Name: Cambodian Fish Amok
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Southeast Asian
Ingredients: 600g firm white fish fillets (snapper, basa, or catfish), sliced into 2cm strips; For kroeung paste: 3 stalks lemongrass (bottom 4 inches only, sliced), 1-inch galangal or ginger (sliced), 4 kaffir lime leaves (stems removed), 3 dried red chilies (soaked), 4 cloves garlic, 2 shallots, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp shrimp paste; 400ml coconut cream; 2 tbsp fish sauce; 1 tsp palm sugar or brown sugar; 2 eggs, beaten; 4 fresh banana leaves or ramekins (if using banana leaves); Additional kaffir lime leaves and sliced red chili to garnish

Delicate fish and coconut curry steamed inside a banana leaf cup, set to a custard-like texture. Cambodia's national dish — ancient, aromatic, and unlike anything else in Southeast Asian cooking.

The Cultural Story

Fish amok is what distinguishes Cambodian cuisine from its neighbors. Thai cooking uses similar aromatics — lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime — but the Khmer kroeung paste (the mother paste of Cambodian cooking, made by grinding these roots into an orange-red blend) goes into a dish that is steamed, not wok-fried, producing a texture closer to savory pudding than soup. Before the Khmer Rouge decimated Cambodia between 1975 and 1979, amok was the centerpiece of royal palace cuisine — refined, ceremonial, served in carefully folded banana leaf cups. The genocide killed nearly a quarter of Cambodia's population, including most of its trained chefs. The recipes survived in the memories of diaspora families and village cooks who had learned from their grandmothers. Rebuilding Cambodian culinary identity has been a decades-long act of cultural recovery. Every bowl of amok served today carries that weight — but also the resilience. The kroeung survived. The banana leaf survived. Cambodia survived.

Ingredients

600g firm white fish fillets (snapper, basa, or catfish), sliced into 2cm strips
For kroeung paste: 3 stalks lemongrass (bottom 4 inches only, sliced), 1-inch galangal or ginger (sliced), 4 kaffir lime leaves (stems removed), 3 dried red chilies (soaked), 4 cloves garlic, 2 shallots, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp shrimp paste
400ml coconut cream
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp palm sugar or brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
4 fresh banana leaves or ramekins (if using banana leaves)
Additional kaffir lime leaves and sliced red chili to garnish

Instructions

1Make kroeung paste: pound all paste ingredients in a mortar, working from toughest to softest, until a smooth paste forms. A food processor works but the mortar produces a finer, more fragrant result. The paste should be deeply aromatic — this is the soul of the dish.
2Mix 3 tbsp kroeung paste with half the coconut cream. Add fish sauce, palm sugar, and beaten eggs. Stir to combine. Fold in the fish pieces — do not break them.
3If using banana leaves: cut into 20cm circles, warm briefly over a flame to make pliable, then fold into cups with 4–5 pleats and pin with toothpicks or small skewers.
4Ladle fish mixture into the banana leaf cups (or greased ramekins), filling about 2/3 full. Pour a thin layer of the remaining coconut cream over each.
5Steam over high heat for 20–25 minutes. The amok is ready when it has set like a soft custard — barely jiggly in the center, fully cooked through.
6Garnish each cup with a fresh kaffir lime leaf, shredded, and a few slices of red chili.
7Serve in the banana leaf cups directly. Eat with jasmine rice — spoon the amok over the rice, the coconut cream sauce running into every gap.

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