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Beef Lok Lak recipe, Siem Reap, Cambodia. A Modern Take on a Traditional Dish. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Beef Lok Lak Recipe for Cambodian Pepper Beef, A Modern Take on a Traditional Dish

This Beef Lok Lak recipe delivers a delicious traditional Cambodian pepper beef dish, made with Kampot pepper, in a more contemporary form. This local favourite, which for many Cambodians is their national dish, was one of the inspirations for my creative Cambodian canapés.

This beef lok lak recipe is for another local favourite that served as inspiration for one of the creative Cambodian canapés we created for our New Year’s Eve spread. While the presentation of this dish was modern for our canapés, the recipe itself is for an authentic traditional Cambodian dish, albeit one whose provenance is often debated.

It’s believed that Cambodia’s beef lok lak is of Vietnamese origin as there’s a near-identical Vietnamese dish called thit bo luc lac. The Vietnamese dish has virtually the same name, which translates to ‘shaking beef’, because the cook has to shake the wok back and forth to evenly sear the beef.

It’s thought that the French, who colonised Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, and popularised beef, might have brought beef lok lak to Cambodia via Phnom Penh. Lara, who has been researching this subject as part of a longer-term project on Cambodia’s culinary history, is still searching for evidence of that, and while it’s certainly a possibility if not a probability, she believes the dish might even have a longer history.

If you’re interested in culinary history, particularly that of Cambodia and Southeast Asia, please check out the epic Cambodian cookbook and culinary history research project we’ve been working on for the last seven years. The cookbook documents recipes by Cambodian cooks from around the country and shares their stories, portraits and kitchens, while the culinary history will tell the long rich story of Cambodian food for the first time. We’re always looking for patrons to help us complete this important work and you can support our research and the project for as little as US$2 or US$5 a month on Patreon. 

Beef Lok Lak Recipe – Traditional Cambodian Pepper Beef made with Kampot Pepper

Several Cambodian chefs have told us that they believe beef lok lak arrived when the Vietnamese occupied Cambodia for a decade after Vietnam’s December 1978 invasion, when the Vietnamese ousted the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. However, Khmer-Americans who went into exile before the Khmer Rouge came to power, have been cooking the dish ever since their arrival in the USA.

It could have been brought to Cambodia in the 19th century following Vietnam’s 34-year colonisation of Cambodia, from 1834 until Cambodia became a French protectorate in 1867. Or it could have arrived during ‘the French century’ as the colonial period is often called.

But history is more complicated than that. We shouldn’t forget that the area we now know as Central and Southern Vietnam were part of what we now know as Cambodia for over 800 years. When the French offered to protect Cambodia from its neighbours, Vietnam and Siam (now Thailand), because Siam had also occupied parts of Cambodia, including Siem Reap and Battambang, Cambodia, as part of that deal, was forced to give up some of its southeast region, including Prey Nokor (which would become Saigon), the Mekong Delta and Tay Ninh, which had been part of the Khmer Empire for over 800 years.

Central and Southern Vietnam was part of ‘Cambodia’ from as early as 500BC, when they were part of the Khmer-speaking Kingdom of Funan. Interestingly, Funan’s port Oc Eo was on the international maritime trade routes that connected Han China with the Roman Empire.

While Funan and the Kingdom of Chenla and Khmer Empire that followed were influenced by India, we know from Chinese annals that Chinese emissaries, traders and merchants had been travelling to and spending long periods of time here between journeys. Some stayed on and married local women.

We know from the detailed bas-reliefs on the Bayon temple walls that the Khmer were already stir-frying, as well as barbecuing, steaming, and stewing. We know from the journal of the Chinese emissary Zhou Daguan who was at Angkor for a year in 1296 that wild pepper grew here, and that they had cattle and deer (which we can also see on the bas-reliefs), and that venison was eaten. Interestingly, although it is technical illegal to kill wild deer now, Cambodians eat a venison lok lak in the countryside, especially near Phnom Kulen.

Our beef lok lak recipe could well have been brought to the land that we now know as Cambodia and Vietnam directly by the Chinese as there are numerous black pepper beef stir-fry dishes from China, for instance, in Fujian, and Guangdong and Cantonese cuisines.

A similar black pepper stir-fry from Guangdong lists the same ingredients in this beef lok lak recipe, with the addition of ginger and onion, while a Cantonese dish also boasts the same ingredients as my beef lok lak recipe, but with bell pepper, onion and sesame oil.

The first Chinese to settle in Cambodia during the Khmer Empire (802-1431) were Hokkien speaking peoples from Fujian province. Further waves arrived at the end of the 17th century (Cantonese and Hainanese); during the French protectorate period (Hokkien and Cantonese from Guangdong); and throughout the 19th and 20th centuries before and after the French (Hakka and Teochew from southern Fujian).

With the origins of our beef lok lak recipe being so contested, I prefer to call it a Cambodian dish, which suggests that it could have been influenced by the culinary heritage of Cambodians other than Khmer, such as Cambodian-Chinese, whereas Khmer suggests it is indigenous.

Regardless of where my beef lok lak recipe originally came from, it’s incredibly delicious. Once reserved for special occasions, beef lok lak is now eaten both in the home and at modest eateries, generally during the day, for breakfast, lunch or a snack.

It’s always eaten with rice, which is served in a bowl on the side, and usually has a soft fried egg on top so that when you break the egg the yolk run through the cubes of meat.

You can order very good Kampot Pepper online at Amazon.

Notes on Presentation of Beef Lok Lak

I haven’t stipulated how you should present the dish in my beef lok lak recipe but it’s traditionally served in a mound on the plate or on a bed of lettuce (or watercress at good restaurants, such as Mahob Khmer). Thick slices of crunchy green tomatoes are arranged around or to the side of the meat.

A runny fried egg is often plopped on top of the beef and sometimes French fries will be served on the side. Evidence of the French connection? Or a twist to the dish to please hungry foreign travellers?

For our more contemporary presentation of the beef lok lak for our spread of creative Cambodian canapés, we served neat pieces of beef individually on single slices of green tomato. I spooned a little of the peppery juices over the beef and tomato and popped a fried quail egg on top of each.

A note: Lara has undertaken the research, above, for a Cambodian cookbook and culinary history we are working on and has all sources. Please don’t plagiarise this material. Get in touch if you’d like more information or permission to quote her research.

Beef Lok Lak recipe, Siem Reap, Cambodia. A Modern Take on a Traditional Dish. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Beef Lok Lak (Khmer Loc Lac) Recipe

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This Beef Lok Lak recipe delivers a delicious traditional Cambodian pepper beef dish, made with Kampot pepper.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Course: Main
Cuisine: Cambodian
Servings: 6
Calories: 351kcal
Author: Terence Carter

Ingredients

  • 600 g beef fillet cubed
  • 2 tbsp white sugar
  • 2 tbsp black Kampot pepper crushed
  • 2½ tbsp garlic crushed
  • 5 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1½ tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 2 tbsp Chinese rice wine
  • 1 tbsp dark soy
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
DIPPING SAUCE
  • 1 fresh lime
  • 1 tsp black Kampot pepper ground
  • 1 tsp sea salt

Instructions

  • Combine the beef with the sugar, half of the pepper, half of the garlic, 2/3 of the oyster sauce and light soy sauce, salt and cornstarch. Mix thoroughly and marinate for at least an hour in the fridge.
  • After marinating, remove the mixture from the fridge and let it get to room temperature.
  • Add the oil to a hot pan, and add the beef mixture. Stir fry until medium rare. Remove the mixture from the pan and deglaze the pan with the rice wine until reduced.
  • Add the remaining garlic fry until translucent. Add the beef again and add the remaining oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and pepper.
  • Cook to your liking. We generally like ours medium rare if we're using the best quality beef.
  • The sauce should be thick.
  • Serve on a plate with thick slices of green tomatoes on the side.
  • Quarter the lime, put some of the ground Kampot black pepper and sea salt into a small side dish, squeeze the juice onto the pepper, combine, and taste. Add more salt or pepper, as you like.
  • Serve this dipping sauce (tek merec) on the side. Meat can be dipped into the bowl or it can be poured over the beef.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 351kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 1267mg | Potassium: 407mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 18IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 3mg

 

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About Terence Carter

Terence Carter is an editorial food and travel photographer and infrequent travel writer with a love of photographing people, places and plates of food. After living in the Middle East for a dozen years, he settled in South-East Asia a dozen years ago with his wife, travel and food writer and sometime magazine editor Lara Dunston.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Cathie Carpio says

    March 27, 2017 at 10:10 pm

    Nice recipe, Terence. I found it easy to follow (and I rarely cook); its succinct yet it does not leave out any helpful information. Any alternatives for Chinese rice wine though? Thanks!5 stars

  2. Terence Carter says

    March 28, 2017 at 11:02 am

    Glad you liked the recipe, Cathie. You can substitute white grape juice if you want non-alcoholic, or use a dry sherry.

    Cheers,

    T

  3. Felicia Mallett says

    June 10, 2017 at 11:04 pm

    This dish had just the right amount of zing and I found the green tomatoes really helped balance it out.

    Can this same sauce be used for other meats?5 stars

  4. Lara Dunston says

    July 14, 2017 at 9:44 pm

    Hi Felicia, the green tomatoes are such a great contrast, aren’t they? I’ve just been in Vietnam and there they have a similar dish, and they also serve the pepper, salt and lime sauce with fried tofu, which works really well. I imagine that a lighter version might also work well with other kinds of seafood, such as calamari/squid, prawns and fish. If you try it, we’d love to hear how it turns out.

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Lara and Terence are an Australian-born, Southeast Asia-based travel and food writers and photographers who have authored scores of guidebooks, produced countless travel and food stories, are currently developing cookbooks and guidebooks, and host culinary tours and writing and photography retreats in Southeast Asia.
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Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check o Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check out our seafood recipe collection, especially if you celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve with a fish focused meal in the Southern Italian tradition, transformed by Italian-Americans into the Feast of the Seven Fishes, or like Australians, who celebrate Christmas in the sweltering summer, feast on seafood for Christmas Day lunch, we’ve got lots of easy seafood recipes for you.

Our recipes include a classic prawn cocktail, blini with smoked salmon, a ceviche-style appetiser, and devilled eggs with caviar. We’ve also got recipes for fish soup, seafood pies and pastas, salmon tray bake, and crispy salmon with creamy mashed potatoes.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/seafood-recipes-for-christmas-eve-and-christmas-day-menus/
(Link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas if you’re celebrating!! 

#christmas #christmasfood #seafood #fish #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #grantourismo #grantourismotravels #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you’re still looking for food inspo for Chris If you’re still looking for food inspo for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day meals, my smoked salmon ‘carpaccio’ recipe is one of dozens of recipes in this compilation of our best Christmas recipes (link below). 

The Christmas recipe compilation includes collections of our best Christmas breakfast recipes, best Christmas brunch recipes, best Christmas starter recipes, best Christmas cocktails, best Christmas dessert recipes, and homemade edible Christmas gifts and more.

My smoked salmon carpaccio recipe makes an easy elegant appetiser that’s made in minutes. If you’re having guests over, you can make the dish ahead by assembling the salmon, capers and pickled onions, and refrigerate it, then pour on the dressing just before serving. 

Provide toasted baguette slices and bowls of additional capers, pickles and dressing, so guests can customise their carpaccio. And open the bubbly!

You’ll find that recipe and many more Christmas recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/best-christmas-recipes/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas!! X

#christmas #christmasfood #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #salmon #smokedsalmon #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels 
#xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I sh If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I shared a collection of recipes for homemade edible Christmas gifts — for condiments, hot sauces, chilli oils, a whole array of pickles, spice blends, chilli salt, furakake seasoning, and spicy snacks, such as our Cambodian and Vietnamese roasted peanuts. 

I love giving homemade edibles as gifts as much as I love receiving them. Who wouldn’t appreciate jars filled with their favourite chilli oils, hot sauces, piquant pickles, and spicy peanuts that loved-ones have taken the time to make? 

Aside from the gesture and affordability of gifting homemade edibles, you’re minimising waste. You can use recycled jars or if buying new mason jars or clip-top Kilner jars, you know they’ll get repurposed.

No need for wrapping, just attach some Christmas baubles or tinsel to the lid. I used squares of Cambodian kramas (cotton scarves), which can be repurposed as napkins or drink coasters, and tied a ribbon or two around the lids, and attached last year’s Christmas tree decorations to some.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/homemade-edible-christmas-gifts/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Yes, that’s Pepper... every time there’s a camera around... 

#christmasgiftideas #ediblegifts ##christmasfoodgifts #foodgifts #giftideas #homemadegifts #christmasfood #ediblegiftideas #hotsauce #chillisauce #sriracha #pickles #homemadepickles #recipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood 
#blackcat #blackcatsofinstagram #picoftheday 
#christmas #christmastree #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas #cambodia #siemreap
This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’ This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’s perfect if you’re just back from the fish markets armed with luxurious fresh crab meat. It’s a little sweet, a little spicy, and very, very moreish.

Our crab omelette recipe was one of our 22 most popular egg recipes of 2022 on our website Grantourismo and it’s no surprise. It’s appeared more times than any other egg recipes on our annual round-ups of most popular recipes since Terence launched Weekend Eggs when we launched Grantourismo in 2010.

If you’re an eggs lover, do check out the recipe collection. It includes egg recipes from right around the world, from recipes for classic kopitiam eggs from Singapore and Malaysia and egg curries from India and Myanmar to all kinds of egg recipes from Thailand, Japan, Korea, China, Mexico, USA, Australia, UK, and Ireland.

And do browse our Weekend Eggs archives for further eggspiration (sorry). We have hundreds of egg recipes from the 13 year-old series of recipes for quintessential egg dishes from around the world, which we started on our 2010 year-long global grand tour focused on slow, local and experiential travel. 

We’re hoping 2023 will be the year we can finally publish the Weekend Eggs cookbook we’ve talked about for years based on that series. After we can find a publisher for the Cambodia cookbook of course... :( 

Recipe collection here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio):
https://grantourismotravels.com/22-most-popular-egg-recipes-of-2022-from-weekend-eggs/

If you cook the recipe and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either in the comments at the end of the recipe or share a pic with us here.

#recipe #recipes #eggs #eggslover #breakfasteggs #WeekendEggs #egg #breakfast #brunch #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #lookingforapublisher #writingacookbook  #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angko I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angkor Archaeological Park, home to stupendous Angkor Wat, pictured, celebrated 30 years of its UNESCO World Heritage listing. 

That’s as good an excuse as any to put this magnificent, sprawling archaeological site on your travel list this year.

While riverside Siem Reap, your base for exploring Angkor is bustling once more, there are still nowhere near the visitors of the last busy high season months of December-January 2018-2019 when there were 290,000 visitors. 

Last month there were just 55,000 visitors and December feels a little quieter. A tour guide friend said there were about 150 people at Angkor Wat for sunrise a few days ago.

If you’re looking for tips to visiting Angkor, Siem Reap and Cambodia, just ask us a question in the comments below or check Grantourismo as we’ve got loads of info on our site. Click through to the link in the bio and explore our Cambodia guide or search for ‘Angkor’. 

And please do let us know if you’re coming to Siem Reap. We’d love to see you here x

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Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky, flavourful and succulent chicken thighs that are fantastic with steamed rice, Chinese greens or a salad, such as a Southeast Asian slaw. 

The chicken can be marinated for up to 24 hours before cooking, which ensures it’s packed with flavour, then it can be cooked on a barbecue or in a pan.

Terence’s soy ginger chicken recipe is one of our favourite recipes for a quick and easy meal. I love the sound of the sizzling thighs in the pan, and the warming aromas wafting through the apartment. 

It’s amazing how such flavourful juicy chicken thighs come from such a quick and easy recipe.

Recipe here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio): https://grantourismotravels.com/soy-ginger-chicken-recipe/

If you cook it and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either here or in the comments at the end of the recipe on the site or share a pic with us x 

#recipe #recipes #chicken #soygingerchicken #asianfood #southeastasianfood #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #cookingtime #recipe #recipes #comfortfood #foodblog #food #foodstagram #healthyfood #instafood #healthy #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re mak Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re making with my market haul from Psar Samaki in Siem Reap — all for a whopping 10,000 riel (US$2.50)?! 

Birds-eye chillies thrown in for free! They were on my list but the seller I spent most at (5,000 riel!) scooped up a handful and slipped them into my bag. She was my last stop and knew what I was making.

My Khmer is poor, even after all our years in Cambodia, as I don’t learn languages with the ease I did in my 20s, plus I’m mentally exhausted after researching and writing all day. I have a better vocabulary of Old and Middle Khmer than modern Khmer from studying the ancient inscriptions for the Cambodian culinary history component of our cookbook I’m writing.

So when one seller totalled my purchases I thought she said 5,000 riel but she handed back 4,500 riel! The sum total of two huge bunches of herbs and kaffir lime leaves was 500 riel.

Tip: if visiting Siem Reap, use Khmer riel for local shopping. We’ve mainly used riel since the pandemic started— rarely use US$ now as market sellers quote prices in riels, as do local shops and bakeries, and I tip tuk tuk drivers in riels. I find prices quoted in riels are lower.

Psar Samaki is cheaper than Psar Leu, which is cheaper than Psar Chas, as it’s a wholesale market, which means the produce is fresher. I see veggies arriving, piled high in the back of vehicles, with dirt still on them — as I did on this trip. 

The scent of a mountain of incredibly aromatic pineapples offloaded from the back of a dusty ute was so heady they smelt like they’d just been cut. More exotic European style veggies arrive by big trucks in boxes labelled in Vietnamese (from Dalat) and Mandarin (from China), such as beautiful snow-white cauliflower I spotted.

Note: the freshest produce is sold on the dirt road at the back of the market.

#cambodia #siemreap #foodwriter #foodblogger #foodphotography #igfood #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #instadaily #picoftheday #market #siemreapmarket #psarsamaki #marketfresh #vegetables #healthyfood #marketshopping #traveltips #foodtravel #culinarytravel #localtravel #cooking #cookingtime #curry #homemade #currypaste #grantourismotravels
My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recip My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recipe makes tender meatballs doused in a delightfully tangy-sweet sauce, sprinkled with crispy fried shallots, with carrot-daikon, crunchy cucumber and fragrant herbs. 

The dish is inspired by bún chả, a Hanoi specialty, but it’s not bún chả. No matter what Google or food bloggers tell you. Names are important, especially when cooking and writing about cuisines not our own.

This is an authentic bún chả recipe:  https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-bun-cha-recipe/ You’ll need to get the outdoor BBQ/grill going to do proper smoky bún chả meat patties (not meatballs).

My meatball noodle bowl is perhaps more closely related to dishes such as a Central Vietnam cousin bún thịt nướng (pork skewers on rice noodles in a bowl) and a Southern relation bún bò Nam Bộ (beef atop rice noodles, sprinkled with fried shallots (Nam Bộ=Southern Vietnam) though neither include meatballs. 

Xíu mại= meatballs although they’re different in flavour to mine, which taste more like bún chả patties. Xíu mại remind me of Southern Italian meatballs in tomato sauce.

In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, home to millions of Khmer, there’s bánh tằm xíu mại. Bánh tằm=silk worm noodles. They’re topped with meatballs, cucumber, daikon, carrot, fresh herbs, crispy fried onions. Difference: cold noodles doused in a sauce of coconut cream and fish sauce. 

Remove the meatballs, add chopped fried spring rolls and it’s Cambodia’s banh sung, which is a rice noodle salad similar to Vietnam’s bún chả giò :) 

Recipe here: (link in bio) https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-meatballs-and-rice-noodles-recipe/

For more on these culinary connections you’ll have to wait for our Cambodian cookbook and culinary history. In a hurry to know? Come support the project on Patreon. (link in bio)

#recipe #recipes #vietnamesefood #cambodianfood #asianfood #southeastasianfood #ricenoodles #rice #noodlebowl #meatballs #igfood #igfoodie #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #writingacookbook #writingacambodiancookbook #patreon #patreoncreator #grantourismo
It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour matches the furnishings of our rented apartment. So, no, I did not colour-coordinate the interiors to match our cat’s eyes. 

I keep getting DMs from pet clothing brands wanting to “partner” with Pepper and send her free cat clothes and cat accessories. Although she did wear a kerchief for a few years in her more adventurous fashion-forward teenage years, I cannot see this cat in clothes now, can you? 

#pepper #blackcat #blackcats #blackcatsofinstagram #blackcatsrule #blackcatsmatter #cat #cats #catsofinstagram #catstagram #catlover #catlovers #catlove #catoftheday #catphoto #catpic #catpics #cambodiancat #cambodiancatsofinstagram #catlife #catloversclub #catoftheday #catgram #catstagram #cats_of_instagram #catphotography #catsofig #catsoftheworld #catsofinsta #cats🐱 #siemreap #cambodia

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