Dish
Pleah Sach Ko
ភ្លាសាច់គោ
Cambodian ceviche of raw beef cured in lime juice with prahok dressing, herbs and peanuts.
Pleah sach ko (ភ្លាសាច់គោ, pleah sach ko) is a Cambodian ceviche of raw beef cured in lime juice with prahok dressing, herbs and peanuts.[1] It is popular throughout Cambodia and is eaten at roadside stalls and in fine restaurants alike.[2]
Cultural context
The name describes the dish. Pleah (ភ្លា) is the Khmer word for salads made with raw meat, sach (សាច់) means meat and ko (គោ) means cow, so the whole name means a salad of raw beef.[3] It is also written plea sach ko, pleah saiko and plear sach koh.[1]
Pleah sach ko is a dish for weddings and festivals.[4] In Cambodia it is usually made for weddings and similar celebrations.[5][6] In everyday meals it comes early, and its sourness cuts through the fried and oily dishes that follow.[4] With rice, it can also stand as the meal itself.[4]
The salad is savory, spicy and full of herbs.[2] It is sour and hot, and it can be served warm or chilled.[5] The classic version is served at room temperature.[1]
Ingredients and preparation
The beef is sliced thin and cured in lime juice flavored with palm sugar, lemongrass and garlic. It is mixed with shallots, bean sprouts, mint and Asian basil, dressed with prahok, fish sauce, lime juice, palm sugar, garlic and bird's-eye chili, and topped with roasted peanuts.[1] Prahok, the fermented fish paste at the base of Khmer cooking, carries the dressing.[4] The lime "cooks" the raw beef much as lime cooks the seafood in a ceviche.[2]
One recipe for four people takes about 30 minutes of work, plus time for the cure.[4] Because no heat is used, the beef must be very fresh and fit to eat raw.[4] The beef is easier to slice thin when half-frozen, and some cooks chill the slices for about an hour before the lime goes on to keep the salad crisp.[4] The beef is cut across the grain as thin as possible and placed in a non-reactive bowl. Three-quarters of the lime juice goes over it, with half the garlic, half the lemongrass, palm sugar and salt.[4] The bowl is covered and chilled for at least two hours, until the surface of the meat turns from red to opaque and pale.[4] For the dressing, the prahok is mashed smooth and whisked with fish sauce, lime juice, palm sugar, garlic and sliced bird's-eye chilies until the sugar dissolves.[4] The beef is lifted from its juices and combined with shallots, bean sprouts, shaved radish, bell pepper, cucumber, galangal, kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass.[4] The dressing is poured over, and the salad is tossed for about a minute by lifting from underneath, so the vegetables stay whole and crisp.[4] Asian basil, mint and cilantro are folded in, and the salad is topped with three tablespoons of crushed roasted peanuts. It is served at once at room temperature.[4] Dressing it at the last moment matters, because the herbs and vegetables give up their liquid and the salad goes limp if it stands.[4]
The Food Dictator's recipe uses 450 grams (1 pound) of finely sliced premium beef filet.[2] Two tablespoons of tuk prahoc are whisked with the juice of two limes and two tablespoons of palm sugar. The beef marinates in this with lemongrass, shallots, onion, basil, saw leaves and garlic, covered in the refrigerator for one to two hours.[2] The rest of the tuk prahoc is whisked with the juice of a third lime and the remaining palm sugar for the dressing.[2] The drained beef is tossed with galangal, kaffir lime leaves, carrot, yellow bell pepper, Fresno chili, long beans, bean sprouts, onion, Thai basil and saw leaves, then dressed. It is garnished with roasted unsalted peanuts, cucumber and cilantro and served immediately.[2] Where the traditional ingredients are hard to find, that recipe uses fish sauce pounded with an anchovy fillet for the prahok, ginger for galangal, lime zest for kaffir lime leaves and green beans for long beans.[2]
History and origins
The origins of pleah sach ko are unknown.[2] It belongs to a Cambodian food culture that includes the cooking of the country's different ethnic groups, while Khmer cuisine means the cooking of the Khmer people.[2] Cambodian cooking is often grouped into peasant, elite and royal food, though the gap between royal and popular food is smaller than in Thailand and Laos.[2] Rice and freshwater fish are at the heart of the Cambodian diet, and a beef salad like this one is usually eaten with rice.[2] The wider tradition shows long contact with Thai, Vietnamese and Lao cooking and with other outside influences.[2]
Regional and household variations
The salad commonly comes in two forms: raw beef cured in lime juice, or a grilled version.[2] In the seared form, nhoam sach ko, the beef marinates for a much shorter time. It is then grilled over charcoal for one to two minutes or fried for two to three minutes and folded, still warm, into the same vegetables and dressing.[4] Some versions include beef tripe, sliced as thin as the beef and cured with it.[4][7] Fuller restaurant plates add slivered carrot, chopped long beans and lettuce leaves under the beef.[4] The shallots may be thinly sliced purple Asian shallots, with finely shaved radish.[7]
Another style pours a clear broth of lime juice, chicken soup base, fish sauce and sugar over the lime-marinated beef.[5][6] It adds green eggplant, shallots, garlic, radish, bell pepper, jalapeño and green onion, with saw leaf, lemongrass, basil, mint and cilantro, and it is usually topped with roasted ground rice and crushed peanuts.[5]
A Japanese recipe uses 250 grams (about 9 ounces) of roast-beef cut, three lemons, Thai basil, mint, red onion, red and green bell pepper, lemongrass, garlic, ginger and fresh red chilies.[3] The beef is dipped briefly in boiling water to clean the surface, sliced about 2 millimeters (0.08 inch) thick and cured in lemon juice for 20 minutes. It is then warmed in a sweet-sour sauce of its juices, garlic, ginger, chili, fish sauce and sugar until about 80 percent cooked.[3] Cabbage stands in for the local leafy greens, and fish sauce stands in for prahok, with anchovy fillets as another option.[3] The same recipe notes that some cooks add MSG and some add roasted crushed peanuts.[3]
Preparations and recipes
- The Food Dictator
- Sliced beef fillet cured in a prahok, lime and palm sugar marinade and tossed with herbs, vegetables and peanuts.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Wikipedia: Pleah sach ko
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 The Food Dictator, The Hirshon Cambodian Plea Sach Ko Beef Salad (December 15, 2021)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Ndish, プリアサイコー (Pleah sach ko)
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 world.food, Pleah sach ko (Cambodian Beef Salad) (September 8, 2026)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Rainforest Cruises, Cambodian Food: 10 Traditional Dishes You Should Eat (February 15, 2022)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 SINDOnews Lifestyle, 6 Rekomendasi Makanan Khas Kamboja, Lezat Kaya Rempah (April 7, 2023)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Hello Angkor, An Uncommon Guide to Cambodian Cuisine (August 15, 2019)