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Num Banh Chok (Rice Noodles with Lemongrass Fish Gravy)

Num Banh Chok (Rice Noodles with Lemongrass Fish Gravy) reads umami 6.9, funk & ferment 6.9 and salinity 5.9 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Cambodian main, about 1 hr 6 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 8.7 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 4.2 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 6.3 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 1.5 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 5.0 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 3.9 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 6.9 · Funk & Ferment 6.9 · Salinity 5.9 · Marine & Briny 5.0 · Citrus 5.0 · Sourness 4.4 · Richness 4.1 · Herbaceous 3.8 · Sweetness 3.7 · Nutty 2.8 · Floral 1.9 · Fruity 1.7 · Bitterness 1.4

What's in it (15)

• snakehead — 600 g
• water — 1500 g
• yellow kroeung paste — 59 g
• prahok — 30 g
• coconut milk — 368 g
• fish sauce — 30 g
• brown sugar — 13 g
• fermented rice vermicelli — 600 g
• banana blossom — 150 g
• bean sprouts — 150 g
• english cucumber — 120 g
• water lily stems — 100 g
• mint — 20 g
• vietnamese coriander — 20 g
• limes — 130 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 6 min · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 22.9 kcal, 0.4 g protein, 2.1 g fat, 1.3 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

1. Poach the fish in the water at a bare simmer for 12 to 15 minutes until it flakes. Lift it out, keep the broth, and pull the flesh into shreds, discarding all skin and bone. Freshwater fish has fine pin bones; go through it twice with your fingers, because this gravy is eaten by the ladleful.
2. Pound or blend the shredded fish briefly with the kroeung so the two become one paste. Khmer cooks do this in the mortar and it is what gives num banh chok its characteristic fine, almost fluffy body rather than a broth with chunks of fish in it.
3. Mash the prahok with a little of the broth and push it through a sieve into the pot of reserved broth.
4. Bring the broth to a simmer and stir in the fish and kroeung paste. Cook 20 minutes at a gentle simmer, stirring often, until the gravy thickens slightly and turns opaque yellow.
5. Pour in the coconut milk and simmer 10 minutes more without letting it boil. Season with fish sauce and palm sugar. The gravy should be thin enough to pour but thick enough to coat noodles, aromatic with lemongrass and turmeric, and only faintly sweet.
6. If using fresh num banh chok noodles, rinse them in warm water and shake out. If using dried vermicelli, soak in hot water for 8 minutes and drain.
7. Coil a nest of noodles into each bowl, pile the raw vegetables generously over half of it, then ladle the hot gravy over the lot. Finish with the herbs and a lime wedge. In Cambodia this is breakfast, sold from baskets carried on a shoulder pole, and the raw vegetable pile is expected to be as large as the noodles.
8. Substitutions: catfish or any firm freshwater fish can stand in for the snakehead; 350 g dried rice vermicelli can stand in for the fresh fermented rice vermicelli; lotus stems can stand in for the water lily stems.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Thai Red Curry with Shrimp — Thai
• Khao Soi — Thai
• Tom Kha Teacups — Thai
• Yum Woon Sen (Glass Noodle Salad) — Thai
• Thai Green Curry Chicken — Thai

Keep reading: what umami, funk & ferment, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.