Noodles · National Dish
Num Banh Chok (Khmer Noodles)
Photo: Thomas Wanhoff from Siem Reap, Cambodia / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Cambodia's national dish is so revered that June 9 was officially declared a national day of unity built around a bowl of noodles.
Fresh rice noodles are topped with a fish-based green curry gravy made from lemongrass, turmeric, and kaffir lime, then piled high with raw and pickled vegetables like cucumber, banana blossom, and bean sprouts. Vendors sell it from baskets balanced on shoulder poles, mixing each bowl to order.
Why it's made this way: Some food historians trace the dish back to the Angkorian era, pointing to carvings near Angkor that appear to depict rice noodles, and it remains closely tied to Buddhist ritual life, often offered to monks as alms.
Roughly what's in it
400kcal
18gprotein
55gcarbs
12gfat
Estimated per typical street-vendor portion — not lab-tested.
More from Cambodia
Part of World of Street Food — 690 dishes from 118 countries.
Something wrong here? Tell us in the comments below.
Photo credits.