Bai Sach Chrouk

Cambodian breakfast of thin grilled marinated pork served over steamed rice with pickles and broth.

Illustration inspired by a breakfast stall in a Phnom Penh market.

Dish details
Khmer name	បាយសាច់ជ្រូក
Other names	Bay sach chruk; Bai sach chrouk
Dish types	Rice dish; Grilled dish
Subjects	Food & Foodways; Work & Livelihoods

Bai sach chrouk (បាយសាច់ជ្រូក) is a Cambodian breakfast of thin grilled pork strips with steamed rice and a quick pickle of carrot and daikon. Its name means pork and rice.

Cultural context

Bai sach chrouk is served early in the morning on street corners all over Cambodia. Pork-and-rice stalls stand on almost every block of nearly every Cambodian town and city, and they open soon after dawn. One stall in Siem Reap started around 6 a.m. and sold out by about 9 a.m.

The stalls rarely sell anything besides pork and rice. They work like a small production line, with one cook grilling the pork and a family member scooping the rice. Thousands of stalls and restaurants serve the dish during the morning rush, and the popular places in Phnom Penh draw long lines. Bai sach chrouk is eaten by rural villagers and city professionals alike. Its plain name matches the everyday shape of the meal, while the sides and broth give it much of its character.

The plate usually comes with a small dish of pickles and almost always with a bowl of broth, often taken from the noodle vendor next door. One published version pairs it with pickled carrot and daikon, a sweet-and-sour dipping sauce, a bowl of pork stock and a glass of iced coffee. The broth may be chicken broth garnished with radish, scallions and fried onion. Many vendors serve the fish-sauce dipping sauce teuk trei Koh Kong, which balances tart citrus, sweetness and heat.

Ingredients and preparation

CNN describes a marinade of palm sugar and fish sauce. Grantourismo's recipe adds garlic, light soy sauce, coconut milk and lime juice, and the pork should come off the grill a little charred and caramelized. For cooking it on a stove, the recipe suggests crushed charcoal in a grill pan, which smokes when marinade or fat drips onto it. The cook usually marinates the pork overnight. Home recipes rest the pork for several hours, although an overnight marinade suits a breakfast meal. Loin or shoulder both work, with shoulder giving a fattier result than the leaner loin.

The thin strips take only a few minutes to cook, so busy stalls can grill batch after batch through the morning. Slow grilling over warm coals gives the pork a smoky sweetness. Austin Bush wrote in 2013 that the meat is usually grilled until fairly dry, and that some vendors spoon extra marinade over it, sometimes with minced pork, to add moisture and richness.

The rice is usually short, broken grains. Phil Lees suggests this probably comes from the cheap rice most vendors buy rather than a deliberate choice. The pickles are usually cucumber, carrot and daikon, and they taste slightly sweet.

History and origins

Charcoal grilling is a customary way to cook meat in Cambodia, and the dish grew from that practice. Its marinade reflects a Khmer taste for balancing sweet, salty and savory flavors, and the grill browns the outside of the meat. The smoke of grilling pork is a familiar part of mornings in Cambodian neighborhoods, and it announces the stalls before they come into view.

In rural Cambodia, pork was once a relative luxury. Families made a little meat go further by slicing it thin and serving it over plenty of rice, a filling and affordable breakfast for farmers before a day in the fields. Over time the dish moved from family kitchens to the street, where vendors marinate the pork overnight and grill it before dawn for workers, students and travelers. During the French colonial era, broken rice was often treated as a less valuable byproduct of milling, and in Cambodia and Vietnam it became an affordable base for meals.

Regional and household variations

Some stalls leave out the coconut milk, some also sell chicken and rice, and the condiments range from the quick pickle to a pepper and lime dip, chili sauce or fish sauce. Pickles are not fixed either: besides cucumber, carrot and daikon, one tart version uses shredded mango and fish mint. Some pickles of cucumber and daikon carry plenty of ginger.

Some published versions add a thinly sliced omelet to the pork and rice, which makes a heartier plate. A fried egg is another common addition. At home the pork may be cooked on a grill or barbecue, or fried in a pan when there is no grill. A side of green mango salad is another choice.

Preparations and recipes

• Terence Carter, Grantourismo

  Pork shoulder marinated in garlic, palm sugar, coconut milk and fish sauce, then charcoal grilled and served with rice and pickles.(partial instructions)

References