This is a re-post of my pickled lime recipe that I shared perhaps 4-years ago? When I redesign my website this recipe is one of a few that did not get transfered.

Pickled lime is a key ingredient when making the infamous Cambodian Pickled Lime Chicken Soup ស្ងោរម៉ាន់ណាំងូវ (Sngor Mon Num Ngov).

Advance preparation is required. The process of making Num Ngow is fairly simple, but it’s the preserving  process that is time consuming. Basically you make it and forget, for awhile that is.

Pickled Lime (makes 20 pickled lime)
(Num Ngov) ណាំងូវ

Ingredients
20 limes
½ cup sugar
1 cup salt
3 quarts water
clean container large to fit

Method
Several weeks in advance rinse limes and let them dry (sit) in the sun for a week or so. Remember to rotate them often so that all sides get their fair share of sunshine. The color will change from green to yellow and eventually tan. It should be ready when the outer skin feels a bit harden to the touch. It will loose it round shape and some will appear to be inflated.

Use a damp towel and gently clean the skin as they might have collected dust while tanning. Arrange inside a clean plastic or glass container.

Set a pot on medium to low heat and add sugar. Constantly stir the sugar until it caramelize be careful not to burn it. The color will turn to a rich brown color.

Slowly add water and salt and stir to dissolve and incorporate.  I usually allow the mixture to cool down a bit before pouring into the contained filled with sun-dried limes.

Close the container lid and leave it out on the counter for another week.  After that you can store it in a cool dark cupboard. I usually wait at least a month before I use it. The longer you store it the more flavorful it gets.

*This was the only batch (20 limes) I’ve made in the past 4-years. Because of it’s rich flavor a recipe usually calls just for one pickled lime. If you made this much, it will last you a very long time.

Video Tutorial

Original text below from archive Oct 21, 2009.
Yesterday I headed to Stockton to drop off some stuff at my parent’s house and also stopped by my sister’s salon to get my bangs trimmed. Mother always try to pack me stuff every time I visit. My fridge is still stock with kwah ko (Cambodian Sausage) and trey ngeat (Cambodian Sun-Dried Salty Fish) from my last visit so there was no need for more of those, yet.  Mother still had other goodies for me to bring back home and this time it was jruk spey ជ្រក់ស្ពៃ (Cambodian pickled mustard greens).

My favorite part of jruk spey is the center where the stems are still young and crunchy. I remembered growing up Mother used to make like buckets of jruk spey at a time and us kids would sneak up and pinched the center stem portion of the mustard green then eat them. When it’s time to cook my Mother is left with the outer leaves potion with a hollow center. She would questioned who did it. Of course we pointed fingers at each other and no body dare to admit they were the guilty one.

Jruk spey can be used to make a variety of Cambodian dish as soups, stir-fry, and as a relish/salad to accompany grilled fishes as well as other meats. Today I am sharing with you how I make Sngour Jruk Spey ស្ងោរជ្រក់ស្ពៃ (Pickled Mustard Green Soup).  Very few ingredients are called for but this soup yield LOTS of flavor! I am using bone-in chicken but you can use pork as well. Bone-in meats I think  tend to yield a more flavorful broth due to long period of simmering. The broth becomes rich and the meats get oh so tender, like fall of the bone goodness.  However, if time is tight then opt for meats only (without the bone) and chop into smaller pieces as it will cook faster.

Ingredients
3 skinless chicken thighs (about 1 lb) cut into chunks
3 cups chopped pickled mustard greens
5 cups of water
3 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon chicken broth mix (or ½ chicken bullion cube)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
chopped green onion or cilantro for garnishing
hot red chili peppers to serve (optional)

Method:
Wash and rinse and squeeze as much water from the pickled mustard greens prior to chopping to remove some of the salt content.

Bring water to a boil and add chicken pieces and garlic cloves. Allow to boil for 10 minutes making sure to remove scum that rise to the surface. If you are using meat only this will be less visible. Cover and simmer stock for 30 minutes or longer if have the time, otherwise 10-15 minutes is sufficient.

Add chicken broth mix followed by chopped pickled mustard greens. Continue to cook another 5 minutes. Finish the soup off by adding sugar and fish sauce.  Pickled mustard greens can vary in flavor. Some have a very high salt content even after you rinse it while others make them pretty sour. Taste and adjust to your liking.

Once you are satisfy with the flavor turn the heat off and add chopped green onion then stir to combine. To serve, ladle to a bowl and garnish with fresh whole or chopped chili. This soup can be served as is or along with steamed rice at part of a meal.

The rich taste of long-simmered, fork tender beef in the last hour of cooking make this soup/stew hearty and extra delicious! This soup/stew can be enjoyed as a main dish with some toasty bread or as part of a meal with steamed rice. You can even add some rice noodles and turn it into a hearty beef noodle soup.

Tip: Use a tea/herb mesh ball (can be purchase at Walmart for about $2), to catch all the little spices so you don’t have to dig it out later.

Beef Soup|Stew with Potatoes & Carrots
(Soup Ko Domlong  & Karot) ស្ងោរស៊ុបគោដំលូងនឹងក៉ារត់

Ingredients
2 lbs beef short ribs, trim excess fat and discard if any
10 cups water
2 tablespoons oil
2 carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 red potatoes, cut into big chunks
1 small onion, cut in half
1 beef bouillon cube
cilantro sprigs to garnish

Spices (add to tea/herb mesh ball)
4 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorn
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 inch piece ginger

Seasoning
2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

Method:
Heat a heavy pan with oil and and beef. Sear each side 2-3 minutes. Transfer seared meat to a large pot and add 10 cups of water and bring it to a boil.

Add potatoes, carrots, onions and the tea/herb mesh ball (containing spices). Bring them all to a rolling boil again then cover and simmer for 2 hours or more. The longer you simmer the tender the beef gets. However if you wish to simmer for longer than 2 hours then do not add the carrots and potatoes until half way into the simmer as you don’t want the vegetables to get all soft and mushy.

About 10 minutes before serving add seasonings. To serve ladle to a bowl and garnish with cilantro sprigs.

I notice that I have not been eating my greens as I am suppose to lately. Bad bad me, I know. I guess I’m just very picky on the types of vegetables and what dishes it goes into.

Growing up I never like radish aka daikon. I didn’t like the smell nor the taste. Turned away when my Mother make soups out of it. Pick it off when she use them to make pickle things. However, as you might have notice, I really like it in my pickled carrots and daikon. Maybe it’s an acquire taste and smell? Or perhaps my taste buds changed over time. Nevertheless, I made an attempt to make and eat my radish soup (Sngor Chai Thao) ស្ងោរឆែថាវ. I never thought I would say this but “I <3 radish soup”. It very light and refreshing and it makes me feel healthy and I sip the tasty broth.

The longer you simmer, the tender the meat gets. The radish also becomes nice and soft but not mushy (only if you prefer it that way) . If you don’t have time to make the stock, you can use small cut of meat and add stock cube (pork or chicken) to help flavor the broth. It’s a very easy soup to put together. The soup can be enjoyed as is or with steamed rice with a full meal.

Ingredients
1.5 lbs pork neck bones with meat attached
6 cups of water
3 cloves of garlic
½ onion, peeled and cut in half again
½ lb radish/daikon, cut into bite size pieces
1.5 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
cilantro & chili for garnishing

Method:
Wash meat thoroughly and drain well. This next step is optional but I usually take the time to pre-boil the meat to remove those gunk and residue from the bone giving me a nice clear and delicious broth. Bring a big pot of water to boil and add the meat. Boil for about 5-10 minutes and then discard the liquid and rinse the meat again.

Rinse your pot to remove any residue on the sides and add 6 cups of water. Wait til it boils and then return the meat. Allow it to come to a blasting boil and then cover and simmer low for 1-2 hours. The longer you simmer, the tender the meat gets. Also I find that the broth is much more tasty as all the juices and flavors are extracted from bones. You can prepare this stock in advance and refrigerate it. Reheat when it’s time to prepare the soup. If there’s any visible fat you want to remove it would a lot easier to do so resulting in a nutritious and healthier soup.

Prepare the soup by adding cut radish to the stock when it boils. Allow radish to cook until soft to your liking. If you are not in a hurry you can cover and simmer it for about 30 minutes but check every now and then making sure it doesn’t get too soft or break apart. Once you are satisfy with the texture of the cooked radish, go ahead and add the sugar, soy sauce and fish sauce.

To serve, ladle to a bowl and garnish with some chopped cilantro and chili. You can also serve it directly on top of steamed rice for a delicious one bowl rice soup.

I’m revisiting an old dish I made awhile back this time sharing you my step-by-step recipe on how to make this classic delicious Cambodian comfort food called Chicken and Lime Soup (Sngor Jruk Sach Mon) ស្ងោរជ្រក់សាច់ម៉ាន់. This is probably similar to the Thai version of Tom Yum Soup with a clear broth.

This year I feel fortunate because one of my favorite herbs “Basil” is growing nicely in my garden. I used to plant basil before but there were more flowers than there are leaves, even though I pick the flowers early as soon as it comes up. I don’t know what went wrong that year. This year I planted two varieties, the Thai basil (purple stem) and the sweet basil known in Italian cooking. With just a few ingredients I have left I went ahead and made some Chicken and Lime Soup.

I remember this used to be my oldest brother favorite soup because it’s the only thing he knows how to make as it requires very little ingredients. When my Mother first visited Cambodia back around 1995 my Dad was left to take care of us and he too made this soup for us almost every single day, again maybe it’s because that’s the only thing he knows LOL   Alternatively, you can kick it up a notch by adding other vegetables like banana blossom, oyster mushrooms, lotus roots and many more.

Chicken and Lime Soup
(Sngor Jruk Sach Mon) ស្ងោរជ្រក់សាច់ម៉ាន់

Ingredients
1 small Cornish chicken, cut into quarters
4 cups of water
2 lemongrass stalk, ends trimmed and pound
5-6 kaffir leaves
3-4 garlic, smashed
2 chicken bouillon cube
1-2 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 cup basil leaves
2-3 chillies (optional)

Method:
Bring water, lemongrass stalks and kaffir leaves to a boil. Add chicken bouillon cube. Stir to dissolve.

Add chicken pieces making sure they submerge in the stock. Cook until chicken is done. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your chicken pieces. Once the chicken is cooked remove and continue to simmer the stock. Allow the chicken to cool. Then separate the meat and discard the bones. Shred the meat into pieces with your fingers.

Return the shredded chicken back into the stock followed by sugar and fish sauce. Stir to combine. Taste and adjust to your preference. Turn the heat off and add in the lime juice.

When serving, ladle to a bowl and add chopped basil leaves. Garnish with some chili peppers. This soup can be enjoy alone or as part of a meal with steamed rice.