Have you ever found yourself in Cambodia and had no idea what you were eating? If so, that’s completely normal when you’re visiting other countries! In fact, that’s a good thing! Most of the time, when we’re traveling, we eat whatever we can find or what’s given to us. We might not know what the dish is, but we want to try something new!
Whether you’ve just returned from Cambodia or plan to travel there soon, you should take some time to learn Khmer and, more specifically, get to know these 50+ vegetables in Khmer! Not only will you learn how to say your favorite vegetables in the Khmer language, but you’ll learn about specific vegetables native to Cambodia and Southeast Asian cuisines.
We hope you’ve already eaten because you’re about to learn about some delicious food and vegetables!
What Defines Cambodian Cuisine?
Before you go straight into learning about vegetables in Khmer, the vocabulary might be more interesting if you know the main characteristics of Cambodian cuisine beforehand.
Cambodian food is very healthy, often consisting of rice or rice noodles, fresh vegetables, and not too much meat. Most meals consist of sour fish soups and stews or different coconut milk curries.
You’ll also find that Cambodian cuisine, like other food in Southeast Asia, has a nice balance of sweet, bitter, sour, and salty flavors. However, a key difference is that Cambodian cuisine tends not to be as spicy as the food in its neighboring countries (for example, Thailand). So, if you’re not a fan of spicy food or can’t eat spicy food, you might want to consider going to Cambodia!
There are so many amazing flavors in Cambodian cuisine. No wonder eating is such a huge part of Khmer culture!
Common Ingredients Used In Cambodian Cuisine
Here are some ingredients that you’ll probably find in a Cambodian restaurant, whether you’re in the capital city of Phnom Penh or eating in beautiful rice fields.
- Coconut milk – khteahdaung – ខ្ទិះដូង
- Fish sauce – tukatrei – ទឹកត្រី
- Flat rice noodles – kouyteav saambet – គុយទាវសំប៉ែត
- Oyster sauce – tukachrolk ngeav – ទឹកជ្រលក់ងាវ
- Pickled vegetables – banle pickled – ជ្រក់បន្លែគ្រប់មុខ
- Roasted peanuts – sa nte k dei ang – សណ្តែកដីអាំង
- Soy sauce – tuk saiaiv – ទឹកស៊ីអ៊ីវ
- White rice/plain rice – angkor s – អង្ករស
These are just some of the ingredients used in Cambodian cooking, so feel free to research and discover more on your own! In fact, comment down below any ingredients we might have left out!
Vegetables In Khmer To Learn By Heart
If you’re a vegetable lover or just enjoy getting to know food terminology in other languages, this is the perfect list. We’ve divided our list according to how each vegetable is typically classified to make things easier. For example, onions are categorized as allium vegetables.
Below are the categories we’ve included, in case you want to skip down to a specific one:
- Western Vegetables In Khmer
- Alliums
- Leafy Greens
- Root Vegetables
- All Other Veggies
In case you aren’t familiar with these categories, don’t worry, we’ll explain what each of them means!
Western Vegetables In Khmer
This category is mainly for vegetables in Western dishes, but we’ve found the corresponding Khmer word.
| English | Khmer | Transliteration |
| Broccoli | ផ្កាខាត់ណាខៀវ | phka khatna khiev |
| Brussel sprout | ពន្លកស៊ែល | ponlok sae l |
| Cabbage | ស្ពៃក្តោប | spai ktaob |
| Carrots | ការ៉ុត | karot |
| Cauliflower | ខាត់ណាផា្កស្ព | khatna pha k s |
| Corn | ពោត | pot |
| Kale | ខាត់ណា | khatna |
| Lettuce | ស្ពៃស | salat |
| Potato | ដំឡូង | damlaung |
| Sweet potato | ដំឡូងផ្អែម | damlaung phaem |
| Tomato | ប៉េងប៉ោះ | bengbaoh |
Alliums
Did you know that the word allium is Latin for “garlic”? In general, alliums include anything with a bulb.
| English | Khmer | Transliteration |
| Garlic | ខ្ទឹម | khtoem |
| Lemongrass | ស្លឹកគ្រៃ | sloekakrei |
| Onion | ទឹមបារាំង | khtoembareang |
| Shallot | ស្ពៃក្តោប | spai ktaob |
| Spring onions | ស្លឹកខ្ទឹម | sloekakhtoem |
Leafy Greens
Leafy greens is a term that refers to edible plant leaves.
| English | Khmer | Transliteration |
| Agati | អង្គាដី | a hka ti |
| Cambodian mint | មីនខ្មែរ | min khmer |
| Chinese cabbage (bok choy) | ស្ពៃក្តោបចិន | spai ktaob chen |
| Cilantro/coriander | វ៉ាន់ស៊ុយ | veansaouy |
| Climbing wattle | ស្អំ | sam |
| Moringa | ម្រុម | mroum |
| Morning glory | ត្រកួន | seriroungrueng pelopruk |
| Pandan | ស្លឹកតើយ | phe n da n |
| Pennywort | ត្រចៀកក្រាញ់ | trachiekakranh |
| Rat ear | ក្រសាំងទាប | krasaeangteab |
| River leaf | វល្លិថ្នឹង | volli thnoeng |
| Thai basil | ជីរនាងវង | chirneangovong |
| Thai holy basil | ម្រះព្រៅ | mreahprow |
| Water mimosa | កញ្ឆែត | kanhchhet |
| Yardlong bean | សណ្ដែកកួរ | sandekkuor |
Root Vegetables
Root vegetables are the parts of a largely underground plant, yet we eat them for nutrients.
| English | Khmer | Transliteration |
| Chinese ginger | ខ្ជាយ | khchay |
| Daikon radish | ឆៃថាវ | chaithav |
| Galangal | រំដេង | romdeng |
| Ginger | ខ្ញី | khnhei |
| Jicama | ប៉ិកួ | be kuo |
| Taro | ត្រាវ | ta rau |
| Turmeric | រមៀត | rmiet |
All Other Veggies
| English | Khmer | Transliteration |
| Bamboo shoots | ទំពាំង | tompeang |
| Banana flowers | ផ្កាចេក | phkachek |
| Bean sprouts | សណ្ដែកបណ្ដុះ | sandek bandoh |
| Bitter melon | ម្រះ | mreah |
| Bottle gourd | ឃ្លោក | khlok |
| Chilli | ម្ទេសខ្ចី | mtesa khchei |
| Eggplant | ក្រាមរមាស | kram rmeas |
| Green beans | សណ្តែកខៀវ | sa nte k khiev |
| Kaffir lime | ក្រូចឆ្មា | krauch chhma |
| Lotus seed | ឈូក | chhouk |
| Mung beans | សណ្តែកសៀង | santeksieng |
| Mushrooms | ផ្សិត | phsaet |
| Okra | ពោតបារាំង | pot barang |
| Pea eggplant | លំញង | lomnhong |
| Tamarind | អម្ពិល | ampil |
| Water chestnuts | ដើមទ្រូងទឹក។ | daemotroung tuk |
| Winged bean | ប្រពាយ | brapay |
That’s all! Now you’ve learned 50+ vegetables in Khmer! You know what they say, the way to someone’s heart is through their stomach (i.e., cooking)! Maybe you can impress your next date by cooking Cambodian food!
Learn More Useful Vocabulary With The Ling App!
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