Cambodian Cooking – Lily’s Secret Garden

We rushed back from Angkor Wat Sunrise to get changed for our cooking class with Lily’s Secret Garden. Tuk Tuk Bean waited for us even though this wasn’t part of the agreement. But he and his excellent photography skills were the reason we were running late, to begin with. It turned out well because the drop off spot was where he was to pick us up from later in the afternoon to continue our countryside touring.

Chris of Lily’s Secret Garden picked us up at the Hard Rock Cafe. We were ourselves, a young man from Ireland who had just arrived in the country the night before, and a young couple from New Zealand on an extended trip through South-East Asia.

Chris is a Belge who lives in Siem Reap. He drove us into the countryside and took as to a local market pointing out various herbs and vegetables along the way. I was surprised to see red ants in a basket and realised that the red ant curry I had noticed on a menu at a restaurant earlier was literally made out of red ants!

We arrived at Lily’s Secret Garden and we were given a refreshing drink of lemongrass sweetened with palm sugar. Then we were given palm sugar to taste. Then we cooked with palm sugar and that’s how we ended up having to go buy palm sugar when Tuk Tuk Bean came to pick us up for more countryside touring.

Our Chef, Darwin, patiently walked us through preparing a Cambodian 3 course meal. We made fresh spring rolls or what I call summer rolls, Lort-Cha fried rice noodles with chicken, and a choice of dessert. Mama & M’sa chose the glutinous rice balls filled with palm sugar and I the pumpkin in sweet coconut cream.

Afterwards, we sat out in the garden to enjoy our lunch. Mama ate the summer rolls no problem. She attempted the noodles dish before stating that she was full and clearing her plate into M’sa’s and mine as if we had made a pact to finish eating her food. Dessert was interesting. None of us, including the other guests, had had anything like it before. The glutinous rice balls had an interesting texture. We giggled as we sampled them. I found them akin to mochi which I like and I didn’t mind the piece of palm sugar in the middle either. But that didn’t mean I wanted to eat all of the balls. The pumpkin dessert was also interesting. I would have liked it sweeter.

Chris & Lily’s young son came out to greet us as we cooked and he came along on the truck-ride back to Hard Rock Cafe as well. He spoke both French and English at such a young age and I wouldn’t be surprised if he speaks Cambodian as well, given that his dad obviously did, and his mother’s family, who lived in the home as well, are Cambodian. What a lucky boy.