The World's Best Grilled Fish

If you ever happen to want to taste the best grilled fish in the world, there is one place in the world which produces exactly that- Cambodia. Seriously, once you eat this, you will not want to eat fish made any other way (which may or may not be a good thing). Again, I found this in Kep, Cambodia, and as promised in my previous post, I will post the recipe today. I have not made this myself (yet), but I did manage to get the recipe from the ladies who grilled the fish for me, since they seemed to share my enthusiasm for the Cambodian grilled fish. It just keeps you coming back for more. Someone should franchise it- CGF, Cambodian Grilled Fish, available at every street corner... (this is why I am not a successful entrepreneur with my own chain of restaurants).

Grilled 'Bird Fish" at Kep, Cambodia with Angkor beer

The fish is delicious for two reasons. The outside is crusty, sweet, chillie, salty, a heavenly fusion of taste for the tongue. The inside is moist, white flesh, not overcooked, but perfectly done. It had thin small bones though, so be careful when swallowing. I had a bone get stuck in my throat (in such a situation, just make a ball of the accompanying plain steamed rice, and swallow. It generally takes the bone along with it. If that doesn't work, go see a doctor. Though if you are in Kep, Cambodia, you might want to try more rice, and then perhaps drinking a huge gulp of water etc. before you decide to visit the local doctor. Just say'n).

It is best accompanied by a can of ice cold Angkor beer (as pictured), steamed rice and perhaps pepper crab, eaten in a restaurant which offers a thatched roof above, and a swishing ocean beneath the floor boards. This can be found in Kep, Cambodia. If Kep is too far away, I suppose you can substitute with your local beer and your kitchen table, but I'm telling you, atmosphere is everything. 

The preparation is simple. Too simple, in my opinion, for fish tasting that good. In fact I'm sure they have some secret that is as yet, hidden from me. But conspiracy theories aside, if you follow the steps in the right order, you should be presented with a fish as depicted in the picture.

1. Descale a "bird fish". When I asked the grilling ladies what fish they used, they translated the khmer words, and said "bird fish". Any help identifying the genus and species of this fish from any of the pictures, would be greatly appreciated. 
2. Split a bamboo stick, and insert fish, fins upwards (so that the stick reaches almost up to the head), into the stick. It should be firmly held by the stick on both sides so that it will be firm while grilling. 
3. Liberally brush both sides of fish with a mixture of soy sauce, oyster sauce, a little bit of sugar to taste, chopped garlic, red chillie flakes, salt (to taste, be careful with salt since soy sauce is generally salted as well).
4. Place over grill, and turn, brushing it again with the mixture ever so often, until done.

Ladies at work grilling squid, and one of them enjoying a cool splash of fresh sugar cane juice at Central Market, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

I have seen this grilled bird fish both in Kep and Phnom Penh. They usually have squid prepared the same way, but I didn't taste that since I couldn't move on from the fish. Unfortunately I have not seen it in Siem Reap, possible because of a lack of access to ocean fish? I don't know. But Siem Reap has other wonders to keep you occupied, both culinary and otherwise, so the lack of bird fish should not trouble you.

Oh, and if ever you do go to Central Market, in Phnom Penh, just after the grilling ladies, in a corner of the food area, you will find a lady with a sugar cane juice extracting machine. HAVE IT. It is the best thing in the world to sip while you wander through that heady world of consumer goods. I know people who go to Central Market just for the sugar cane juice with ice. It is DELICIOUS. I wonder why we don't have it in Sri Lanka. We certainly grow our own sugar cane. Hmmm, now thats an idea. 

Grilled fish and squid on a stick, displayed in Kep, Cambodia

Pepper Crab

Pepper Crab with Steamed Rice

Black, Brown and White Kampot Pepper for sale in Kep, Cambodia

The bottles in the centre contain green Kampot pepper in salt water.  

A recent post by David Lebovitz reminded me that I need to write about possibly the most delicious crab dish I have had in my life. The Pepper Crab on the coast of Cambodia. 

I was in Cambodia for about three months in the summer of 2011, and visited Kep, on the coast of Cambodia, three of four times during that time. I discovered pepper crab only on my second visit. 

There are a series of little shops along the coast for perhaps half a mile, where you find little restaurants tucked away selling all kinds of sea food deliciousness. While I will talk about another delicious seafood find on another day in another post, the pepper crab is one of these. 

The views from these restaurants are spectacular. They are built literally jutting out into the sea itself, like piers, and as you eat, the sea is swishing beneath you under the floor boards. 

When we ordered crab, we saw the owner cum chef cum maid of all work, go out into the sea, and literally pick out our crab from rattan baskets that were floating in the sea. The freshness of our crab was beyond compare. To say we were excited is to understate things by a mile. 

By the time the crab reached our table, it had been sauteed with garlic, salt, pepper, and a first for me, young pepper corns, still attached to the stem. I had never been confronted with these before on a plate. I ventured to tentatively taste these, and whoa, explosion of taste. They were peppery but so mild, and they imparted such a delicious flavour to the crab. Really, that crab deserves a michelin star, all on its own-some. 

Before we left, I bought a bottle of "preserved" green pepper from the vendors that dot the street. And they actually stayed fresh and green for quite a while, though they were only preserved in plain old salt water. The ones kept out of salt water turned black pretty quickly. 

They were also selling a garlic-soy sauce-chilli reduction which they use for grilling fish (which will be my next post), which I should have bought, in retrospect. Anyhow, I found a few culinary geniuses under those thatched roofs, and though we kept going back to the same restaurant in our subsequent visits, I think all of these Cambodian chefs are equally adept a producing this type of truly delicious, juicy pepper crab. 

The shops in Kep, where you find delicious fresh, Pepper Crab

Prawns and garlic, I think preserved in salt water. I was not brave enough to try these

I used the pepper in scrambled eggs (a la Sri Lankan style, which I make with diced tomatoes, onions, curry leaves and now, cambodian green pepper from Kampot) and it was delicious! Really, who would have thought. They impart a truly unique flavour that the dried black pepper does not. In fact, there are four types of pepper; the young green pepper, fresh off the wine, the brown pepper, which is medium dried, the black pepper, which is fully dried, and the white pepper which is black pepper (or brown, I'm not sure which) with the skin scrubbed off. You can see it all in the pictures.

It was inevitable that as we ate crab, we talked about pepper. My companions were from France, Spain, Italy and USA respectively, and it appears that since the French colonised Cambodia, way back when, the pepper from Kampot made it to French tables. It has apparently also received geographical indication status in 2009. Just like fine wines, for example Champagne, Kampot pepper is supposed to be unmatchable in quality and taste, which is imparted by the geography of Kampot. I have to say, I agree. And even though three decades or so of civil war had almost destroyed these plantations, it looks like the pepper is making a comeback. Its even being marketed now for its unique characteristics. All I can say is, I'm 100% behind the initiative. After years of suffering, Cambodians deserve a break. 

The beautiful coast off Rabbit island, in Kep, Cambodia

More about Cambodian food adventures on another day. Now that I am back in Sri Lanka, where we have our own pepper (in fact my husband's garden has not only pepper vines but also cinnamon trees, where the leaves are so fragrant, I'm wondering why no one ever uses it in cooking), I have high hopes of using tender green pepper in my cooking in the near future. 

And people, if you ever see Kampot pepper in a store, buy it. Its the best pepper in the world, and it helps Cambodia. You can't lose.