Sngou Muoan NamNgau

Sngou Muoan NamNgau- Cambodian chicken soup with homemade preserved lime. It’s national and one of favorite preserved dish eaten by Cambodian ( in midland, Kampuchea Krom, Isaan-former Khmer territory).

Ingredients:

2 1/2 tsp oil
6 cups water
1 chicken breast
1 preserved lime, cut in half
1 garlic, chopped
1 1/2 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 sugar
1/2 yellow or white onion (medium size), sliced
1/2 tsp chicken bouillon
1 stalk green onion, chopped (diagonally- optional)
8 sprigs coriander, washed
3 tiny rings chili (see photo)

Method:

1) Heat the pot and add oil. Saute garlic until golden, then add onion. Cook onion until soft. Save it aside on the plate.

2) In the same pot, add water and preserved lime, cover it and bring to boil over medium high heat. -Then add chicken and sauteed garlic/onion bring to boil until chicken is tender. *Break one of the halves preserved lime to release the the aroma and flavor.

3) Season with salt, sugar, fish sauce, and chicken bouillon. Stir well. Remove the white bubble. -Turn off heat. Sprinkle with green onion and coriander.

**NOTE** I tried the imported preserved lime I got from an Asian market, the taste nothing at all like the Cambodian homemade preserved lime. The commercial ones, the peel taste bitter. Perhaps they didn’t process it right or fermented long enough. Traditional Cambodian homemade preserved lime both peel and inside flesh are well harmonized. The lime peel shouldn’t be bitter. Cambodian method focuses on age, how long the limes place in the sun and how long they are kept air tight in the jar. Very important. I stopped using the commercial ones. This time, I used homemade, the taste is amazingly good. Very tasty and refreshing. Good luck in finding homemade ones. You may ask around, most Cambodian homes have them.

-I used chicken breast because it took less time to cook but it is best to use rock hen (koun muoan- small chicken) or regular whole chicken, they give a lot of flavor to the soup, tastier.