Kroeung
| Kroeung | |
|---|---|
| Khmer name | គ្រឿង |
| Other names | Krœăng; Kreung; Khmer lemongrass paste |
| Dish types | Condiment |
| Subjects | Food & Foodways; Migration & Diaspora |
| Related dishes | Fish Amok; Cha Kroeung Sach Moan; Samlor Korko |
Family of pounded Khmer herb and spice pastes that form the flavour base of many Cambodian dishes.
Kroeung (Khmer: គ្រឿង) is a family of pounded Khmer herb and spice pastes that form the flavour base of many Cambodian dishes. (Wikipedia: Kroeung)
Cultural context
Kroeung is a group of herb and spice pastes that form the base flavours of many Khmer dishes and is described as essential for creating authentic Khmer flavour. (Wikipedia: Kroeung) The eight most commonly used ingredients are lemongrass, magrut lime zest and leaves, galangal, turmeric, garlic, shallots, dried red chillies and rhizomes such as lesser galangal, fingerroot and Kaempferia galanga, traditionally ground together with a heavy mortar and pestle. (Wikipedia: Kroeung) Chef Nak calls it one of the essential foundations of Cambodian cooking, used across Khmer soups, curries, steamed dishes and marinades. (Chef Nak) Nite Yun, chef and owner of the Oakland Cambodian restaurant Nyum Bai, recalls her mother packing kroeung into bags for her to take to college and notes that it keeps for months in the freezer. (Sunset Magazine)
Preparations and recipes
- Chef Nak, HOPE: Delicious, Simple and Fast Cambodian Cooking
- Hand-pounded lemongrass paste built up aromatic by aromatic, made in a batch large enough for several dishes.
Regional and community variations
Kroeung divides into individual kroeung, made for a specific dish, and royal kroeung, a fairly standardised paste based on the pastes used for royal dishes; it is also classified by colour as red, green or yellow, with yellow kroeung used often in common everyday dishes. (Wikipedia: Kroeung) Cambodians living abroad use kaffir lime leaves in place of kaffir lime zest because the limes are not widely available outside Cambodia and Southeast Asia. (Wikipedia: Kroeung) Cooks outside Cambodia also substitute powdered turmeric for fresh turmeric, extra garlic for galangal, and lime and lemon zest for whole lime leaves. (Sunset Magazine)