the dish i never tasted before S was bok lahong (papaya salad), as well as its variants like bok sadai (green bean salad), and what we call "bok mango" - which is self-explanatory. But the term "bok" in khmer doesn't mean salad, it means the method by which you make these dishes, by crushing all the ingredients in a huge mortar and pestle thing.
i am something of a connoisseur. i can pick out my wife's bok dishes out of anyone's in the world. it's pretty unlike anything i grew up eating, so i set out to learn how to make it. after working on it for months, i have determined myself to be the #5 best bok-er in the world. yeah i said it.
so before she left, we done did this. check it:
these are the ingredient for making bok sadai: fish sauce, shrimp paste, garlic, lime, MSG, smoked fish, hot peppers, beer. (missing: green beans and sugar)
then you toast this smoked fish for a little while to bring out the flavor. it's still in the package here, we bought it in revere or maybe lowell. at this point, you should also drink your beer. if you need more, go ahead and get more.
cut up the green beans into little pieces like this. check out how fast my knife moves - it's a blur! i think this was the day i sliced off the tip of my finger.
BOK the smoked fish. break up the bones!
add the fish sauce, lime, shrimp paste, garlic, peppers, msg, and sugar. BOK that! my steez is to add a little at a time of fish sauce, lime, and sugar and taste along the way and add more of each accordingly. the flavor has to be a balance of salty, sweet, sour, and MSG-y. all those flavors should be strong too. you can only know if you know.
add the sadai and keep up the BOKing.
blacken some chicken. dark meat is highly preferred - but that's always preferred in my opinion.
typically, most people like to BOK the sadai to the point where it's more pasty than this. but my style is to keep them more whole, i like the texture that way.
eat with rice. holla.
9 comments:
I think you are number 4 best!! Thanks for taking care of business while I am away babe! All your blogs are wonderful!!
wow! giles! i am very impressed! you must've been khmer in a past life! sopheak taught you well. but then again you seem to do a lot of cooking/baking on your own w/o any prodding. can you teach kenny some of your kitchen skills. all he knows how to make are salads, stir-fries, and icebox cake. hoping to hang out with you guys once your wife comes back! or maybe you want to meet up for a meal with me and kenny if you get too lonely while she's away..let us know!
I guess Giles will need to host a Man's Cooking School sometime in the near future! Looks great, Jillez! Sopheak...hope you're having a great time in Japan!
hey T, Japan was awesome! Just got back from Guam, now in Saipan. Each island is beautiful in different ways! wish i brought a cord to post up some pix.
Kalli, sounds like kenny can cook more than most people :) we should def. get together when i get back. maybe we can have the guys cook. LOL!!
actually kallianne, it sounds like kenny and i can pretty much cook the same amount of stuff. i mostly love to stir-fry - that's how my people do it! i like how it requires a plan and preparation, then once you start, you have no time to think, you just have to execute your plan, make changes along the way if you need to, but you'll never completely veer from your plan. it's a metaphor for life.
T, if you guys move up here, I'll show Sean all my tricks. all one of them.
that looks so deliciously mouth-watering!
Hey Giles,
How's it going? You are doing a great job with S's blog. You are hilarious with all your blogs.
Both of us are non-Cambodians that can make bok dishes. I need to try one of your bok dishes next time.
Sopheak,
Glad to hear that you are having a great time. I need to come and visit once your back. Have an awesome time and have a safe trip back home.
Miss you!!
Ming
hey ming, let's have a non-cambodian bok contest.
according to S, yours is still better than mine! that's why i'm number 5!
Hey Giles,
Yes, we can have a non-Cambodian bok contest. You might make better bok dishes than me these days because I haven't made it in so long. I hope I didn't lose my touch. I might be #5 and you are #4 now..lol!! I was pretty puzzled looking at your photo's and saw the can of beer. I was like "Hmmmm, maybe Giles has made his own verson recipe." After reading your blog, I was laughing. Hilarious!!
Ming
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