Cambodian desserts and some of the weirdest set of sweet dishes I have yet to come across. Many are very much acquired tastes and whilst not usually being one with a sweet tooth, not usually my thing. I have though slowly come to love the Cambodian dessert scene.
Yes, some contain duck eggs, others contain beans and w whole lot of other weird stuff, but this makes unique to say the least.
Here are my 5 you Cambodian desserts that everyone should at least try once. We’v eft out the obvious ones and stuck to the weirdest!
Pumpkin Custard (សង្យាល្ពៅ)
This sone sounds harmless enough right? Pumpkin and custard go well together and both are associated with desserts. But another key ingredient here that blows my mind is the very prominent duck egg.
I was to discover this dish Street 60, Siem Reap bug heaven, which you can read about here .
Not so sweet and very much not like custard, this is a Khmer dessert classic that has a sweet and savory tang to it.
Khmer Jelly/Coconut Jelly (ចាហួយដូង)
Comes in all range of shapes sizes and colors from a jello mix derived from seaweed. It looks fabulous and is served beautifully from a number os street food stalls around Phnom Penh.
To read about street food in Phnom Penh click here .
My favorite variation of this came when I had coconut delivered to the house, with the remains being turned into coconut jelly. A little sugar and some jackfruit and a taste sensation was created.
To read about getting coconuts delivered in Cambodia click here .
Mung Bean Pudding(បង្អែមតៅស៊ន)
Mung Bean and pudding are not things you’d usually put together, but in Cambodia it is a thing that works. Served with ice as a dish to cool you down, this favorite is best served with lots of coconut cream.
Fruit with salt and pepper(ម្ជូរនឹងអំបិលម្ទេស)
Does this qualify as a dessert? Probably not and it is usually served as a snack, bu it is also one of the best things I am yet to discover in Khmer cuisine. You take a fruit, say a mango, something that by rights should not go with salt and pepper, but you dip it in the salt and pepper. No one knows why it works, but it just simply tastes amazing.
I’m yet t discover a fruit this doesn’t work with including apple.
Baby Bee(កូនឃ្មុំអាំង)!!!!!!!!
Baby Bee!!!!!!!!
Not a dessert really, nor even a main course, it is just baby bee larvae served kind of in honeycomb. A uniquely Cambodian dish I first discovered it in Stung Treng.
To read about Stung Treng click here .
At first I hated it, bow love the sweet, savory and spicy flavors that the dish presents to you.
I love it so much I even made a video for it and wrote an article (link to blog).
And those are my 5 weirdest Cambodian desserts, this is a list I shall be adding to as time goes on. After lockdown of course.
To read bout lockdown in Cambodia click here .