Cooking Lessons - Cambodia

Since I am teaching myself to cook a few new ways I had to take the time for a cooking lesson.

I was thinking Cambodia would have been similar to India but I cound it was very different.

I was suppose to be working on stringing beads with the kids.

And I had been doing that for a few hours, so it seemed like a good time for a break.

The shopping process alone is huge.
Traveling on a tuc-tuc to the open market, hand picking every single thing you need.
She started with home made fish paste, garlic, cilantro.
Fish paste smells pretty close to death in a jar.
Laughing they asked me if I wanted to smell it - thankfully I knew better.
Garlic and cilantro are two of my favorites.

The paste mixture, added to boiling oil and dry seasons.

She chopped a mixture of greens - washed and washed, rinsed, washed and rinsed the greens.

Finally, she added a bowl of fish heads, Knorrs (chicken flavor) and red pepper paste.
The death smell of the fish paste was finally gone leaving me so wishing I was eating lunch with them.
I was thinking a change of pace would have been good about this time on the trip.
However, there was no way I was willing to risk all that can happen when you cook (and eat) with un-filtered water.  No, I have been there, done that let's just say.
Call it what you want, I never want to have it again.

As she worked, she was teaching a few of the older girls (and me too).
The huge pot of rice cooking would soon be covered with the fish stew.
It was time for beading.
My lunch would have to wait.