The Longevity Home Feeling

By: Sally Ka

My family immigrated to the U.S from Cambodia during the '70s leaving so many things behind that I can't even explain myself. I always enjoyed the stories they tell on how was life back then when they were growing up. Many people when they first immigrate into the U.S, they're starting a whole new better life. My family always wanted a better life and they had sought to achieve that goal since they were forced out of their own country. I could never imagine putting myself in their position and the number of struggles they had been through.

I always grew up in a huge family with the majority of my family living close to me. There's a dish that has always been apart of my family forever and it's always something that I crave for. Num Banh Chok was always a go-to dish back then since my grandma always enjoyed eating and creating. Growing up, I always had eaten whatever my grandmother ate because she would feed me whenever my parents were busy. Since my grandma had lived with me, she was always my go-to person whenever I was hungry. Num Banh Chok is an easy dish to create so it got passed down across my family members. We would always create this dish for special occasions or events in my family because it holds a significant meaning. Whenever I ate this dish, I had always thought of my grandma feeding me while I was growing up. I never really knew about my other family members' thoughts about eating this because I never spoke to them about sensitive topics.

Growing up I always missed eating this dish because I wasn't really home that much because of the medical problems I had. I was always back at the hospital for many reasons so I was named the problem child in the family. Not to come at any of my family members but some of the reasons were because of them. Anyways, since I was always at the hospital, I grew up miss being at home and I was always in a lone state of mind. I would always crave dishes that my family would make because it reminded me of what it felt like to be at home. I would always beg my mom to bring me food from home because it gets tiring eating the same old hospital food. I was on a strict diet but my family manages to sneak me some food from time to time.

It's insane to think about how much my grandma impacted my whole family and what type of life she lived. She had 8 children to care for back then and she lost some along the way but that didn't stop her from ever going on with life. She was always a strong and independent woman in my eyes and that's where my mom got her traits from. There would always be memories that I would reflect on my grandma since she had been gone for years but they were meaningful. I have always been aspired by her and I'll continue to make her dreams be granted when I grow up.

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Num

Banh Chok

Ingredients:

1 stalk of Lemongrass
1 whole Mudfish, Catfish or Tilapia
2 whole Chicken Bone
1 cup Kroeung paste
10 Rhizomes or Finger roots
1 tbsp Fermented Mudfish (prahok)
1/2 tbsp of Sugar
1 tbsp of Chicken Mix
1 1/2 tbsp of Fish Sauce
1 1/2 tbsp of Salt
2 tbsp of Roasted Peanut optional
1 cup of Coconut Milk
4 liter of Water
1 package Fine Rice Vermicelli Noodle

Directions:

Broth:

Step 1: Make kreoung using this yellow kreoung recipe. Portion them out into 1/2 cup portions. Keep 1 cup for this recipe, and freeze the rest.

Step 2: In a large pot, bring 4 liters of water to a boil, along with a stalk of lemongrass (crush the lemongrass to bring out more of its flavor).

Step 3: Once boiled, add chicken bone and let it cook for 10 minutes or until the chicken is done.

Step 4: Clean the mudfish or whatever freshwater fish you want to use for this recipe, and place it into the boiling water. Do not throw away the fish head, as it gives the most flavoring to the broth. Let the chicken and fish simmer for another 5 - 10 minutes.

Step 5: Once the chicken and fish are cooked, take them out and de-bone them both. Keep the fish meat, and the chicken meat separately. Do not get rid of the broth. It will be used later.

Step 6: Chop the rhizomes into thin slices, and then pound them in the mortar and pestle with kroeung, roasted peanuts, birds eye chili pepper, and garlic.

Step 7: I usually do mine in half portions since I have a smaller mortar and pestle, and then combining them into a bowl.

Step8: Pound the chicken and 1/2 the yellow kroeung/rhizome mixture together to infuse the flavorings. Pound until the chicken is completely crushed, and then add the fish meat and the remaining kroeung/rhizome mixture. Pound some more to really mix it up. Fish meat is really soft, so it doesn't need much pounding to crush. If you don't have a large mortar and pestle, you can do this in portions.

Step 9: Once, everything is mixed and crushed into a coarse mixture, place it into a large bowl. Then add knorr chicken mix, fish sauce, salt, sugar, and coconut milk into the bowl as well, and mix thoroughly. Let stand for at least 10 minutes to let all the flavor infuse.

Step 10: In the large pot with broth inside, put 1 tablespoon of prahok liquid into the pot and let it come to a boil. You add prahok before any other flavoring ingredients in order to lessen its strong scent. Once its boiled, add

Step 11: Once its boiled, add the chicken/fish mixture. Let it simmer on low for at least 10 minutes, adjusting the broth to taste with salt and sugar. That's it. You've just made somlar prahok.

Noodles

Step 1: Now onto the noodles. Make fine rice vermicelli noodle: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add in a pack of rice noodles, and let it cook for 4-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 2: Set aside a large bowl filled with ice-cold water. Once the noodle is cooked, and the texture is to your taste, pour out the water, and place the noodle into the cold bowl of water to stop its cooking progress.

Step 3: Start taking out handfuls of noodles and shaping it into serving portions -arranging it nicely into a bowl. To serve, take 1 serving of rice noodles and place it into a plate.

Step 4: Add whatever fresh vegetables or wild greens you prefer, and ladle some somlar prahok on top.