Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Fish Amok
A silky steamed fish curry-custard in banana-leaf cups, built on pounded lemongrass kroeung and coconut cream.
Cambodian (Khmer) · medium · serves 4
prep 30 min · cook 25 min
~733 cal · 39g protein · 81g carbs · 33g fat · 13g fiber · 40g sugars · 28g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
↓ Jump to Recipe
AI-generated illustration
Fish amok is Cambodia's most refined dish, a silky, mousse-like steamed fish curry set in banana-leaf cups, built on 'kroeung,' the fragrant Khmer spice paste of , , turmeric, and kaffir lime. Enriched with and egg, it steams into a delicate, custardy curry unlike the soupier curries of its neighbors.
The dish descends from the royal Khmer kitchens and the ancient Angkor civilization, and its signature is the aromatic, gently sweet kroeung rather than fiery chili heat. 'Slok ngor,' a subtly bitter local leaf, traditionally lines the cups and flavors the custard.
Steamed until just set and served in its leaf parcel, fish amok is special-occasion and restaurant food around Siem Reap and across Cambodia.
Saved recipes and passport stamps are kept on this device. Sign in to keep them across your devices and leave reviews.
Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
1.25 lbs firm white fish fillets, sliced
3 stalks , tender parts, sliced
1-inch piece (or ginger)
1-inch piece turmeric root (or 1 tsp ground)
4 makrut lime leaves, ribboned
Hard to find? finely grated lime zest - you lose the perfume and the texture of the ribbons, but you keep the citrus lift; ordinary lime leaves are not a substitute, since they have very little flavour
3 shallots
3 cloves garlic
1.5 cups
2 tbsp
1 tsp prahok ( fish paste)
1 tbsp palm sugar
1 egg
4 cups’ worth banana leaves (or ramekins)
2 cups spinach or nhor leaves
Instructions
1
Pound the lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, shallots, garlic, and half the lime leaves into a fine, smooth kroeung paste (or blend with a splash of water).
✎ Chef’s note
The finer the kroeung, the silkier the amok. Pound in the order of hardest to softest so everything breaks down evenly.
2
In a bowl, whisk the kroeung with the coconut cream, fish sauce, prahok, and palm sugar until smooth.
3
Whisk in the egg (or cornstarch) to bind, which sets the mixture to a soft custard as it steams.
4
Gently fold in the fish (or tofu and mushrooms) so every piece is coated.
5
Line banana-leaf cups or small ramekins with the greens and spoon in the fish mixture.
6
Steam gently for 18 to 20 minutes, until just set with the faint wobble of a custard.
7
Top with a spoon of thick coconut cream and the last lime-leaf ribbons, and serve with rice.
Siem Reap Khmer tradition.
Ratings & reviews
Cooked it? Rate this dish:
No account needed. Sign in to leave a full review with a comment.
Cooked it?
Kept on this device, no account needed. Sign in to leave a review and keep your passport across your devices.
No reviews yet, be the first to cook it.
🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Siem Reap. Amok names the steaming rather than the sauce. A yellow or green kroeung paste is loosened with coconut, folded through freshwater fish, then set in a banana-leaf cup lined with noni leaves and steamed until it holds like a custard. Quick versions turned out in a wok are common in tourist kitchens and purists do not accept them.
🗺️
Cambodia. The Tonle Sap reverses. For part of the year the Mekong pushes so hard that the river feeding the lake flows backwards and the lake swells several times over, flooding forest that becomes a nursery for fish. That single hydrological quirk is why Cambodia eats as much freshwater fish as it does, fresh, dried, salted and fermented into prahok.
🌍
Asia. Fermentation is the thread that runs the whole way across: soy sauce and miso, Korean doenjang and kimchi, Southeast Asian fish sauces, the soured batter behind an idli. Chilli is the newcomer among them, arriving only after 1500 with Portuguese and Spanish traders, which makes the heat in Sichuan, Thai and Korean cooking far younger than the fermenting underneath it.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Cambodia
Bai Sach ChroukThinly sliced grilled coconut-marinated pork over broken rice, with pickles and a clear broth.
Nom Banh ChokRice noodles under a fragrant green fish-and-lemongrass gravy, piled with raw vegetables, Cambodia's Khmer noodles.
Sankhya LapovA whole kabocha pumpkin steamed with a coconut-palm-sugar custard inside, a striking Cambodian dessert.
Browse all Cambodia recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Steamer, Blender, Whisk.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a Cambodia meal
Tuk Ampov (Sugarcane Juice)Drink
Sankhya LapovDessert
Nom Banh ChokLunch
Similar dishes from around the world
Eke Takare (Curried Octopus in Coconut Cream)Cook Islands
Mas RihaMaldives
Seychellois Fish CurrySeychelles
Mchuzi wa Samaki (Coconut Fish Curry)Tanzania
Moqueca Baiana (Bahian Fish Stew)Brazil
Macher JholIndia
Frequently asked questions
What is Fish Amok?
A silky steamed fish curry-custard in banana-leaf cups, built on pounded lemongrass kroeung and coconut cream.
Where does Fish Amok come from?
Fish Amok is a Cambodian (Khmer) dish from Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Can Fish Amok be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Fish Amok recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Fish Amok safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Fish Amok take to make?
About 55 minutes total (30 minutes prep, 25 minutes cooking), serving 4.
Get the Sunday Spin
One dish from somewhere in the world, in your inbox every Sunday. No spam, just dinner inspiration you can cook that day.