Samlor Machu Prey (Khmer Sour Beef Soup with Holy Basil)

• 600 g beef (a tender cut with a little fat), in chunks
• 4 lemongrass stalks (50 g), bruised and halved
• 35 g galangal, bruised (mostly lifted out)
• 2 shallots (35 g), sliced
• 1 head garlic, lightly crushed
• 10 g fresh turmeric (lifted out)
• 4–5 kaffir lime leaves
• 2 tbsp prahok (Cambodian fermented fish paste)
• Canola or vegetable oil: 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 2 litres water (some boils away)
• 15 g dried garcinia slices (sandan kreem), partly lifted out
• 300 g mushrooms (any kind)
• 300 g Thai round eggplants, halved or quartered
• ½ tbsp sugar
• Salt: ½ tbsp soup powder
• 1 tsp salt, to taste
• 200 g small tomatoes, cut in pieces
• 100 g young mild green peppers (mtes plok), seeded
• red bird's eye chillies (optional)
• 50 g holy basil (mreah prov) leaves

Method

The cook speaks Khmer; every step is written here in English. Tap a time to watch that step in the video. For subtitles, tap CC in the video, then Settings › Subtitles › Auto-translate › English.

1. Cut the beef into large bite-size chunks; they shrink as they simmer. 0:45
2. Bruise the lemongrass and cut it in half, bruise the galangal and turmeric, slice the shallots and lightly smash the garlic. Mince the prahok finely. 1:12
3. Blanch the beef in boiling water for under a minute to clear the scum and smell, then drain. 2:20
4. In a dry pot, roast the lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, lime leaves, garlic and shallots over low heat for a few minutes, add the oil, then the prahok, and fry until dry and fragrant. 2:50
5. Add the beef and stir over low heat until it is dry and coated in the aromatics. 3:38
6. Pour in 2 litres of water, bring to the boil and skim off the scum, then cover and simmer on low about 40 minutes until the beef is tender. Meanwhile cut the vegetables and pick the basil leaves. 4:08
7. Add the garcinia, mushrooms and eggplants and cook until tender. Lift out some of the lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves, then season with sugar, soup powder and salt to taste. 5:45
8. Add the tomatoes and peppers. Once the garcinia has made the soup sour enough, lift some of it out. Add the holy basil and turn off the heat at once, then stir in the chillies if using. 6:44

Tip. Serves about 7 bowls (our estimate: the pot holds about 3.3 kg). Prahok is salty, so taste before adding salt. No garcinia? Use tamarind or a squeeze of lime. Eaten with rice in Cambodia.

The method is a summary in our words — the video shows every step.