The Elephant Walk Cookbook, the first volume of
traditional Cambodian
cooking published in the U.S., is a
cultural as well as a
culinary adventure. It's also the story of author
Longteine De Monteiro and how she and her husband were forced into exile in 1975 by the Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia and eventually came to own three restaurants and a market in and around Boston. An important reason she wrote this book--with Katherine Neustadt--was to preserve traditional dishes that now may no longer be served in Cambodia because everyone who knew how to make them was exterminated by the Khmer Rouge, or fled elsewhere.
Cambodian cooking blends influences from Asia and the West, including China, Vietnam, Thailand, India, Spain, and France. It is a balancing act of colors, textures, and most of all, salty, sour, sweet, hot, and bitter flavors. Rice and fish are important, particularly freshwater-lake fish and a fermented fish paste, prahok. So are coconut milk, lemongrass, and a list of other ingredients that are becoming more readily available outside of Southwest Asia. Still, ordering by mail from sources provided in the book--or a special shopping trip--will be necessary to make most of the dishes in The Elephant Walk Cookbook.
The most accessible dishes are the salads (many of which contain chicken or pork), including Tomato Salad and Pineapple Salad, and the pickles, such as Mixed Vegetable Pickles. Loc Lac--beef marinated in mushroom soy sauce, sautÊed, and served on crisp lettuce with lime juice--is another easy choice. Loving, lively descriptions and alluring photos will keep you reading about all of the 150 dishes, which are aromatic with basil and cilantro, galangal, kaffir lime and curry leaves, tamarind, fiery chiles, garlic, pungent fish sauce, and the like. --Dana Jacobi.
Price: $65.50
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