Dish
Bobor
បបរ
Cambodian rice porridge eaten plain or with chicken, herbs and crisp garnishes.
Bobor (បបរ) is Cambodian rice porridge, eaten plain or with chicken, herbs and crisp garnishes.[1] The name is also written borbor, bor bor, babor, borbo and bawbaw.[2][3]
Cultural context
Bobor is made by boiling rice in a large amount of water until the grains turn soft.[1] It has long been a handy way to use up the rice left from the night before.[4] Along with kuy teav, it is one of the usual breakfasts in Cambodia, and it is eaten across the country in villages and cities.[1] Cambodians also eat it as a snack after school or work.[5] Local workers eat it in the evening as well as at breakfast.[6]
Bobor is cheap and sold at street stalls all over Cambodia.[3] It is also found at local markets, small family-run restaurants and late-night food stalls.[7] It is usually eaten in the cooler dry season or when someone is sick.[1] It is easy on the stomach and nourishing for someone who is unwell, especially without the spicy toppings.[3] As of December 2025, Wat Bo Primary School in Siem Reap served bobor, along with Khmer cakes, fruit, rice and Khmer noodles, in place of sugary snacks and energy drinks.[8]
The chicken version, bobor sach moan, is thought to be of Chinese origin and part of Cambodia's Cambodian-Chinese culinary heritage rather than a Khmer dish.[9] Once a breakfast dish, it has become a comfort-food staple for all Cambodians, eaten at any hour, as a dinner for someone who is unwell and as a hangover cure.[9]
Ingredients and preparation
The plain porridge and the chicken porridge, babor moan, differ in that the chicken version carries more herbs and chicken.[1] Bobor is generally made with pork or chicken broth and may hold small pieces of the meat or fish.[2] One chicken method starts with a seasoned stock of chicken bones, carrots, coriander roots, lemongrass, star anise, cinnamon, ginger, galangal and makrut lime leaves before the rice goes in.[9] Another seasons the broth with onion, garlic, ginger, coriander seeds, pepper, sugar and salt, and adds coriander, green onions and bean sprouts at the table.[5]
The rice is rinsed before cooking.[3] The chicken may be lifted from the pot once cooked, then cooled and shredded.[3] The porridge simmers until the grains turn fluffy and the texture is creamy, with more water or stock added if it grows too thick.[3] Common finishes are lime juice, fish sauce, black pepper, chili sauce and fried garlic.[3] Chinese fried dough sticks may come alongside the bowl.[3]
Bobor is eaten with side dishes and toppings such as soy sauce, dried salted fish, fried breadsticks, bean sprouts, green onions, coriander and pepper.[1] Other toppings include garlic oil, dried fish, soft-boiled or salted eggs, pickles and sometimes slices of omelet.[2] It is also served with ginger and garnished with coriander and crisp fried onions.[6]
History and origins
One account holds that a recipe for bobor dates back to the tenth century.[10] Under the Khmer Rouge, in Democratic Kampuchea (1975 to 1979), food was scarce and starvation was widespread.[6] People ate bobor out of necessity because rice rations were small, and they thinned the porridge with water to make the food last longer.[10][6] The dish still carries that history of want, and today it remains a watery porridge.[6][10]
Regional and household variations
Cambodian cooks name two common kinds. Bobor saw is a plain white rice soup, often served with a salted duck egg.[4] Bobor kroeung (បបរគ្រឿង), also spelled bobor kroueng, is made with meat or fish stock and costs more.[4][11] Diners season the stock-based kind with the condiments on the table.[4] One Khmer-language recipe for bobor kroeung builds the soup on pork and pork bones, with dried and straw mushrooms, carrot, potato and onion, and adds bean sprouts, herbs and sweet soy sauce when it is served.[11]
In Siem Reap, bobor is also made with pork, fish, dried fish, seafood, snails or frog legs, and crisp fried garlic is a popular local garnish.[9] One Siem Reap restaurant serves a plain congee, bor bor sor trei gneat, with salted fish, preserved bean curd and pickles; a fish congee, bor bor sach trei, with spring onions; and bor bor samchok, a mixed congee with slow-cooked pork shank, liver, shrimp and squid.[2] Another Siem Reap stall serves it with salted eggs, savory beans and ginger relish.[2]
At a stall near Orussey Market in Phnom Penh, the rice cooks in a broth of pork belly and bones and is finished with fermented soy beans, sliced pork belly, pepper and coriander.[10] A household form called bobor sam jok mixes finely chopped pork belly with the white parts of green onions, shapes them into small meatballs and cooks them in the porridge.[3] It is served with the same toppings as the chicken version plus slivered ginger.[3] The Slow Noodles author's mother made it this way for sick children.[3]
Preparations and recipes
- Terence Carter, Grantourismo
- Jasmine rice simmered in poaching stock until soft, served with shredded chicken, lettuce, sprouts and herbs.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Wikipedia: Babor
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Grantourismo Travels, Breakfast in Siem Reap (2017-01-10)
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Slow Noodles, Bobor Sach Mouan (Chicken Congee) (2025-01-12)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Chef's Pencil, 20 Most Popular Cambodian Foods - Chef's Pencil (2022-02-14)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cambodgemag, Recette : Bobor sach moan ou soupe de poulet (2019-12-02)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Authentic Food Quest, 12 Fascinating Cambodian Dishes You Want To Feast On (2024-01-27)
- ↑ Khmer Times, Top comfort foods Cambodians crave on rainy days (2026-08-02)
- ↑ Cambodianess, Another Directive, Same Problem: Junk Food Still Flows Into Cambodian Schools (2025-12-07)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Grantourismo Travels, Cambodian Chicken Rice Porridge Recipe for Borbor Sach Moan (2020-06-19)
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 jetstar.com, A foodie's guide to eating in Phnom Penh (2019-01-01)
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 PDN Knowledge, បបរគ្រឿង (2016-02-01)