Siem Reap: Khmer Cooking Class with Market Tour & Pickup

4.95

(169 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

We were already sweating a bit by the time our guide, Sopheak, handed us chilled lemongrass water outside the Siem Reap market. I’d never seen so many herbs piled together—tiny limes, something that looked like ginger but wasn’t, and fish stacked on ice. Sopheak laughed when I tried to pronounce “prahok” (I’m still not sure I got it right). The air was thick with spice and chatter; vendors waved at him like old friends. I liked how he explained what each thing was for—like why you need noni leaves for Fish Amok. Didn’t expect to learn that before noon.

The tuk-tuk ride to the cooking pavilion was breezy, all dust and flashes of green fields. Our chef, Dara, greeted us with a grin and set us up under a roof of woven palm leaves. He showed me how to roll spring rolls without tearing the rice paper—mine looked lumpy but tasted better than they looked (Dara said “rustic style” is fine). The coconut milk for dessert smelled sweet and warm as it bubbled. My hands were sticky most of the time, which somehow made it more fun.

Sitting down together in the garden to eat what we’d cooked—Fish Amok steaming in its banana leaf bowl, spring rolls crisp on the outside—felt oddly satisfying. There was a soft clatter from someone chopping herbs nearby, birds calling somewhere out past the fence. We talked about Cambodian food traditions and Dara told us how his grandmother used to make palm sugar candy. I still think about that taste—banana with coconut cream—when I smell palm sugar now.