My host family makes me cha often, especially when the rest of the family is having something I don't like to eat; I've tried pretty much everything they have ever put in front of me (twice like Andrew Zimmerman), but there are definitely dishes I don't care for.
So, my bong sray taught me how to make cha recently, and I thought I would share the recipe with you. However, this will be unhelpful if you actually want to make it. I wanted to take a more artistic, free form approach to it... well you'll see.
*Disclaimer: If you do want a real recipe, I can send you it. Although it is ridiculously easy, so you could probably figure it out.
General Stir Fry Recipe
1. Gather your ingredients. You can use almost any meat, whatever you have in the fridge. Don't have meat or vegetarian? Go with tofu or just veggies. Same goes with vegetables. Use those leftover bits from the somlaw (soup) you made yesterday. Choose whatever is cheapest at the market today. Use cabbage, cucumbers, carrots, or.... any other vegetable that doesn't start with a "c". Dealer's choice!
2. Get your small camp stove from under the shelves or make a fire in your stove, and add some minced cloves of garlic and a glug of oil to it. A lot of Khmer cooking starts with frying the garlic, and as a garlic devotee, I am all about it.
3. Once that "lan krahom (turns red, but really means turns golden brown), put in your meat. The meat is usually cut into small, thin pieces to make them easier to fry. Be careful; the oil might pop and sizzle!
4. As that starts to cook, add the other key to Khmer cooking, fish sauce. Take your spatula and pour a pool of it onto your spatula; this cool trick allows you to better gauge how much you are putting in rather than if you just poured it into the pan. Continue to fry.
5. Add sugar (one small plastic soup spoonful), salt (a bit or not at all), pepper (half of said spoon), and MSG (half of the green tiny spoon in the jar). This mix of spices is like the mirepoix of Khmer cooking; it goes in everything.
6. Cover the pan with a lid and let it cook until the meat is mostly cooked (or how long it takes you to sew a line or two on your sewing machine).
7. While you are doing steps #1-6, have your young children or resident barrang (foreigner) cut up the vegetables into small pieces. Try to make them all the same size more or less, separating leaves and tougher, harder stalks/vegetables based on their cooking times. Have said children or barrang wash the vegetables at least two times in the sink or from water in the cistern.
8. Add the vegetables to your pan in order of how long they will take to cook. So, start with carrots or fibrous stalks of cabbage and work your way up to lettuce. Cover again until vegetables are cooked. While that is cooking, make sure to check the rice and ensure it's cooked through.
9. Dish it up, roll out the mat, and enjoy!
6. Cover the pan with a lid and let it cook until the meat is mostly cooked (or how long it takes you to sew a line or two on your sewing machine).
7. While you are doing steps #1-6, have your young children or resident barrang (foreigner) cut up the vegetables into small pieces. Try to make them all the same size more or less, separating leaves and tougher, harder stalks/vegetables based on their cooking times. Have said children or barrang wash the vegetables at least two times in the sink or from water in the cistern.
8. Add the vegetables to your pan in order of how long they will take to cook. So, start with carrots or fibrous stalks of cabbage and work your way up to lettuce. Cover again until vegetables are cooked. While that is cooking, make sure to check the rice and ensure it's cooked through.
9. Dish it up, roll out the mat, and enjoy!
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