Cambodian Spicy & Sour soup known in Cambodian as សម្លម្ចូគ្រឿងសាច់គោ (Somlaw Machew Kroeung Sach Ko) is one of my all time favorite Cambodian dish. It can be made with either beef or pork, although I have heard that some like to cook with fish as well. The beef tripe is optional. I like it because it adds a crunchy and chewy texture to the soup. What I do with my beef tripe is to clean it out and then pour hot boiling water directly on the tripe. Allow it to sit for a few minutes. This helps eliminate the unpleasant odor. Some people like to add a couple drops of vinegar. Then drain, wash and proceed. The authentic version use pickle-fish (pahok) however, like I had mentioned in my other post you can leave it out if you don’t like the smell or taste. Also, if you have access to Holy Basil (maress prov), I highly recommend using it. I did not have it atm, so I’m using regular basil.
Cambodian Spicy & Sour Beef Soup
(Somlaw Machew Kroeung Sach Ko) សម្លម្ចូគ្រឿងសាច់គោ
Ingredients
1 ½ lb steak, sliced or cut into bite size pieces (you can also use other cuts of beef, pork ribs or bone-in chicken – delicious too!)
1 cup of lemongrass paste (Kroeung)
½ lb water spinach (Trokoun) stems pound with the back of your knife, cut into 2 inch lengths
2 tablespoons cream-style pickled fish (Prohok)
1 lb beef tripe, slice (optional)
4 jalapenos, slice into quarters (optional)
1 cup of basil leaves (use holy basil if you can get them)
5-6 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons knorr sour soup base
3 tablespoons sugar
water
Method:
Heat pot and add lemongrass paste. Fry until fragrant about 1-2 minutes. Add beef and half way through cooking add the creamy pickle-fish. Stir and mix well.
Next add enough water to cover about ½ inch above the meat. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium. Cook until the meat is tender about 30 minutes depending on the cut of meat.
Turn the heat back to high and add sugar, fish sauce, knorr soup base and adjust the saltiness and sourness according to taste, by varying the amount of pickled fish, and soup base.
Finally add the beef tripe, water spinach and jalapenos. Allow the soup to continue cooking for a couple of minute until the water spinach turns to an olive green color but not too soggy.
Turn off the heat and add basil leaves. Give it a quick stir then ladle to a bowl and serve with steam rice.
Tip 1: If you find that there’s too much liquid in the soup, take off the pot cover and allow the liquid to reduce.
Tip2: Only add the amount of water spinach that can be eaten in one sitting. Basically fish out all the water spinach if you are anticipate on having leftovers. This will prevent the water spinach from turning soggy when you reheat the soup. If you do reheat the leftovers, add a new bach of fresh water spinach. This will make the dish taste not only nice and fresh but more delicious because by now the meat is very tender.
can you list the ingredients for the kroeung (lemongrass paste)? is it just minced up lemongrass?
thanks anyway. while i want to try and attempt your recipe, i can’t without knowing what the kroeung is. i guess i’ll just be making somlaw machu lemongrass.
Thanks a million for this recipe!!!
instead of basil, my mother used marease prov. does it make a difference in taste?
Nene,
I prefer Holy Basil (Maress Prov) too but not many people have access to these herbs and so Thai basil or sometime sweet Italian basil is the next best substitution. I tried them both and enjoyed them equally. I just find that the holy basil gave off a wonderful aroma (at least to me because I LOVE holy basil).
Thanks for the recipe, I’ve been looking for this forever and have finally found it through your site. Love it!!
Your website is very inspiring. I’ve already copied a couple recipes down. I’m going to try a them for my hubby.
I don’t know specifically what is in there because as I mentioned in previous post I got it pre-made from my mom. Maybe one day I’m not too lazy and will go and watch her make it.
i don’t know the exact measurements. my mom usually makes me pound them in a mortar for her. she does all the measurements. the ingredients include lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, garlic, salt, turmeric powder, and shallots. i think that’s all.
anyhoo, i LOVE this soup, esp w/ the water spinach. yum yum! can’t wait to try this recipe out.
i just rmbr there’s a tutorial on youtube! omit the mexican dried chili peppers. only include them when you’re making curry. also omit the water if you have a mortar and pestle. but if you prefer the shortcut (the blender), then you’ll need the water. btw, the rhizome is the same as galangal. galangal looks similar to ginger. do not use ginger! lol.
here’s the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1e-MHkKXb8
oh wow i didn’t know it was gonna post the whole vdo! i only provided a link.
and sorry for spamming your commit thingy! >.<"
I think that is pretty much the ingredients – it just the measurement that will make a slight difference. I recall when I was young my Mother makes me pound them. Boy do I really hate that. You can use a blender too but she says that it’s not as good because a blender just chop where as the mortar & pestle really pound and press it down. Taste difference I really can’t tell yet but appearance wise, when using a blended Kroeung, you will notice like a thicker residue ?? (kark) on the bottom of the pot. When using the pounded one, I think it mix well ??
Yeah my Mother doesn’t use the dried chilies. She put fresh chilies for me (a lot too!) but it’s still not enough for me. I still need to add more using either fresh bird’s eye or jalapenos as you can see. Thanks for sharing the link. It’s okay. Good for others to see the variation in making this. Also, my Mother Kroeung is not as watery (as you can see in my blog post) which I like because it store/freezes extremely well. She makes like a big jar for me and when I get home, I separate them into zip lock bags. When I cook, I pull a bag to defrost but I’ve done it straight from the freezer too. It just take a bit more time to fry and get the ice all melt.
yeah the blender needs water to break down the ingredients… but doesn’t that wash out some of the flavors? i prefer mortar and pestle too. and like you said, it’s easier to store/freeze that way because it doesn’t have water.