Cambodian Curry & Rice Noodles

The MacDaddy of Cambodian recipes. Typically made for large gatherings including weddings, birthday parties, and New Year, this chicken curry is a culinary epitome of what it means to be united around food. Everyone in my family has their own version. A mildly spicy dish that can be enjoyed with rice noodles or rice, as well as dipped in French bread.

Recipe Courtesy of: Aunt Fay & Uncle Ka Khao

Aunt Fay & Uncle Ka Khao (along with my cousin, who was only 4 at the time) were sponsored by a family in North Carolina to immigrate to the U.S from Cambodia. After a few months, they relocated to Utah to be with my mother and another Uncle's family. Everyone on my mother's side was fortunate to be taken in by religious families, specifically the Borups - a Mormon family based in Utah. Thanks to the help of compassionate people like The Borups, my mother and her family were able to find work and shelter.

Back then, over 600,000 immigrants were admitted into the country, with a ceiling set by the federal government of about 230,000 per year. Now, as global displacement is at its height, with over 25 million refugees around the world, the US administration has capped the refugee admittance to a record low of just 30,000 a year.

Cambodian Curry to me is a true melting pot of flavors, and to me - a symbol of the melting pot of a country my family was fortunate to build their new home in. It's important to me that this recipe has crossed borders and has made its way from Cambodia to other parts of the world. Food has a unique ability to bring people together in a rare way that few other means can. It is my hope that these stories and recipes will show the importance of opening up barriers and opening our hearts to those in need. Without this type of compassion and sense of humanity, my family would not have been as blessed as they were to escape the Khmer Rouge genocide, nor I blessed to be able to share this recipe with you today.

Photographed above (1): Aunt Fay & Uncle Ka Khao with cousins Kim and Kam, sitting in front of the Mormon temple in Salt Lake, Utah. (2): Aunt & Uncle at my parents' wedding in the backyard of the Borups' home in Tremonton, Utah.

---

Ingredients

Curry:

1 whole chicken

1 lbs of chicken hearts and gizzards

3 large yellow onions

1 lb shallots

3 lbs Potato

2 16oz cans of bamboo shoots

4 tbsp condensed milk

3 cups coconut milk

3 stalks of lemongrass

2 tbsp curry powder

2 tbsp chicken bouillon powder

2 tbsp Fish sauce

1 clove

1/4 cup of vegetable oil

2 bay leaves

3 qt of water

Lemongrass chili paste:

(1) 3oz pack of dried California peppers

2 stalks of sliced lemongrass

1 cup of whole garlic cloves

1.5 cup of water

Instructions

1. Deseed and destem dried peppers. Soak in cold water overnight to soften them.

2. Cut chicken into large pieces (approx 2”)

3. Thinly Slice the stalk of the lemongrass. Bundle the leaves.

4. Make the purée: purée peppers, garlic, and lemongrass

5. Boil bamboo for 10-15 mins

6. Heat up 1/4 cup of oil in a wok / large frying pan. Add puree and curry powder, and sauté for a minute

7. Add in chicken and sauté until chicken is half-way cooked - about 10 Mins, tossing frequently so the chicken is evenly cooked through and well coated

8. Add in 1.5 can of coconut milk and mix well.

9. Add bamboo and mix well.

10. Remove from heat.

11. Bowl a pot of water with 1.5 can of coconut milk and lemongrass leaves and stalks.

12. Once, water is boiling, add in chicken mix.

13. Add onions.

14. Add fish sauce, bay leaves, chicken bouillon powder, salt, and condensed milk.

15. Cook for 1 hr on a low swimmer

16. Add potatoes and cook on medium until potatoes are cooked through.

17. Serve with rice noodles

Tip: Prepare your lemongrass chili paste ahead of time. Freeze it, so it's ready to go when it's needed.