Recipe

Cambodia → Siem Reap

🍽️ DINNER

Samlor Korko (Khmer Stirring Soup)

Name: Samlor Korko (Khmer Stirring Soup)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Cambodian (Khmer)
Ingredients: 3 stalks lemongrass, tender parts, sliced; 1-inch piece galangal, sliced; 1-inch piece fresh turmeric (or 1 tsp ground); 4 cloves garlic; 3 shallots; 4 kaffir lime leaves; 1 lb chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces; 2 tbsp prahok (fermented fish paste); 1 tbsp fish sauce; 3 tbsp raw jasmine rice, for toasting; 1 cup green papaya, peeled and cut into chunks; 1 cup pumpkin or kabocha squash, cubed; 1 cup eggplant, cut into chunks; 1 cup long beans, cut into short pieces; 1 cup moringa leaves (or spinach); 1 tsp palm sugar; to taste salt; 2 tbsp neutral cooking oil; 8 cups water

A thick, rustic Khmer soup of many vegetables built on lemongrass kroeung, prahok, and toasted ground rice, often called Cambodia's national dish.

Cambodian (Khmer) · medium · serves 6

prep 30 min · cook 40 min

~374 cal · 30g protein · 42g carbs · 10g fat · 9g fiber · 9g sugars · 2g sat fat (estimated, per serving)

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Samlor korko is a thick, stew-like Khmer soup whose name points to its method: korko means to stir, and the pot is stirred throughout cooking so the vegetables and the toasted ground rice thicken into a rustic broth. Many Cambodians regard it as the national dish, the everyday counterpart to the more restaurant-bound fish amok.

Its backbone is kroeung, the pounded paste of , , turmeric, garlic, shallots, and kaffir lime leaves, joined by prahok, the fish paste that gives Khmer cooking its deep savour. Toasted rice, dry-roasted until golden and ground to a coarse powder, is stirred in near the end to thicken the soup and add a nutty body.

The vegetables are whatever is in season: green papaya, pumpkin or kabocha, eggplant, long beans, and leafy moringa, with a protein of pork, chicken, or fish. It is a flexible, abundant family meal, eaten with steamed jasmine rice.

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Make it yours

✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- 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

Metric

Serves 6

3 stalks , tender parts, sliced

1-inch piece , sliced

1-inch piece fresh turmeric (or 1 tsp ground)

4 cloves garlic

3 shallots

4 kaffir lime leaves

1 lb chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 tbsp prahok ( fish paste)

1 tbsp

3 tbsp raw jasmine rice, for toasting

1 cup green papaya, peeled and cut into chunks

1 cup pumpkin or kabocha squash, cubed

1 cup eggplant, cut into chunks

1 cup long beans, cut into short pieces

1 cup moringa leaves (or spinach)

1 tsp palm sugar

to taste salt

2 tbsp neutral cooking oil

8 cups water

Instructions

Pound the lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, garlic, shallots, and kaffir lime leaves into a smooth kroeung paste with a mortar and pestle (or blend with a splash of water).

✎ Chef’s note

Pound from hardest to softest so everything breaks down evenly into a fragrant paste.

Dry-roast the raw rice in a pan over medium heat, stirring, until golden and nutty, then cool and grind to a coarse powder.

✎ Chef’s note

This toasted ground rice is what gives the soup its signature thick, rustic body, so do not skip it.

Heat the oil in a large pot, add the kroeung paste, and fry for 2 to 3 minutes until fragrant.

Stir in the prahok (or white miso) and cook for a minute, then add the chicken (or mushrooms) and turn until coated and lightly browned.

Pour in the water, add the fish sauce (or tamari), palm sugar, and salt, and bring to a gentle boil.

Add the firm vegetables first, the green papaya, pumpkin, and eggplant, and simmer for about 15 minutes until starting to soften.

Add the long beans and the moringa leaves, then stir in the toasted ground rice and simmer 5 to 10 minutes more, stirring, until the broth thickens to a spoonable stew.

Taste and adjust the salt, then serve hot over steamed jasmine rice.

Khmer home cooking, widely called Cambodia's national dish.

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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination

📍

Siem Reap. Cooking here follows the lake's calendar. Monsoon rain on the Mekong pushes the Tonle Sap river backwards and swells the lake several times over its dry-season size; when the water falls away from December the fish are concentrated into shallows and caught in bulk. Much of that catch is salted and packed away for months as prahok.

🗺️

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.

Good to know

You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Oven, Steamer, Blender, Mortar and pestle.

Storing it: Soup keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and freezes well. Reheat gently and loosen with a little water or stock if needed.

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Frequently asked questions

What is Samlor Korko (Khmer Stirring Soup)?

A thick, rustic Khmer soup of many vegetables built on lemongrass kroeung, prahok, and toasted ground rice, often called Cambodia's national dish.

Where does Samlor Korko (Khmer Stirring Soup) come from?

Samlor Korko (Khmer Stirring Soup) is a Cambodian (Khmer) dish from Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Can Samlor Korko (Khmer Stirring Soup) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?

This Samlor Korko (Khmer Stirring Soup) 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 Samlor Korko (Khmer Stirring Soup) 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 Samlor Korko (Khmer Stirring Soup) take to make?

About 70 minutes total (30 minutes prep, 40 minutes cooking), serving 6.

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