''Num banhchok'' (, ) are lightly fermented Cambodian

rice noodles Rice noodles are noodles made with rice flour and water as the principal ingredients. Sometimes ingredients such as tapioca or corn starch are added in order to improve the transparency or increase the gelatinous and chewy texture of the noodle ...

and a breakfast noodle dish. banhchok "បញ្ចុក" translates to "to feed" in

Khmer language Khmer ( ; , Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ) is an Austroasiatic language spoken natively by the Khmer people. This language is an official language and national language of Cambodia. The language is also widely spoken by Khmer people i ...

Preparation

''Num banhchok'' is made by soaking rice for 2–4 hours and grinding it into a liquidy paste. The paste is pressed into round shapes and dried inside

calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...

bags. Then it is pulverized and turned into a viscous paste, which is

extruded Extrusion is a process used to create objects of a fixed cross-sectional profile by pushing material through a die of the desired cross-section. Its two main advantages over other manufacturing processes are its ability to create very complex ...

into boiling water. The noodles are boiled for 3–4 minutes and transferred to cold water.

Variations

There are many variations of ''num banhchok'' across the country. *''Num banhchok samlor proher'' () with a base made out of

yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In t ...

or yellow-green ''kroeung'', pounded from either

lemongrass ''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, oily heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family. Some ...

stalks (for yellow ''kroeung'') or leaves (for green ''kroeung''),

kaffir lime ''Citrus hystrix'', called the kaffir lime, Thai lime or makrut lime, (, ) is a citrus fruit native to tropical Southeast Asia. Its fruit and leaves are used in Southeast Asian cuisine, and its essential oil is used in perfumery. Its rind and cr ...

leaves and zest,

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...

turmeric Turmeric (), or ''Curcuma longa'' (), is a flowering plant in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. It is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that requires temperatures between and high ...

, and

fingerroot ''Boesenbergia rotunda'' (, , , ), commonly known as Chinese keys, fingerroot, lesser galangal or Chinese ginger, is a medicinal and culinary herb from China and Southeast Asia. In English, the root has traditionally been called fingerroot, beca ...

freshwater fish Freshwater fish are fish species that spend some or all of their lives in bodies of fresh water such as rivers, lakes, ponds and inland wetlands, where the salinity is less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine habitats in many wa ...

(usually snakehead), ''

prahok ''Prahok'' (; , ) is a salted and fermented fish paste (usually of mudfish) used in Cambodian cuisine as a seasoning or a condiment. It originated as a way of preserving fish during the time of the year when fresh fish was not available in a ...

'' and

coconut milk Coconut milk is a plant milk extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of the milky-white liquid are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food ingred ...

coconut cream Coconut milk is a plant milk extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of the milky-white liquid are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food ingredient ...

. *''Num banhchok Siem Reap'' () shares the same ingredients as ''num banhchok samlor proher'', but has a thinner consistency when no coconut milk or coconut cream is added. Sometimes

fish sauce Fish sauce is a liquid condiment made from fish or krill that have been coated in salt and fermented for up to two years. It is used as a staple seasoning in East Asian cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, L ...

is used to replace ''prahok'', while others argue that without ''prahok'' it's not ''num banhchok Siem Reap''. *''Num banhchok samlor Khmer'' () with a base made out of green ''kroeung'' with pounded fish and varying amount of lemongrass with or without the addition of coconut milk. It is served with a

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large ...

-based

relish A relish (a pickle-based condiment) is a cooking, cooked and pickling, pickled culinary dish made of chopped vegetables, fruits or herbs, typically used as a condiment to enhance a staple. Examples are chutneys and the North American relish, a p ...

. *''Num banhchok samlor teuk trei phaem'' with a base made out of coconut milk or coconut cream, and a sour and sweet (''pahem'') sauce made out of ingredients, such as fish sauce,

smoked fish Smoked fish is fish that has been cured by smoking. Foods have been smoked by humans throughout history. Originally this was done as a preservative. In more recent times, fish is readily preserved by refrigeration and freezing and the smoking o ...

, grated coconut, ground

s and

tamarind juice Tamarind juice (also tamarind water) is a liquid extract of the tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') tree fruit, produced by squeezing, mixing and sometimes boiling tamarind fruit pulp. Tamarind juice can be consumed as beverage appreciated for its fr ...

. *''Num banhchok samlor namya'' () or ''num banhchok ktis trei'' with a red curry (''samlor cari'') base made out of '' red ''kroeung'''' and

with fish and often

shrimp paste Shrimp paste or prawn sauce is a Fermentation, fermented condiment commonly used in Southeast Asian cuisine, Southeast Asian and Coastal Chinese cuisines. It is primarily made from finely crushed Shrimp and prawn as food, shrimp or krill mixed ...

and fish sauce. *''Num banhchok samlor cari'' () with red curry base made out of coconut milk-based red ''kroeung'' with meat (chicken or beef, as well as optinal

offal Offal (), also called variety meats, pluck or organ meats, is the internal organ (anatomy), organs of a butchered animal. Offal may also refer to the by-products of Milling (grinding), milled grains, such as corn or wheat. Some cultures strong ...

and

pig blood curd Pig blood curd (), also known as "blood tofu" or "blood pudding" (), is a popular delicacy originating from China. It is commonly served with carbohydrates, such as noodles or congee. Background Pig blood curd originated from blood rice pudding ( ...

) instead of fish, and vegetables such as

carrots The carrot (''Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in colour, though heirloom variants including purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the Daucus ...

potatoes The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

and

onions An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classified ...

. *''Num banhchok Kampot'' – a regional specialty of

Kampot Kampot () is a city in southern Cambodia and the capital of Kampot province. It is situated on the Praek Tuek Chhu River, southeast of the Elephant Mountains, and around from the Gulf of Thailand. Kampot was the capital of the ''Circonscrip ...

prepared with peanuts,

dried shrimp Dried shrimp are shrimp that have been sun-dried and shrunk to a thumbnail size. They are used in many African, East Asian, Southeast Asian and South Asian cuisines, imparting a unique umami taste. A handful of shrimp is generally used for dish ...

Kampot fish sauce Kampot fish sauce () is a variety of fish sauce from Kampot Province, Cambodia produced by fermentation, fermenting saltwater fish with Kampot sea salt. The largest producer of Kampot fish sauce is E Che Ngov Heng Food Production of Kampot at Ta An ...

made from

saltwater fish Saltwater fish, also called marine fish or sea fish, are fish that live in seawater. Saltwater fish can swim and live alone or in a large group called a school. Saltwater fish are very commonly kept in aquariums for entertainment. Many saltwater ...

and, occasionally, sliced fish cakes. Unlike other variations that are eaten at room temperature, ''num banhchok Kampot'' is typically eaten cold. *''Num banhchok samlor makod'' – a

royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or Royalty (disambiguation), royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Ill ...

version of ''num banhchok'' with

chicken liver Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world. Owing to the relative ease and low cost of raising chickens—in comparison to mammals such as cattle or hogs—chicken meat (commonly called just "chicken") and chicken eggs have beco ...

Cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cogn ...

and

green peas Pea (''pisum'' in Latin) is a pulse or fodder crop, but the word often refers to the seed or sometimes the pod of this flowering plant species. Peas are eaten as a vegetable. Carl Linnaeus gave the species the scientific name ''Pisum sativum' ...

included in Princess Rasmi Sobhana's 1965 "The Cambodian Cookbook" published by American Women's Club of Cambodia. Num Banh Chok.jpg, ''Num banhchok samlor proher'' Num Banh Chok Somlar Kari.jpg, ''Num banhchok samlor cari''

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Cambodia, most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since 1865 and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its political, economic, industr ...

and

Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

-based eatery Pizza 4P's makes a fusion ''num banhchok''

pizza Pizza is an Italian cuisine, Italian, specifically Neapolitan cuisine, Neapolitan, dish typically consisting of a flat base of Leavening agent, leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high t ...

with a yellow ''kroeung'', coconut milk and ''

'' sauce, freshwater fish,

cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...

s, water celery,

basil Basil (, ; , ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' (, )), also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a hardiness (plants), tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" r ...

, water mimosa,

banana blossom A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing them f ...

water hyacinths ''Pontederia crassipes'' (formerly ''Eichhornia crassipes''), commonly known as common water hyacinth, is an aquatic plant native to South America, naturalized throughout the world, and often invasive outside its native range.sesbania ''Sesbania'' is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae, and the only genus found in tribe Sesbanieae. Riverhemp is a common name for plants in this genus. Notable species include the rattlebox (''Sesbania punicea''), spiny sesba ...

flowers.

In folklore

''Num banhchok'' is featured in a popular Khmer

folk legend Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as tales, myths, legends, proverbs, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also includes material ...

about an influential revolutionary and scholar Thon Chey who was exiled to China by the Khmer king, where Thon Chey began making ''num banhchok'' to make a living. The dish quickly gained popularity among the Chinese and eventually attracted even the attention of the

Chinese emperor Throughout Chinese history, "Emperor" () was the superlative title held by the monarchs of imperial China's various dynasties. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was the " Son of Heaven", an autocrat with the divine manda ...

. The emperor summoned Thon Chey to bring ''num banhchok'' to his palace. Thon Chey arrived and while the emperor was tasting the dish Thon Chey managed to see the emperor's face, comparing it to a dog and the face of his Khmer king to that of a bright full moon, for which Thon Chey was immediately thrown into jail. However, soon Thon Chey managed to get released and eventually returned to the

Khmer Empire The Khmer Empire was an empire in Southeast Asia, centered on Hydraulic empire, hydraulic cities in what is now northern Cambodia. Known as Kambuja (; ) by its inhabitants, it grew out of the former civilization of Chenla and lasted from 802 t ...

In politics

In May 2019, the National Police began detaining former members and supporters of the dissolved

Cambodia National Rescue Party The Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP; , UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ) was a major political party in Cambodia. It was founded in 2012 as a merger between the Sam Rainsy Party and Human Rights Party. The party believed in the strengthening of freedo ...

(CNRP) for attending noodle dinners that were deemed as political gatherings. In response co-founder of the CNRP

Sam Rainsy Sam Rainsy (, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: , Romanization of Khmer#ALA-LC Romanization Tables, ALA-LC: ; born 10 March 1949) is a Cambodian activism, activist, economist and former politician who most recently served as the Leader of t ...

called all Cambodians to gather for a bowl of ''num banhchok'' on 9 June "for the sake of friendship in the framework of the entire, giant Cambodian family." His calls were soon followed by the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Hun Sen Samdech Hun Sen (; , Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ; born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military officer who currently serves as the List of presidents of the Senate (Cambodia), president of the Senate. He previous ...

who appealed to the members of his

Cambodian People's Party The Cambodian People's Party (CPP; , UNGEGN: ) is a Cambodian political party which has ruled the country since 1979. Founded in 1951, it was originally known as the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party (KPRP). During the Cold War it allied ...

to also gather the same day and eat "Khmer noodles of unity and solidarity", but denied it being a step towards negotiations with the opposition. It was estimated by Sen that from 7 to 8 million people would take part in the eating of ''num banhchok'' on 9 June. Sen also proposed launching a promotional campaign for Cambodian food and culture, and two months later Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts began preparing an application for the inclusion of ''num banhchok'' in the

UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.Compare: This list is published by the Intergove ...

References

External links

* Mai, Jerry (4 February 2021)
Fish curry vermicelli noodle soup (num banh chok)
Asia Unplated. SBS * Roney, Tyler (23 January 2019)
Siem Reap: Making Num Banh Chok with Park Hyatt's Executive Chef
Remote Lands
Kampot cold noodles
Food and Travel Magazine
The history of ''num banh chok'' (Cambodian rice noodles)
{{Soups Cambodian noodle dishes Cambodian soups Vegetable dishes National dishes