Book
My Cambodia
My Cambodia: A Khmer Cookbook is a cookbook of more than 100 recipes by chef Nite Yun with food writer Tien Nguyen, first published in 2025.[1][2] It is Yun's first cookbook, a Khmer American celebration of the food she grew up with and the dishes she came to know over the years.[3][1]
About the book
Khmer recipes and cooking techniques have long been passed down by word of mouth, from one generation to the next. Yun wrote the book to set these recipes down in writing, because historical upheaval and the passage of time have caused some of them to be lost. It shows Cambodia's living culture beyond the story of war and genocide.[1] The recipes are arranged by the times and places of her life. They follow her from a childhood in Stockton, California, to Cambodia and on to her Bay Area restaurants, Nyum Bai and Lunette.[1][2] Her essays, which order the recipes by chapters of her life, turn to identity, family, pride, connection and loss.[2] The book also gives the history of Cambodia's Golden Era, cultural facts such as the rules of rice, and stories about food as a way to connect with community.[1]
Yun is the daughter of Cambodian refugees, and the book carries her family's story. It shares her parents' perseverance and holds on to their happy memories of Cambodia from their youth.[3][2] In the introduction, Yun recalls Phnom Penh in 2012, on her third trip to Cambodia, eating a bowl of kuy teav at a stall.[1] She taught herself to cook the dishes she grew up with, and ones she tasted in Cambodia, by cooking with relatives there and drawing on her own taste memories.[1]
The recipes
Two foundations run through the book: prahok, a fermented fish paste that gives savory depth, and kroeung, a paste of lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, shallots, garlic and lime leaves.[4][1] Rice, fish sauce dressing and crispy garlic oil are also set out as basics of the Khmer kitchen.[5] The master kroeung recipe yields two cups. Lemongrass is ground first in a mortar and pestle, and galangal, garlic, shallot and makrut lime leaves are added in stages and crushed into a paste. A food processor can be used instead, with a little neutral oil if needed. The paste keeps in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to three days, or frozen in half-cup portions for up to two months.[3]
- Kuy Teav Phnom Penh, the pork and noodle soup that started it all for Yun: rice noodles in a clear pork broth topped with herbs and lime
- Nom Pachok Somlar Khmer, a rustic chowder with rice noodles
- Amok, fish in kroeung and coconut milk, steamed until it puffs up
- Prahok ktiss, green mango salads and stir-fried noodles
- Nom Kong, doughnuts glazed in palm sugar and topped with sesame seeds
- Kampot Noodles with Coconut Fish Sauce Dressing, Coca-Cola Chicken, Chicken Cabbage Salad, Garlic + Pepper Pork Ribs, and Charred Eggplants with Pork + Shrimp
A cucumber stir-fry, with optional sliced pork belly, is adapted from a winter-melon stir-fry made by Yun's mother, and comes with vegetarian and vegan versions.[4] Some of the sweets draw on the Khmer doughnut shops of Southern California, and other dishes come from Nyum Bai, her first restaurant.[5]
Publication and editions
The book was published on September 23, 2025, as a 256-page hardcover, ISBN 9781984863379. Barnes & Noble lists the publisher as Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed, and Penguin Random House lists 4 Color Books.[1][2] It measures about 20 by 25 centimeters (8 by 10 inches).[2] Line drawings are by Nak Bou, and photographs by Nicola Parisi.[4]
Yun is a chef and restaurateur, and Nguyen is a food and culture writer.[1] Food & Wine named Yun a Best New Chef in 2019, and she appeared on Netflix's Chef's Table in 2024.[1][4]
Reception
The San Francisco Standard called it one of the year's best.[4] Saveur wrote that Cambodian cuisine is underrepresented in cookbook form and that Yun set out to change that.[2] The chef Reem Assil wrote that the book joins Cambodia and California and honors the oral traditions of Yun's elders, peers and community.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Barnes & Noble
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 PenguinRandomhouse.com, My Cambodia by Nite Yun: 9781984863379 (2025-09-23)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 NPR, Chef Nite Yun showcases flavors of her parents' home in new cookbook, 'My Cambodia' (2025-11-03)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 The San Francisco Standard, Nite Yun's new cookbook, 'My Cambodia,' is one of the year's best ... (2025-10-10)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Christina Mueller: My Cambodia, A Cookbook Review (February 10, 2026)