Dish
Ambok
អំបុក
Khmer flattened rice: young rice toasted in the husk and pounded flat, eaten above all at the Water Festival.
Ambok (អំបុក) is Khmer flattened rice, made by toasting young rice in its husk and pounding it flat.[1][2] It is the food of ak ambok, the rice offering held on the full-moon night of Bon Om Touk.[3][4]
Making ambok
The rice is harvested young, before it is fully ripe. The Cambodia Daily names the usual grain as srov domnerp, a glutinous rice, taken just after it sprouts.[3][5] The grains are toasted in a wok with the husks still on, then pounded while hot in a large wooden mortar until they flatten, and the husks are winnowed away.[1][2] A village cook in Kampong Speu told Voice of America (VOA) Khmer that the toasted paddy has to be pounded lightly and stirred, or the grains stick together.[4] The flakes come out light and crisp.[5]
Ambok is eaten mixed with banana, coconut juice or grated coconut and palm sugar, or roasted with small shrimp.[1][2][5] Because it is dry and light and keeps longer than cooked rice, it travels well.[6]
At Bon Om Touk
Ambok belongs to Bon Om Touk, which falls as the rice harvest begins. Villagers make it ahead of the festival to sell in Phnom Penh, where crowds look for it.[4][2] On the full-moon night, families light candles as the moon rises and, around midnight, eat ambok with banana and coconut juice while making wishes for the year.[4][2]
Pagodas hold the ak ambok (offering pounded rice) and sampeah preah khe (saluting the moon) ceremonies that night. Bananas, sweet potatoes, coconuts and new ambok are offered to the rabbit in the moon, from the story of the Buddha born as a rabbit who gave himself to a hungry god. In the most lively part, young men and women stand in paired lines and feed each other ambok, banana and coconut.[3] In 2014 an official of the Ministry of Cults and Religion estimated that about 60 percent of pagodas still held the ceremonies, and said the number was falling.[3]
Ambok Kampong Thom
Families in Sankoa commune, Kampong Svay district, in Kampong Thom province have long made ambok for the festival. In February 2021 the Ministry of Commerce registered their product as a collective trademark, "Ambok Kampong Thom", the first such registration for the province.[7] In July 2025 residents and officials in Kampong Thom made ambok together for Cambodian soldiers on the border with Thailand.[6]
Restaurants have also taken it up: in March 2026 Yi Sang in Phnom Penh held a dinner of dim sum made with ambok.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Wikipedia, Flattened rice (undated)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 CambodgeMag, Cambodia gastronomy: the culinary richness of the Water Festival (February 17, 2025)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 The Cambodia Daily, Ouch Sony, Clergy strives to keep festival traditions alive (November 8, 2014)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Voice of America Khmer, On eve of Water Festival, wishes for prosperity (November 22, 2007)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Le Petit Journal Cambodge, À Phnom Penh, l'ambok s'invite à la table de la gastronomie (in French, March 13, 2026)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Cambodianess, In photos: Kampong Thom residents make ambok for frontline soldiers (July 26, 2025)
- ↑ Vietstock, K Thom ambok gets trademark (February 19, 2021)