Sach Ko Ang
| Sach Ko Ang | |
|---|---|
| Khmer name | សាច់គោអាំង |
| Other names | Sach ko ang; Barbecued beef skewers; Lemongrass beef skewers |
| Dish types | Grilled dish; Snack |
| Subjects | Food & Foodways; Work & Livelihoods; Community & Civic Life |
| Related dishes | Kroeung; Num Pang Pate |
Grilled Khmer beef skewers marinated in kroeung and sold as a late-afternoon street snack.
Sach Ko Ang (Khmer: សាច់គោអាំង) is grilled Khmer beef skewers marinated in kroeung and sold as a late-afternoon street snack. (Bon Appetit)
Cultural context
Sach ko ang is a traditional Khmer food whose name combines sach ko, beef, with ang, barbecue, and its fragrance is found at most street food markets and community gatherings in Cambodia, where vendors grill the skewers on clay braziers and passersby buy one or two as an afternoon snack. (Bon Appetit) At lunchtime it becomes a full meal with sweet crunchy green papaya and carrot pickle, either inside a crusty baguette or with steamed rice. (Bon Appetit) Bon Appetit records the recipe as taught to Lara Lee by Pek Sarann, a Khmer cook from Phnom Penh who owns the Bok it Ihe restaurant in Koh Kong and learned it from her mother. (Bon Appetit) Grantourismo describes the skewers as a classic late-afternoon or early-evening snack eaten across Cambodia with pickled vegetables and chilli, sometimes slid off the skewer into a buttered baguette, a French legacy, and distinguished from other Southeast Asian grilled meats by the Cambodian kroeung marinade. (Grantourismo) Sunset records the dish through Nite Yun, chef and owner of the homestyle Cambodian restaurant Nyum Bai in Oakland, whose mother made many of these skewers for summer events such as birthdays. (Sunset Magazine)
Preparations and recipes
- Terence Carter, Grantourismo
- Cubed sirloin and pork fat marinated in yellow kroeung with palm sugar and fish sauce, then barbecued over coals.
Regional and community variations
Sach ko ang uses yellow kroeung, whose golden hue comes from fresh turmeric, and cooks vary it with toasted ground star anise, MSG, chilli paste or fish sauce; some Khmer cooks prefer a longer marinade while Pek Sarann grills after only 30 minutes to emphasise the freshness of the kroeung. (Bon Appetit) Grantourismo adds pork fat to the skewers because local Cambodian beef often comes from working animals and can be tough and quick to dry, and the drippings add smoke. (Grantourismo) Sunset serves them with pickled green papaya and grilled corn drizzled with coconut milk. (Sunset Magazine)