine.

Quoting German food items critic and author Wolfgang Fassbender, who after wrote that “the most significant challenge when feeding on surstrOmming is to vomit only after the 1st chunk, as opposed to ahead of”, Saw quipped: “And surstrOmming is quite well-known, no?”

Other Asian nations around the world that have promoted food items as component of their cultural diplomacy incorporate the likes of Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea.

Described by analysts as “gastrodiplomacy”, this features the “World-wide Thai” programme, launched by Bangkok in 2002, to raise the quantity of Thai places to eat all around the world and persuade far more people to go to the kingdom.

It also contains the “Malaysia Kitchen for the Planet” programme, which is aimed not just at endorsing Malaysian restaurants abroad but also strengthening the image of the state by way of its delicacies.

This write-up initially appeared on the South China Early morning Put up (www.scmp.com), the leading information media reporting on China and Asia.