Mekong Table Staple · Fermented Fish Dip

Prahok Ktis

Photo: Thomas Wanhoff / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0

Prahok is so central to Khmer cooking, and so pungent, that it is often nicknamed 'Cambodian cheese.'

Crushed fermented fish paste (prahok) is simmered with ground pork, coconut milk, and palm sugar into a thick, savory-sweet dip, then served warm alongside raw and steamed vegetables, cucumber, and rice. Market stalls around Kampong Cham serve it as a hearty, shareable side to a rice meal.

Why it's made this way: Prahok-making has long been tied to the Mekong and Tonle Sap's seasonal fish catch, and prahok ktis is one of the gentlest ways to eat it, the coconut milk and pork softening the paste's pungency.

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Part of World of Street Food — 3443 dishes from 118 countries. Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below. Photo credits.