My short trip to Cambodia was one of the greatest and most memorable cultural experiences of my life! Riding up to Angkor Wat temple on an elephant was like a dream come true, even when he stopped to do his business on the side of the road. Angkor is filled with steep stairs up to the temples, tiny entranceways to impossibly intricate trees and an immense amount of beautifully carved faces. The surrounding temples of Angkor are just as astonishing and an absolute must while in Siem Reap. Some of the temples allow you to climb to the top to watch the sunrise and sunset – it’s definitely worth waking up for. Although the temples are fascinating, the most terrifying and incredible experience happened when we were venturing out to see the Floating Villages.

We were on our tour of the Floating Village, taking in the sights of the house boats, when the tour guide was telling us about the magnificent Flooded Village and Forest called Kompong Phluk – we had to go! It is a tiny village made up of stilted houses that look like they are floating on water, for most of the year, but we happened to be there during the dry season. Our tour guide arranged one of his buddies to pick us up in his “boat” (I use the term loosely) and take us on a “relaxing” (also loosely used) ride to the Flooded Village. This boat ride is one of two times I actually thought I was going to die – the other being the time my plane to China was dropping at a rapid descent. We got picked up from our large tour boat in a small, wooden, canoe-like vessel, with a small motor and two plastic lawn chairs in the middle for a comfortable ride. Then the rain hit. Now, having worked on a cruise ship, I’m used to rough seas but usually I am not holding on for dear life, trying to anchor down the plastic chair, all while keeping my lunch down.

This was the longest 2 hours of my life. And then I saw the light. Or the stilted homes and forest that is. The rain had stopped in time for us to walk around the village, explore the one school and church and watch the local teens play a volleyball game. Since we were there for the dry season, we happened to be the only two tourists in the entire village (guess the others heard the weather report), so naturally we got all the attention from the children. What an awesome, life-changing adventure! Walking around this village and seeing how other people live was a major eye-opener and an experience I will never forget. It made the rickety, pee my pants scary, boat ride well worth it. I cannot express how grateful I am to have had the opportunity to travel there.

The traditional way to make Amok Trey is to create little bowls out of banana leaves and steam the fish and sauce in that. I could not find banana leaves, so I decided to cook everything on a very low simmer and then transfer to the bowls. Cambodian food is not meant to be spicy, just aromatic and flavourful, and this is one flavourful fish soup! You get the citrusy smell from the lemon and lime before you even take your first bite, and then you’re hit with the bittery sweet spiced broth that makes you dig in for a second delightful bite. The crunch from the peanuts give it the much needed texture and the pepper in the rice balances everything out. And did I mention it’s healthy? This warming soup is definitely now a winter staple.

Yield: Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 4-5 inches lemongrass, white part only, chopped
• 2 tbsp kaffir lime leaves + 2 tsp of the juice they are packed in
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• ½ shallot, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1½ tsp olive oil
• splash of water
• ½ lbs dover sole (or white fish of your choosing – no skin), cut into bite size pieces
• 1½ cup coconut milk
• 1 cup baby spinach
• ½ white onion, chopped
• ¼ cup peanuts, crushed
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper

For the rice:

• ½ cup white rice
• ½ cup coconut milk
• ¾ cup water
• 1 tsp pepper
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tbsp butter

Preparation:

Blend the first 7 ingredients to make a spice paste (this will take a couple minutes and you will have to stop a few times to scrap down the sides). You can use a mortar and pestle but ain’t nobody got time for that.

Heat a pot on medium heat and add in the paste and 1 cup of the coconut milk. Whisk together until all incorporated, about 3-5 minutes. Coat the pieces of fish with salt and pepper and add to the pot. Add in the onion and spinach and gently stir for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the remaining ½ cup of coconut milk. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting, cover the pot and let simmer for 30-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a separate pot add the coconut milk, water and butter to a pot and bring to a boil. Add in the rice, pepper and salt, give it a quick stir and reduce the heat to low. Cook for about 20 minutes or until fork tender.

To serve, you can either pour the fish soup over the rice or serve the rice on the side with the fish in a separate bowl. I like to serve it on the side so I can add as much rice as I would like. Top with crushed peanuts and enjoy!