Num Kroch
| Num Kroch | |
|---|---|
| Khmer name | នំក្រូច |
| Other names | Nom kroch; Sesame ball |
| Dish types | Snack; Dessert |
| Subjects | Food & Foodways; Migration & Diaspora |
| Related dishes | Num Kom |
Fried sesame-coated glutinous rice ball with a sweet bean filling, sold as a Cambodian street snack.
Num Kroch (Khmer: នំក្រូច) is a fried sesame-coated glutinous rice ball with a sweet bean filling, sold as a Cambodian street snack. (Wikipedia: Num kroch)
Cultural context
Num kroch is a fried pastry of glutinous rice flour coated with sesame seeds and eaten as a snack, with fillings usually of lotus paste, sweet black bean, red bean or mung bean paste. (Wikipedia: Num kroch) The underlying pastry, jian dui, originated as a royal food in Chang'an, now Xi'an, during the Tang dynasty, spread south with migration from central China after the An-Shi Rebellion, and the Cambodian pastry was introduced into Cambodia by Chinese migrants. (Wikipedia: Num kroch) The Khmer name combines num, cake, with kroch, orange, because the shape resembles the fruit, and street vendors sell the sweets on street corners through much of the afternoon. (196 Flavors)
Preparations and recipes
- Sabrina, 196 Flavors
- Glutinous rice dough wrapped around sweetened mung bean paste, rolled in sesame seeds and deep-fried until crisp.
Regional and community variations
In Cambodia the filling is made from mung beans, while Chinese versions may use lotus paste, black beans, red beans or black sesame, and Cambodian doughs may include ordinary rice flour alongside glutinous rice flour. (196 Flavors) Related versions elsewhere include goma dango in Japan, onde-onde in Indonesia, kuih bom in Malaysia and butsi in the Philippines. (Wikipedia: Num kroch)