For my love of Kroeung I do try to create new dishes utilizing this fragrant spice mixture. However, Cambodian Lemongrass Stuffed Game Hen isn’t so new since I’ve shared with you my recipe for Cambodian Grilled Lemongrass Chicken, សាច់ម៉ាន់អាំងប្រឡាក់គ្រឿង (Sach Mon Arng Prolak Kroeung) and Cambodian Stuffed Chicken Wings, ស្លាបម៉ាន់បោក (Slab Mon Baok) in previous post. What’s new in this recipe is the ingredients I used to make the stuffing. It might sound like too much to accompany rice but then the thought of stuffed turkey with mash potatoes and gravy all in one meal came into mind. That isn’t much right? Come to think about it if I have a date this Thanksgiving this might just be the ideal Cambodian Thanksgiving Dinner or two.

I decided to go with mushroom and bean thread noodles as the stuffing. These two ingredients works like a sponge and will soak up all the flavorful juices. They do not take long to cook which is perfect since game hen are fairly small and doesn’t require long roasting time. Enoki mushroom was used because that’s what I had sitting in my fridge at the moment. It’s also very affordable at only $0.49 a package! You can definitely upgrade to fresh shitaki or king oysters mushroom if you want.

Cambodian Lemongrass Stuffed Cornish Game Hen (make 2 servings)
(Mon Doat Ngort Kroeung) មាន់ដុតញាត់គ្រឿង

Ingredients
1½ lb cornish game hen with giblets inside removed
2 teaspoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon white pepper powder
1 teaspoon cayenne or paprika pepper powder, optional
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2-3 tablespoons Khmer Kroeung
1 pkg (3.5oz) enoki mushrooms, cut off bottom 1½-2 inch and rinse gently. Squeeze excess water.
1 bunch bean thread noodles, it comes in the pink netting (glass noodles), soak in warm water until soften
1 cup holy basil leaves
2 toothpick
leafy green for garnish

Method:
Rinse Cornish game hen thoroughly inside and out. Pat dry with kitchen towel and set aside.

To make the marinade combine brown sugar, fish sauce, white pepper powder, paprika (if using), sesame oil and Kroeung in a bowl. Mix well to incorporate all the ingredients.

Spoon 2 tablespoons of the marinade and pour it on the Cornish game hen then rub all over. Tip: Put the chicken inside a freezer bag and pour the marinade on top. Use you hand and rub the marinade on the chicken from the outside of the freezer bag.

To make the stuffing add mushroom, bean thread and holy basil leaves into the remainder of the marinade and mix well.

Cover the chicken and allow to marinade in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight. Cover the stuffing and store it in the fridge until it’s time to roast.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Stuff the chicken with the prepared stuffing and use toothpicks to sew the skin together so that it does not spill out during roasting. One diagonally and one across.

Place the breast side down on a rack and roast for 30 minutes. Then​ carefully flip to roast on the other side for another 20 minutes or until the juices run clear when you pierce the inner thigh with a fork. For a crispy golden brown skin crank up the heat to 450 degrees and continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes.

Remove and tent with foil. This is extremely important if you want a tender juicy meat. If you start cutting through now the meat is still hot and the juices will just flow out. You don’t want a dry meat do you? Be patient and let it rest for 15 minutes or so. In the meantime you can clean up or set the table.

Split in half to reveal the mouthwatering stuffing and arrange on a platter with some garnish.

Serve with hot steam rice and some soup. ENJOY!

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Due to the hot weather we’ve been experiencing here in California for the past few days I tried to distance myself from the kitchen. I’ve been eating my Mother homemade salty sun-dried fish with either watermelon or plain rice with water for the past several days now. Today the weather was a bit cooler and so I was happy to be back in the kitchen . I have a big head of cabbage left in the fridge and been waiting to make cabbage soup for a while now, this was the perfect time for me to make my yummy Cabbage Soup with Pork (Sngor Spey Sach Jrook) ស្ងោរស្ពីសាច់ជ្រូក. It was light and  flavorful.  D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S !

There are two variation to the soup. Both use the same ingredients but presented in different ways. Take your pick. The dumpling version will be the quick and easier version. The stuffed version will take some time. It does make a nice presentation though. You can also add bean threads in the pork mixture. If you have the time you can make a rich broth with pork or chicken bones. Another way to flavor the stock is by using dried shrimp.  The soup can be eaten alone or part of a meal.

Ingredients
½ cabbage leaves
4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
toothpicks or green onions to secure roll
cilantro leaves for garnish

Pork stuffing/Dumplings
1 cup ground pork
1 tablespoon dried shredded wood-ear mushrooms, soaked in water til soften then chopped
1 stem green onion, chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black paper
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce

Soup Stock
4 cups water
1 tablespoon sugar
½ chicken bouillon
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce

Method for stuffed cabbage roll:
Start by blanching the cabbage leaves in hot boiling water with a little bit of salt until soft. Trim away hard stems and set aside.

To make the pork stuffing/dumplings combine chopped green onion, mushrooms, ground pork and remainder ingredients. Mix well.

Place one tablespoon of stuffing at the stem end of each leaf, and fold in the sides. If the leaves are small, you can layered them. Roll each leaf tightly, and secure with toothpick.

Make the stock by bringing 4 cups of water to a boil and add chicken bouillon. Add stuffed cabbage roll and cook in the stock for 5-10 minutes until tender. Then season with sugar, soy sauce and fish sauce.  Remove toothpick. Garnish with cilantro leaves before serving.

Method for cabbage soup with pork dumplings:
Follow the steps above for blanching the cabbage leaves. When it’s cool to the touch roll and slice the cabbage. Set in a bowl.

Prepare stock by adding all the ingredients in boiling water.

Combine ingredients for pork stuffing. Scoop out about 1 tablespoon of pork filling and roll into a ball. Drop into the stock. Cook about 10 minutes. To serve ladle pork dumplings into a bowl of shredded cabbage follow by some stock. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

…….. and if you happen to have left over stuffing you can turn it into another simple and delicious stir fry glass noodles. Using the same ingredients with the addition of mung bean noodles that has been soaked.