Thai steamed fish curries (ho mok pla) in Chiang Mai, Thailand | |
Type | Curry |
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Place of origin | Cambodia[1][2][3] or Thailand[4] |
Region or state | Southeast Asia |
Associated cuisine | Cambodian, Lao and Thai |
Main ingredients | Curry paste, coconut cream/coconut milk, eggs |
Variations | Fish amok |
Steamed curry (Khmer: អាម៉ុក, amŏk [ʔaːmok]; Lao: ໝົກ, mok [mók]; Thai: ห่อหมก lit. 'bury wrap',[4] ho mok [hɔ̀ː.mòk],) is a Southeast Asian type of curry steam-cooked in banana leaves.[5] In Laos, it is also roasted on embers.[6] The base of the curry is made with a curry paste (Khmer: គ្រឿង, krœăng [krɨəŋ]; Thai: พริกแกง, prik kaeng) with or without the addition of coconut cream or coconut milk and eggs. A wide range of leaves and staple ingredients are also added to the dish, such as:
According to cultural anthropologist Penny Van Esterik, the Southeast Asian coconut-based curries are the result of Indianization, that in the 15th century after the Fall of Angkor, were introduced in the Ayutthaya Kingdom by Khmer royal cooks and later reintroduced back into Cambodia as the Siamese armies attacked into Cambodia. Nowadays, they are considered characteristic of individual Southeast Asian cuisines.[9]
Cambodian steamed fish curry (fish amok)
Laotian steamed fish curry (mok pa)
Thai steamed seafood curry (ho mok thale) served in a coconut