A light, tangy Cambodian sour soup of freshwater fish simmered with tomato and pineapple, soured by tamarind and lifted with lemongrass, fish sauce and a tumble of fresh herbs.
Samlor machu trey is the everyday sour soup of the Cambodian table, drawing on the abundant freshwater fish of the Mekong and Tonle Sap. Lighter and fruitier than the kreung-based sour soups, its balance of tamarind tang, pineapple sweetness and fragrant herbs is the kind of homely, restorative bowl Khmer families make again and again.
The broth is clean and brisk, sour from tamarind and sweet from pineapple, with lemongrass humming underneath. The fish is silky and just-set, and a handful of fresh herbs makes the whole bowl smell like a garden.
Building the broth with bruised lemongrass and tamarind before the fish goes in lets the aromatics infuse the water without overcooking the delicate flesh. Pineapple contributes both sweetness and a touch of acidity, rounding the tamarind sourness into a balanced sweet-sour broth.
Variations
With catfish, snakehead or tilapia, with water spinach or lotus stem, pork version, spicier with extra chili
On the Palate
Where Samlor Machu Trey sits in the Cambodian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 20 min
- 16 min
Bruise the lemongrass and bring it to a boil in a pot of water to make an aromatic base.
- 24 min
Stir in tamarind paste and fish sauce, then simmer a few minutes.
- 35 min
Add the tomato wedges and pineapple chunks and cook until they soften.
- 46 min
Slide in the fish pieces and simmer gently so they stay intact.
Watch outSlide the fish in and keep the broth at a bare tremble — a rolling boil knocks the delicate pieces apart into shreds.
- 52 min
Season with palm sugar and more fish sauce, balancing the sour, sweet and salty notes.
Watch outTaste and tune the palm sugar against the tamarind until sour, sweet and salty sit level — that balance is the whole soup.
- 62 min
Add bean sprouts and any quick vegetables near the end.
- 71 min
Taste and adjust, then turn off the heat.
- 82 min
Stir through sawtooth coriander, rice paddy herb and chili, and serve with rice.
