All activities / Culinary / Cooking / Siem Reap
Culinary / Cooking in Siem Reap
The gateway town to the Angkor temples in northwest Cambodia, a low-rise base of guesthouses, markets and the Siem Reap River that empties out before dawn as visitors head for Angkor Wat, and a growing scene of Khmer craft workshops, cooking schools and boat trips to the floating villages of the nearby Tonle Sap.
Why here
Khmer food is less known abroad than its Thai and Vietnamese neighbours, and a class in Siem Reap is the fastest way in. The building block is kroeung, a pounded paste of lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime and turmeric that carries the national dish, fish amok, a coconut curry steamed in banana leaf. Classes here start in a local market, where the teacher walks you through prahok fermented fish paste, palm sugar, river fish and the herbs that define the cuisine, then move to a kitchen to cook two or three dishes to eat. Siem Reap has a dense cluster of small owner-run schools, several set in villages or gardens outside the centre, so you can pick a hands-on class over a demonstration and leave able to build a Khmer meal from scratch.
Best months
Classes run year-round, morning or afternoon, and take two and a half to four hours. The dry months from November to March are the most comfortable for the market walk, while the wet season brings different seasonal produce. Most schools are small, from two to a dozen people, and cover vegetarian and vegan versions of amok and curries on request. Book a day or two ahead in the high season.
Getting there & around
Most classes include a tuk-tuk pickup from town and a stop at a local market before cooking. The village and garden schools sit a short drive outside the centre and handle transport both ways. Sessions end with a sit-down meal of what you cooked, and schools hand out a recipe card or booklet. No equipment or experience is needed, and dietary requirements are easily accommodated with notice.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate
Schools & guides (2)
Khmer Gourmet Cooking Class
SchoolKhmer Gourmet Cooking Class is a small Siem Reap school led by chef Sreypeo, who trained as an executive chef in a five-star hotel. Classes run twice daily at 1pm and 5pm and last about three hours, starting with a short walk to a local market. Students cook a starter, a main and a dessert, from fish and coconut curry to amok tofu and mango sticky rice, then eat family style and take home a recipe certificate. Private and group lessons run above the Crep'Italy restaurant.
Village Cooking Class
SchoolVillage Cooking Class was founded by a local Khmer chef and runs morning and evening classes from a village outside central Siem Reap. Each class opens with a tuk-tuk pickup and a guided market walk, and the evening session adds a farm stop to pick vegetables. Groups cook three Khmer dishes, from amok to stir-fries and fresh spring rolls, then eat together and leave with a printed recipe brochure. It is booked directly with the chef and is listed by Lonely Planet.