Sues’day. Sok saa-by?

In November 2014 I travelled to north-eastern Cambodia, living and working as a VSO-ICS volunteer in Ratanakiri Province with the indigenous Tampoun people of the Yeak Loam Community. It was very different, very challenging, and I’m so glad I went.

This blog documents my whole VSO-ICS experience, my adaptation to Cambodian/Tampoun life, and my work in international sustainable development. Whilst in Cambodia it was a source of communication (and therapy) for me, and now I hope it will be useful to others: as a way to find out more about Cambodia and Ratanakri; as a source of information for those about to volunteer with VSO or ICS; and as a bit of a myth-buster about what development work overseas is actually like.

Find out more about Cambodia

The VSO-ICS programme is split into three parts: Pre-Placement (application, selection, fundraising and preparation), On-Placement (In-Country and In-Community Training, work placement and activities) and Post-Placement (re-acclimatisation and Action at Home). You can access these discrete sections here:

Pre-Placement

On-Placement

Post-Placement

Finally, I’ve curated a page specifically about international sustainable development: a topic I believe to be somewhat misunderstood, particularly within the context of international development aid and developing ‘third world’ countries. No, it’s not a holiday:

International Sustainable Development

If you have any questions about anything I’ve written on this blog, or my VSO-ICS experience, you can contact me here.

Authentic Oyster Sauce and a Too Quick Stir Fry

I have to confess that this dish is very much my own Cambodian/UK hybrid, with more of an emphasis on Cambodian elements than design. However, the simplicity of it will likely increase the frequency of its consumption!

When I was a student, stir fry was a standard meal: quick, cheap, and we always had some mini-frozen prawns to add for extra protein. Tesco also did an equivalent of an evening meal deal, in a combination of pre-cooked noodles, a stir fry vegetable mix, and one of four pre-mixed sauces (hoisin, black bean, sweet chilli…). I see this dish as a replacement for this meal deal: it tasted more fresh, it used more ingredients in the house, and it was equally filling (if requiring some more concentration).

A First Attempt at Amok

Amok, far from the primary meaning of mass random rampage, is also a delicious Khmer curry. During our Mid-Phase Review (MRP) in Siem Reap, I was chastised for ordering it two nights in a row, on rare opportunities to eat at Western restaurants. It’s also primarily made with fish, and thus a Cambodian classic that a pescetarian can eat with ease.

Cambodian Omelette, and some MSG

Omelette is a very safe dish when in a foreign environment. Eggs are pretty universal, and the ease of cooking breeds some consistency.

Whilst staying in Ratanakiri, my host mum (Dop) made a lot of omelette for Ruby and I, and it was one of my favourite dishes. She added a vegetable from the garden most of the time, but there wasn’t a direct translation, and Phan and I only got as far a ‘vines’ when it came to figuring out what they were. I’ve managed to find an article online with a picture of them, but I still can’t identify them enough to find them elsewhere. They were of a delicious spongy texture!

In my attempt to replicate some Khmer omelette far from its home, I exchanged these vines for some spring onions (for a bit of bite), but kept the flavouring additions consistent with what I used to watch Dop mix:

• 2 cloves of garlic
• 4 eggs
• 1.5 tbsp of fish sauce
• A splash of soy sauce (I added a bit too much)
• A teaspoon of sugar
• A pinch of MSG

Mix and cook as normal – I promise it will change your mind about such a list of ingredients!

Yeak Laom Mango

Previous to my time in Cambodia, I had quite a fixed idea of how to eat mangoes; rarely, with difficulty, and as a sweet treat. However, I have since learnt a very different form of consumption…

An Attempt at Papaya Salad: Still Uncomfortable with the Ubiquity of Fish Sauce

I confess that despite it being famous all over Thailand and Cambodia, I only had papaya salad about 3 times in the 3 months I was there. And one can get it almost anywhere!

To see women in the roadside restaurants grating papaya or green mango (normally Julienne-style, although I didn’t know this was the name of the very long and thin result effect until after some curiosity google-ing recently) is so normal that it becomes part of the background scenery: particularly in advance of the pre-lunch rush. It was something that my host mum never made us: probably because she assumed we were having it already during the day, and because it is more Khmer/Thai than indigenous in itself consumption.

Despite initially unconvinced by the fruit-and-savoury salad idea, I’m glad I tried it. There’s something extremely refreshing in the texture as much as the taste, and it is one of those dishes that blends it’s flavours to create something completely different. I’m also a big, big fan of the garnish peanuts, which could be added to all dishes with my wholehearted approval!

Making the salad itself for the first time was pretty daunting and not without its challenges. I’ll primarily blame my tools (no Julienne peeler, but a food processor approximated something similar) and then my materials (ideally, quite raw papaya should have been used, but the standard British consumer isn’t typically looking for such products, and thus I could ONLY find relatively ripe pawpaw!). I used this recipe (found adapted on a different blog), adapted to what I wanted, and what I had. Adaptation and personalisation seems to be the sole constant in papaya salad recipies, so I at least felt confident in that.

Salad

• 1 (about 600 g) Green Mango, grated  A papaya, obliterated.
• 1 Tomato, coarsely diced  Some cherry tomatoes, sliced. 
• 3 Shallots, sliced  A spring onion 
• 1/4 Cup Chopped Coriander
• 1/4 Cup Chopped Mint Leaves
• 1 Red Chili, sliced
• 2 Tbsp Roasted Peanuts
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Some green beans (seemed like a good idea)

Dressing

• 2 1/2 Tbsp Fish Sauce
• 2 Tbsp Lime Juice
• 3-5 (as if!) 1 Thai Bird’s Eye Chilies, sliced
• 1 Tbsp Palm sugar  Caster Sugar

The general method is to blend the onion, garlic, chili, lime juice, sugar and fish sauce (fermented anchovies, but just trust me on this one) in a pestle and mortar until combined, add the beans and tomatoes, and fold in the papaya. I taste-tested as I went, but I was dubious until the final product was on a plate! It was the idea light dinner, and I’d have it again as a lunch, a starter or a side dish: it’s so fresh and properly refreshing, and you do feel like you’ve had a savoury fruit salad for a whole meal. Papaya is great for the digestive system, the peanuts add some protein, and you could maximise the other vegetables if you wanted to.

I regret not having done more widespread taste testing when I had the chance!