Cultural Magpies

This morning I had an attempt at vegetarianising the Khmer breakfast noodle soup, kuy teav. To be honest, I think the result ended up closer to Vietnamese phở, but that was no bad thing. The only authentic ingredient was the kuy teav rice noodles.

I think the main distinction between Khmer kuy teav (called hủ tiếu in Vietnamese) and phở is the former's pork/squid stock and the latter's star anise and beef broth. However, with cultural magpie-ism, modern variants have evolved that include seafood phở and beef-based kuy teav, so the distinction between the two is muddied. I suspect wars have been started over less than that previous statement, and making a vegetarian version of either would be sacrilege to many, such is the zealotry surrounding these national dishes. Still, I am not afraid of a bit of iconoclasm, so I took out the animal products and forged ahead.

The result was a thin, sweet, sour, salty and spicy noodle broth with pak choi, mushrooms, pumpkin and Thai basil. The major shortcoming, as with many a vegan soup, was the lack of savoury unami that animal fat or fish/shrimp paste impart. Soy sauce just doesn't cut it, and I'm having a hard time finding vegan fish sauce or mushroom stock in Cambodia, either of which would add the necessary depth.

In the afternoon, we met our next-door neighbour in Blossom Café, which is also a training centre for Cambodian women, and produces beautiful and delectable cupcakes. While diminutive in size, they are big in flavour. The dense little cake I enjoyed was chocolate chip with peanut butter frosting and proved just the right size to sate my sweet tooth. The café itself is an air-conditioned oasis, like those we found in Ho Chi Minh City. However, unlike those establishments, which are populated with well-heeled Vietnamese and foreigners alike, Blossom Café seemed to be entirely the domain of tourists and ex-pats.

Seeing as we were having a mix of cultures today, I decided this evening was time for some fusion cooking.

Given that we had some tagliatelle masquerading as egg noodles in the cupboard, I prepared something I am calling pasta kampuchea genovese. A pesto of Thai basil, peanuts, garlic and salt, loosened with a little oil and water, provided a robust topping to fried aubergine, green pepper and pak choi. It was certainly a palate-pleaser.