Amok

The technique first: amok is built around a whisking step, not a spicing step. The fish, kroeung paste and coconut milk are beaten together like a batter until air is worked in, so the mixture sets in the steamer as a light, soufflé-like mousse rather than a dense fish paste.

History

Amok is considered Cambodia’s national dish, a preparation of freshwater fish (often catfish or Tonlé Sap trout) blended with a paste of herbs and spices called kroeung (lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, kaffir lime leaves) then bound with coconut milk and egg.

Traditionally steamed in a folded and pinned banana leaf shaped into a small boat called a “slap,” amok owes its airy, mousse-like texture to prolonged whisking that incorporates air into the mixture before cooking — a technique close to that of a soufflé, rarely reproduced outside Cambodia, where the leaf is often replaced with a ramekin.

Ingredients — serves 4

• 500 g (1.1 lb) white fish fillets
• 400 ml (1⅔ cups) thick coconut milk
• 2 lemongrass stalks
• 3 cm (1 in) galangal
• 1 tsp grated fresh turmeric
• 3 kaffir lime leaves
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• Banana leaves (or ramekins), for cooking

Step-by-step Cambodian amok recipe

1. Pound the lemongrass, galangal, turmeric and kaffir lime leaves in a mortar to make a kroeung paste.
2. Blend the raw fish with the kroeung paste, fish sauce and half of the coconut milk until smooth.
3. Beat the eggs and fold them into the mixture with the remaining coconut milk, whisking to aerate it.
4. Shape small boats from pinned banana leaves, or use buttered ramekins.
5. Pour the mixture into the boats or ramekins and steam for about 20 to 25 minutes.
6. Serve hot, topped with coconut milk and thin strips of kaffir lime leaf, with white rice.

Cooking method

Technique: gentle steaming in a folded leaf, the mixture whisked to incorporate air like a soufflé.

Traditional equipment: folded and pinned banana leaf shaped into a boat (slap), bamboo steaming basket.

Tips: amok is done when the mousse has set but still wobbles slightly in the center.

Nutrition, per serving

Calculated from the raw ingredient quantities above, divided by four servings.

The whisking technique aerates the dish but doesn’t lighten it: thick coconut milk carries almost all the fat here, and nearly all of it — 32 of the 40 g — is saturated, characteristic of coconut cream rather than of the fish or egg that give the mousse its structure.

Economic context

Freshwater fish from the Tonlé Sap and coconut milk are both everyday staples in Cambodia, which keeps amok closer to accessible home cooking than to festival food — the labor of pounding the kroeung paste and whisking the mousse, not the ingredient list, is what makes it a dish reserved for when there’s time to cook properly.

Source: World Bank / FAO, Food Prices for Nutrition database (Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet) v4.0, 2024 data, CC BY 4.0, DOI 10.57966/41AN-KY81. Retrieved 29 July 2026. This figure describes the cost of a healthy diet in Cambodia generally — it is not a costing of this specific recipe.

Who this dish suits

What about you?

In your opinion, where’s the best place or restaurant to enjoy good amok?

Also worth trying