Aunt Lina set down the fish amok and immediately apologised — she thought it was too salty. It wasn't. It was the best amok I'd eaten in Cambodia, steamed in a banana leaf from the tree outside the window, with lemongrass from the garden and fish from the Stung Sen that morning. The table had eight dishes for five people. I asked her why so much food. 'This is normal,' she said.
The meal happened because I asked the homestay host a question about prahok — Cambodia's fermented fish paste, the flavour underneath almost everything — and an hour later I was being shown how it is made, then invited to stay for lunch. This is how the best meals in Kampong Thom happen. Not on a menu.
Eight dishes, one garden
Almost everything came from within fifty metres: morning glory from the pond, lemongrass and chilli from the garden, fish from the river, banana leaf from the tree by the window. The amok was steamed, not baked. The soup was sour with tamarind. There was a plate of raw vegetables and herbs whose names I never fully caught.
Several homestays and community tourism groups around Kampong Thom now offer exactly this — a meal in a family home, cooked from the garden, eaten at the family table. It costs a few dollars and supports the household directly. It is, without question, the best food experience in the province.
