May 3rd (2020)

May 3rd

7.17am

I am up and showered.

I am making breakfast from 'soft' bread, Irish butter and Khmer palm sugar with 'Red'. Then off to the Old Market I go to buy beef etc to cook for lunch.

The room is not uncomfortable, with air conditioning, just a little compact in size for a longer stay. Mostly I am naked in the room. It's my preference, but it also helps keep the washing of clothes down to a minimum. I wear a towel to slip to the WC, hoping that I encounter no-one on the way, back and forth. I wear clothes when I am at the computer next door, fully dressed  to save anyone's embarrassment, on meeting other ‘artist’ inhabitants.

I am saddened by the news that tuk tuk riders are having a hard time in the current pandemic climate, as reported by The Cambodia Daily, yesterday. Those riders perform a valuable task, for little pay, and I am grateful when, hot, tired and drenched in sweat, I am able to take a $1 journey.

Then off to the Old Market on my own, to buy beef etc to cook for lunch. I had asked one of the students to accompany me, but he was still sleeping when I needed to go.

On the way to the Old Market I am considering whether to make a Malay Beef Rendang, but it has been a very long time since I have, and I'm not too sure that I can. I think about an English Beef Stew, with potatoes and carrots, spiced up perhaps with dried chilli, but it is not until I see tamarind and lemongrass that my mind is made up.

However, to save two dollars, I walk the 10 to 15 minutes to the Old Market. I am a little apprehensive about being ‘skin taxed’ again, but all is going well. I’m having a mini conversation with the young Muslim lady on the beef counter, explaining that no, I do not want the very expensive ‘Prime Rib’, nor do I want steak, but I do want beef for ‘long cooking’. She seems to understand and I agree to buy one kilo of the beef, which she cuts into cubes for me.

On other market stalls, the local sellers seem amused, but helpful, when seeing this tall white person looking at their produce. I buy ‘Lemon Grass’, potatoes, red onions, ‘Tamarind seeds’ and garlic. Back at Colors of Cambodia I already have ‘Galangal’. I am attempting a beef curry with a little local flavour. I wanted to cook beef rendang, but I lack the ingredients and the skill to do so.

In the enclosed ‘kitchen’ workspace, I begin my cooking. My friends Set Sing and Lem Soleang say that “Khmer cooking only take half an hour, why cook for long.” I explain the concept of cooking rendang. “I hungry” is the reply, and yes, I too am hungry, but we all shall have to wait about three hours more. So, I am downstairs cooking and playing with my new friends. Being silly.

Every twenty minutes, or so, I check the pot, adding water when necessary. And, true to my prediction, it does take a little under three hours to tenderise the meat. The dish is a rich brown colour, with hints of lemongrass and tamarind with a very solid beef flavour. Chapatis, or Malaysian 'Roti Cannai' would be nice, plain yogurt too. But I didn't think to buy the yogurt  and am too lazy to spend rny time in the hot kitchen making chapatis.

Phanin (Phany’s sister) has sent a message ‘Your curry so yummy’.

Spend today

Market...beef, onions, lemongrass, tamarind, garlic, potatoes...$11

Supermarket...water $1.80

Total...$12.80