''Samlor machu'' ( – 'sour soup') is a Khmer term for a category of

sour soup Various sour soups, named for their characteristic sour taste, are known in various East Asian, Southeast Asian, and the cuisines of Eastern Europe. Asian origin * Samlar machu, a Khmer term for a category of sour soups. * Canh chua (literal ...

s. The sour flavour of the soup comes from the use of

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a Legume, leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa and naturalized in Asia. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic taxon, monotypic, meaning that it contains only this spe ...

(), however variations also include other tangy fruits and vegetables such as

tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

es (),

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a Tropical vegetation, tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been culti ...

s (),

water spinach ''Ipomoea aquatica'', commonly known as water spinach or kangkung, is a semi- aquatic, tropical plant grown as a vegetable for its tender shoots. ''I. aquatica'' is generally believed to have been first domesticated in Southeast Asia. It is wi ...

(),

leaf celery Leaf celery (''Apium graveolens'' Secalinum Group or ''Apium graveolens'' var. ''secalinum''), also called Chinese celery or Nan Ling celery, is a group of cultivars of '' Apium graveolens'' cultivated in East Asian countries for their edible, ...

, as well as ''

Tiliacora triandra ''Tiliacora triandra'' is a species of flowering plant native to mainland Southeast Asia and used particularly in the cuisines of northeast Thailand and Laos. In the Isan dialect of Lao, the language of northeastern Thailand, it is called ''bai y ...

'' leaves (). Meat in this type of soup is usually that of either chicken, fish,

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

, lobster or crab. In the U.S. and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, instead of using fresh tamarind like in

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

, a powdered tamarind soup base mix is also used by the diaspora. One popular brand is manufactured by Knorr.

Types

There are many types of Khmer sour soups such as: *'' Samlor machu yuon'' () with meat, such as

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

es,

, and other vegetables and herbs. *''Samlor machu srae'' () with fresh and dried fish,

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura (meaning "short tailed" in Greek language, Greek), which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen#Arthropoda, abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the Thorax (arthropo ...

and green papaya; *''Samlor machu kroeung'' (): :*''Samlor machu kroeung sach ko'' () with

beef tenderloin A beef tenderloin (US English), known as an eye fillet in Australasia, nautalund in Iceland, filetto in Italy, oxfilé in Sweden, filet in France, filet mignon in Brazil, and fillet in the United Kingdom and South Africa, is cut from the loin of ...

, yellow ''kroeung'',

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 ...

and/or ''

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 ...

'', as well as

green beans Green beans are young, unripe fruits of various cultivars of the common bean (''Phaseolus vulgaris''), although immature or young pods of the runner bean ('' Phaseolus coccineus''), yardlong bean ( ''Vigna unguiculata'' subsp. ''sesquipedalis ...

, and

eggplants Eggplant ( US, CA, AU, PH), aubergine ( UK, IE, NZ), brinjal ( IN, SG, MY, ZA, SLE), or baigan ( IN, GY) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit, typica ...

. :*''Samlor machu kroeung sach chrouk'' with

pork ribs Pork ribs are a cut of pork popular in Western and Asian cuisines. The ribcage of a domestic pig, meat and bones together, is cut into usable pieces, prepared by smoking, grilling, or baking – usually with a sauce, often barbecue – and then ...

, yellow ''kroeung'',

watercress Watercress or yellowcress (''Nasturtium officinale'') is a species of aquatic flowering plant in the cabbage family, Brassicaceae. Watercress is a rapidly growing perennial plant native to Eurasia. It is one of the oldest known leaf vegetabl ...

wax gourd ''Benincasa hispida'', the wax gourd, also called ash gourd, white gourd, winter gourd, winter melon, tallow gourd, ash pumpkin, Chinese preserving melon, is a vine grown for its very large fruit, eaten as a vegetable when mature. It is nat ...

, fish sauce and/or ''prahok''. *''Samlor machu ktis'' () with pork, pineapple 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 ...

References

{{Cambodian cuisine Cambodian soups Vegetable dishes