Gordon's Great Escape (2010) s02e02 Episode Script
Cambodia
(Horn toots) GORDON RAMSAY: I'm on a great escape.
Whoo-hoo! Getting away from it all.
How are you? And I'm back to doing what I love best.
It's still beating.
I've been cooking now for 25 years and I still get so excited about being taught something unique, something new.
My appetite for culinary adventure takes me country-hopping around South-East Asia.
It's home to some of the world's best cuisines.
I've never seen squid that fresh.
But it's way off my gastronomic map.
What the fuck is that? It's the part of the cow.
A bull's penis? Yeah.
This time, I'm in Cambodia.
I'm on an epic food adventure.
That is amazing.
Eating toe-curling delicacies, braving the dangers of the jungle Bolt.
Get out of there.
The bees are leaving.
OK.
On the trail of Cambodia's most exotic .
.
and exciting food.
You eat that? Are you fucking crazy? I've just touched down in Siem Reap in remote north-west Cambodia.
It's home to the renowned temples of Angkor Wat.
But I'm on a different mission - to discover the secret of this country's fantastic food.
Jesus.
I feel like I'm in the back of beyond.
I cannot believe they're swimming in there.
Hi.
This place seems so laid-back.
Cambodia is a country in recovery.
In the late 1970s, the ruling communist party, the Khmer Rouge, forced the population into the countryside to live off the land.
The result was a devastating famine.
And when you think of what it went through, and it became abolished, really, on the back of the war, the famine.
And everyone forgot about it.
But it is starting to see a revival.
So I can't wait to get to grips with it, get out there and really understand what Cambodian cuisine is all about.
Thank God he's so small.
I'm starting my education with a master class in Cambodia's historic recipes from a chef who is leading the country's food renaissance at a restaurant, the Sugar Palm.
I'm on my way to meet Kethana, who's got one of the best restaurants in town.
If I'm going to get my hands dirty, I can't think of a better place to start.
Kethana was exiled in New Zealand 35 years ago when the Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia.
Looks nice and busy.
She returned seven years ago determined to rediscover and celebrate traditional dishes.
Hello.
Kethana? Yes.
How are you, my darling? Nice to see you.
Nice to see you.
What a beautiful place.
Thank you.
That looks amazing out there.
You're clearly at the forefront of the revival of Cambodian cooking.
I'm trying to.
Have you gone back to childhood dishes in terms of Yes, that's what I'm trying to do.
My mum and my grandmother's recipes.
Trying to revive the old cooking style.
Take me back to 1975.
What actually happened to the food in the war? So people trying to survive so they could get Whatever they could get around them from the jungle or from anywhere they could find, and they just had to cook anything.
I just couldn't imagine what sort of thing they would eat to survive.
I think that's why the food sort of gradually disappeared.
So Kethana is reviving traditional authentic Cambodian recipes All girls in the kitchen? One guy.
Somewhere here behind you.
You lucky man.
The locals love it.
It's a busy lunchtime service and I'm going to learn on the job.
Now, we've got order So first dish is .
.
from the clients, it's a fish amok.
The first order in is a classic.
One tablespoon of dry red pepper.
It starts with kroeung, a spicy paste that was used before the war.
That smells so fragrant.
Very nice smell.
Coconut cream.
So it's not exactly healthy, is it? No.
As long as you don't eat too much, you'll be fine.
Whole egg.
This traditional recipe is far more refined than I expected.
And what kind of fish do you use for amok? I'm using freshwater fishes called snakehead.
And this is a tradition.
This is what you watched your mother making.
Yes.
That's incredible.
It's quite complex, isn't it? Yes.
The mixture is cooked in a palm leaf.
And you're going to steam these? Going to steam these.
OK.
Into the steamer.
Excuse me, darling.
Wow, look at yours.
And the results are fantastic.
I'm amazed the way it's souffled up.
That's delicious.
Delicious? It's got a really nice, soft Nice texture, nice flavour.
.
.
sweet texture.
It's like a red pepper fish souffle, but you've got the texture of the fish and the sweetness without being overpowering.
That's lovely.
After years in the wilderness, this country's food is being put back on the map.
I want my time here to do it justice.
Where do I need to go next to really get my fingers on the pulse and really understand Cambodian cuisine? The next step, you should go to visit the local home in the villages and the countryside.
So you could go there and have a look and see what those people do.
I'm very grateful.
Amazing.
A big eye-opener.
Thank you very much.
Good to see you.
Kethana's really inspired me.
Cambodia's food is waiting to be rediscovered.
I want to scour the country for dishes as magnificent as the amok.
I'm about to set off when I get a call from one of the country's top chefs, Luu Meng, with a surprising invitation.
Hello? Yes.
Hold on a minute.
I've just arrived.
Obviously word's got out.
And you're having a dinner for members of the royal family and ministers, and you want me to come and cook a few dishes.
(Laughs) I haven't even unpacked yet.
Cooking for royalty is nerve-racking enough, but now I've signed up to cook a traditional Cambodian dinner.
Look forward to seeing you at the end of the week, and thank you.
Royal family, ministers.
I've only just arrived.
Now I'm seriously going to have to pull something out of the bag.
I've received a royal summons to cook an old style Cambodian dinner at the end of the week.
So I'm going cross-country to scour the land for dishes that are worthy of this great honour.
Butha? How are you, sir? Hi.
Getting around Cambodia's back roads will take more than a sat nav, so I've hired local driver Butha.
Maybe not so close to the truck.
I can see the whiskers on the driver.
OK.
Excellent.
(Butha laughs) First stop on my foodie safari is to try one of Cambodia's favourite street foods, and Butha knows where they serve the best.
It's the baby duck eggs.
Baby duck eggs? Hello.
And what's so special about the duck eggs? Make man have power.
And it's good for your sex life? Yeah.
Yes.
Butha, ducking every day for power.
You randy little bastard.
Unbelievable.
Right, shall we try them? Duck egg Viagra? This I've got to see.
Salt, pepper, lemon.
Jesus, it's like we're doing tequila shots.
I've had duck eggs before, but I can't wait to find out what makes these so special.
Oh, please.
The water is still good.
We've got the body in there.
Yes, body in there.
I can't believe Butha wants me to eat an unborn baby duck.
And then you eat that? Yes.
Whole thing.
Are you fucking crazy? (Laughs) Not so crazy.
And that's good for your sex life? Yeah.
Tasty.
Mm.
It's nice, fresh.
How old was that? 20 days.
20 days.
It actually tastes better than it looks.
(Laughs) It looks disgusting, but actually tastes quite nice.
(Laughs) Anything happening downstairs? Um Pecker.
Not yet.
Not yet? Later on.
This is a real insight.
It was easier to swallow than it looked.
I'm looking forward to what Butha has in store for me next.
Where heading to Kompeurt, a remote village in the north-east, on the trial of one of Cambodia's strangest delicacies.
Another one, buffalo, crossing the road.
Look at the size of him.
Jesus.
When the Khmer Rouge ruled the country, food was scarce.
During the famine, people were forced to eat wildlife from the countryside.
Amazingly, over time, these necessities have evolved into Cambodian specialities.
The most popular is tarantula.
The thought of catching tarantulas sounds a little bit eerie.
Eating them Oh! Very tasty.
Have you ever been bitten by a tarantula? Never.
Never.
(Laughs) (Laughs) You're crazy! No! Not crazy! (Laughs) The remote countryside around Kompeurt is renowned for some of the biggest, best and tastiest in Cambodia.
What a journey.
This place is amazing.
Yeah, it's an amazing place.
Hello.
But before I can try them for myself, I've got to catch one.
Mr Paul.
Mr Paul, how are you? Fine.
And you? Very well indeed.
Excited about these fresh tarantulas.
Butha introduces me to Mr Paul, king of the tarantula hunters.
He's agreed to take me to his favourite spider spot, but worryingly, Butha is leaving me to it.
Do they move very fast? Because they have eight legs, they move fast.
Eight legs, you'd think they'd move bloody fast.
And are they big? Yes, big, about this big.
Bloody hell.
There's a real art to catching these hairy critters.
They live in burrows deep in the jungle.
Ah.
Look at the size of that hole in there.
Yeah.
For the villagers, selling tarantulas is a welcome source of extra cash.
There's only one tarantula in there? God, they go down deep, don't they? He's gone? Yeah, he's gone.
Eating out of necessity, the Cambodians have developed an insatiable appetite for these eight-legged beasts.
God, that's a massive hole.
Bloody hell.
Got him? Is he in there? Ha.
There he is.
Jesus Christ.
It's a big one.
Fuck.
Use your shovel.
Shit.
If bitten now, it's painful, very painful.
Where are the fangs? Here.
So he's not going to bite you now? Shit! No? Argh! Put him on me.
Oh, fuck! (Man laughs) Fuck.
You pull him.
Stronger.
That feels weird.
Furry here.
Jesus.
You can hear how strong the head is.
(Gentle scraping) Huh? Eugh.
Now it's my turn.
Mr Paul's discovered a really large burrow that promises a prize specimen.
We can move the lid, you see the hole.
I've faced some really tough challenges on my travels Is it normally this deep down? .
.
but there's something about these big hairy beasts that really gives me the willies.
Oh, here he is.
Here he is.
Shit.
He's not getting away.
Corner him.
There? Shit, they're strong.
Very brave.
Jesus Christ.
Jesus.
I was amazed at how strong the head was.
Really strong.
Really strong.
Jesus Christ! Is that big enough to eat? Yes, big enough to eat.
Fuck! (Laughter) Shit! Sorry.
OK.
I mean, it feels really weird 'cause they're furry and absolutely disgusting.
And now you're going to tell me that is delicious.
Yeah, it's full of the herb in the belly, so really delicious.
This is insane.
Absolutely crazy.
Yeah, your boys are pissing themselves.
'Oh, look at that English knob-head, scared of a little furry spider.
Yeah, right.
OK.
Let's take him off.
Eugh, Je Oh, shit! You little fucker! Catching these hairy beasts is one thing.
Now I've got to eat them.
Let's go.
We take our eight-legged haul back to the village, where Mr Paul's cousin shows me her recipe for Cambodia's favourite snack.
Great stove.
After killing the tarantulas and boiling them in salted water for a couple of minutes, they're simply deep-fried in hot oil.
Jesus Christ, they're crispy, aren't they? Finger-lickin' tarantula.
After a few minutes, they're ready for eating.
Look at that.
Oh dear.
And the whole village has turned up to see how the westerner likes their local speciality.
The moment we've all been waiting for.
OK.
Whew.
How tastes? Mm.
It's good? Mm.
I'm glad they're happy.
After the legs, Mr Paul shows me the part of the tarantula that is most highly prized by the true connoisseur - the belly.
The belly, yeah.
Full of something.
Yeah, full of pus.
Yeah.
Yeah.
(Laughter) I've eaten some weird things in my time, but I'm really not sure about this.
Whew.
(Laughter) (Spits) It's bitter.
Yeah, it's very bitter.
(Sighs) Can I just say, I prefer the legs.
(Laughter) Weird texture when you're biting into it first off.
It's like crunchy chicken thigh, mm, delicious.
Bite through it, then all of a sudden, burst of sweetness.
Then it's the body, and it's like a sort of bitter, bile, sour taste.
It's been a long day.
After I've said my goodbyes, I hit the road.
As surprising as it was, I don't think I'll be putting tarantula on the menu for the royal dinner.
The next day, and I'm heading to the place that Cambodians call their natural larder.
Tonle Sap has more freshwater fish than any other lake in the world.
Does it bite? No, it doesn't bite? Thank you.
And unusual ingredients that are the mainstay of Cambodian cooking.
I'm heading upriver to meet a fantastic home cook whose old family recipes use these wonderful local ingredients.
Nice to see you.
Are you good? Good to see you.
Welcome.
This is my aunt.
Aunt.
How are you? Gordon.
Tonight, Mrs Sovannary's going to teach me her speciality.
What are we cooking? One special dish is stuffed frog.
Stuffed frog? Yes.
(Speaks other language) Stuff it through the tummy.
Stuff it through the tummy.
But before we can get cooking, we need to catch our ingredients.
(Speaks other language) She's talking to the frogs? Bloody hell.
The ideal time to stalk frogs in this labyrinth of rivers is at night.
It's dangerous work, so I'm glad to be joining a party of the best hunters in the village.
Nice to see you.
Looks like he's harpooned his face.
Bloody hell.
How old is he? 11? (Speaks other language) 24.
24 years old.
Oh, please! Come on.
Take ten.
He's 14.
He just looks so young.
How old are you? How old am I? How old do you think? (Man speaks other language) He said you're about 28.
You and I, we're like that.
Brothers.
43.
Old enough to be your father.
(Laughter) I'm going to follow you, sonny.
Right into the middle? Yeah.
Wading through the jungle water teeming with God knows what in the pitch black is starting to seem a very bad idea.
Are there any snakes in there? Water snake are usually safe.
Water snakes are safe.
(Dog barks) Before we get our first sniff of frog, something catches my eye - a snakeskin.
Look at the size of it.
Yeah, this is not big.
It's like a normal size.
Poison? No.
Not poison.
Not like cobra.
You have cobras in here? Yes, we have.
Jesus Christ.
With snakes that big swimming around, I'm beginning to get the heebie-jeebies, and I want to turn back, but I've got to front this out.
This is insane.
Wading waist deep through water for my supper, these frogs better be worth it.
Then hiding in the undergrowth we spot our first frog.
Great shot.
And that's a good size? That's a good size frog, yes.
OK, we can carry on.
Find some more.
I'm amazed by the skill of these guys.
Once they get their eye in, our fresh frog tally soon mounts.
That's big enough to stuff as well? Sure.
With the hard work over, Mrs Sovannary is going to show me her famous stuffed frog recipe.
I can't wait.
Big enough to stuff? (Speaks other language) Yeah, that's a good size.
First, the frogs are killed, gutted and skinned.
I'm dying to see how he does this.
Fiddly little buggers to do.
That frog has seen better days.
The legs are removed, the meat cut off and finely chopped.
Nice and fine? (Speaks other language) She said that's enough.
OK.
Then Mrs Sovannary mixes it with pork mince.
So obviously the pork and the fat keeps it moist and stops the frog from drying out, right? Yes.
Next, she gets me to make a special version of kroeung, the classic Cambodian spice paste using fresh turmeric Galangal.
.
.
and kaffir lime It's the lime family.
It's the sour flavour.
.
.
garlic and chilli.
Then she mixes the kroeung with the minced meat.
One spoon of this.
Finally, for salty depth, a tablespoon of fish sauce.
It's an extraordinary aromatic filling.
Then I get to stuff my first frog.
Stuff as tight as you can.
So you're filling up the actual body.
She said you seem to know the way to do it.
That's very good.
Using a nifty trick with split bamboo, the frogs are ready for grilling.
Amazing.
They look like quails.
They cook for 15 minutes over a low charcoal heat, then they're ready.
Is she happy with those? (Speaks other language) Yeah? Beautiful.
Word's got round Mrs Sovannary is cooking her famous frog recipe.
Good evening.
So we've got a full house for dinner.
MAN: Mm, very good! You happy? Yeah.
WOMAN: Very, very good.
I'm starting to see why the revival of traditional cuisine is so important.
This old recipe's fantastic.
Auntie, how was it? To judge Tres bon.
Tres bon.
In just a few days time, I have to cook a traditional Cambodian menu for royalty.
I'm in the busy capital city, Phnom Penh, visiting a cooking school dedicated to re-establishing traditional Cambodian cuisine.
But what makes this place remarkable are the students.
Thousands of orphans and street kids have passed through its doors.
These children are the legacy of over 15 years of Khmer Rouge rule and civil war.
Nice to see you.
Yeah.
Happy to meet you.
I'm very happy to meet you too.
What an amazing place! Nina, the woman in charge, has invited me to join her class.
Now you have a uniform.
Uniform? Yes.
And then after you clean your hands.
Clean my hands? Yes.
OK.
I tell you what, she doesn't mess with anyone.
Inside the hat.
Hair inside the hat, please.
Yes.
Today she's teaching an old style Cambodian pork and pumpkin curry.
Now you clean your hands, yes.
OK.
Nina, you're scary! (Laughs) Love it.
Nina's the project's matriarch.
She's nurtured hundreds of children to create some real cooking talent.
I'm teamed up with 18-year-old Sopheak.
His parents died ten years ago, and he's spent time living on the streets.
Today he's the project's prize pupil.
So how long have you been cooking? One year? Two years? I'm cooking three years.
Three years.
Yeah.
Amazing.
And you? How long have I been cooking? 25 years.
So long.
So long.
But when it comes to Cambodian cuisine, I still feel like a novice.
And a little bit salt.
Yes.
50-50.
Once the complex spice paste is made, we hit the hobs and start cooking.
You fry until the smell's good, and then you put lemongrass.
This one, he's a baby.
He's 18 years of age.
He's been cooking for three years.
So excited about the flavours, the smell.
It's amazing.
OK, fry off the coconut.
It looks simple, but getting the balance of flavours is tricky to master.
Every time I turn around, you're there.
You're watching me like I'm your worst student, yes? Whoo! (Laughter) Finally, for that all-important sweet touch, palm sugar.
Then we leave the curry to cook.
How long are we going to cook that for now? 30 minutes.
OK, good.
Excellent.
Once our curries are done, the class ends with a taste test.
Right, Nina, here we go.
Here we go.
Fingers crossed.
Yeah, that's it.
It means 'good luck'.
OK? And now and now your toes.
Jeez, look at her face.
Very serious.
Eight per cent.
Eight out of ten? Yes, eight per cent.
Not enough palm sugar.
Not enough palm sugar? And palm sugar.
Oh, please.
Please.
Eight out of ten? Yeah.
I'm not going to argue with her, that's for sure.
Damn.
Eight out of ten.
She's right.
Definitely needs more palm sugar, without a doubt.
Because it's just a little bit too spicy.
I've got it.
It's back to the hob and in with another ladle of palm sugar to get it absolutely spot-on.
(Bell rings) The project doesn't only train kids to be chefs, it feeds the city's underprivileged children too.
It's lunchtime, and our curry is on the menu.
The kids have just started to arrive now, and God, look at the age of them.
They're young.
This project is a real inspiration.
I've got a sort of lump in my throat.
I thought when they said street kids, I'm thinking teenagers.
But no, in walk, you know, 50-odd three, four, five-year-olds.
I'm leaving with huge respect for the work they do here, but first I want to make my classmate Sopheak an offer I hope he can't refuse.
I've got a very, very important dinner for members of the royal family.
And I'm so impressed with what you've done this morning, I would like this amazing student to come and help me cook.
Would you like to come and cook with me? I would like to come.
Yes? Yes.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Keep up the good work.
Yes.
Thank you so much.
Goodbye.
I've got a sous chef and a great curry recipe.
But I've planned one final excursion to ensure that we really impress royalty.
I want to find a dish they won't have tasted, and I'm going to deepest Cambodia to find it.
Off into the jungle to help cook at a wedding and serve food that you won't see anywhere else in Cambodia, unique to this tribe.
So God knows what's in store.
First, a helicopter ride.
OK, let's go.
Fuck, it's hot.
I'm heading to Pu Pol, near the border with Vietnam, home to the Pnong tribe.
for hundreds of years they've lived a self-sufficient life cut off from the rest of Cambodia.
It's my chance to discover a cuisine that predates the Khmer Rouge.
So we're now coming to the region of Mondulkiri, and it's getting slightly hillier but a lot more greener.
And this is real proper outback tribal Cambodia.
There are 30,000 Pnong people living here in the country's biggest, wildest forest.
I've arranged to meet a local guide called Monet to take me to the village of Pu Pol.
I'm relying on him to get me to the wedding feast on time.
The brake doesn't work.
Don't worry.
How are you? I'm good.
I'm sorry to let you wait.
Don't worry.
OK.
Can you come with me to the village? Yes, please.
Can I drive? Yeah, sure.
Which way, left or right? Right.
Shit.
My boot.
The village is another 8km into the jungle.
When you see the small house for the spirit, you can slow down, yeah? Right.
I'm pumping the brakes.
Yeah.
Fucking hell, this is crazy! That's right.
Use the gears to slow down? Just pray to the spirit.
Jesus Christ.
Oh, shit! (Horn blares) Sorry.
I'm one of the few westerners the villagers have ever seen, and that was quite an entrance.
Hello.
How are you? Nice to see you.
Akun.
Akun.
Akun.
Gordon from Glasgow.
Welang.
Welang.
Welang.
Welang, good to see you.
Good to see you.
Hey.
The Pnong welcome guests with prayers for good fortune and a drink of rice wine.
Sweet and sour.
Sweet and sour, yeah.
(Laughter) More.
Yeah.
Finish.
Finish it off, yeah.
(Laughs) If I finish the lot, tell him, I'll fall flat on my face.
(Villagers speak other language) Whoa! Pu Pol has just ten families, but a wedding's big news in Pnong culture, and 100 guests have joined them from the groom's village a day's walk away.
The pressure's on.
Haven't got a clue what we're cooking.
I don't know if it's wild boar, buffalo, snake, or even stir-fried chicken with honey.
God knows.
Isolated from the rest of Cambodia, the Pnong still use age-old recipes.
Head chef Hong shows me what's on the wedding menu.
What's that called? Gom harr.
Gom harr.
Soup.
Soup, and is it done with pork? Yeah.
And it's a village recipe? Yeah.
Nice.
Under Hong's direction, they're making a whole array of dishes, including soups, spicy salads and stews.
You guys have got strong strong stomachs.
Yeah, strong.
But the centrepiece for the feast is the buffalo.
That's the buffalo for the wedding? Yeah.
Jesus Christ.
Huh? He senses something's wrong, doesn't he? A wedding's so important they sacrifice their most valuable animal for the feast.
Powerful things, huh? Very strong.
Strong.
Part of the wedding ritual involves the bride's father killing the buffalo.
He steps up with a homemade wooden axe.
(Axe thwacks) Fuck me.
As soon as it's dead, they give me the honour of slitting its throat to collect the blood.
It's a gruesome task.
OK, yes.
Jesus.
What's the blood for? (Speaks other language) He said, for one or two year, they take the blood to cook.
So they leave the blood to ferment for two years? Yeah.
And then they cook with it.
Yeah.
Whew.
I've never seen an axe like that go through a buffalo's head quite like that.
But it's part of the village's tradition.
And it's what they do to celebrate the marriage.
It's religion.
Under Hong's watchful gaze, I get my first lesson in buffalo skinning.
Strong, strong, strong.
Good, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
And it's big job.
Then Hong sets the rest of the village to work jointing the carcass and preparing the meat.
As the buffalo's being cut up ready for barbecuing, we head off to the Pnong's local supermarket, otherwise known as the jungle.
You see? Look between the tree and see very black up here.
We're shopping for honey.
That's huge.
But there must be thousands of bees in there.
Yeah! With up to 70,000 fierce bees in the hive, collecting it is extremely dangerous.
And we set this alight? To subdue the bees they smoke them out.
The bee gets stoned from the smoke, they cannot do anything to you, just fly away.
Oh, really? Yeah.
So we've got to stone the bees.
Mind you, it's a big enough joint, isn't it? Carrying his homemade smoker, the bravest hunter climbs over 20 metres to the hive.
(Coughs) There's got to be an easier way of getting honey.
Surely.
Jesus Christ.
He's got no safety rope on or If the bees attack when they've been disturbed, they can easily kill a man.
So down on the ground, Monet is making our defences.
But I'm not convinced a few twigs are going to be much use against thousands of angry bees.
The bees are leaving.
The bees are leaving! Shit.
Come with me.
OK.
The bees are going absolutely nuts.
That was almost an evacuation point.
Bolt.
Get out of here.
As we're panicking down on the ground, I can't believe the honey collector is hanging on to a branch 20m up in a swarm of bees he's just made homeless.
Great job.
Did they sting you? (Monet speaks other language) No.
No.
Not once? Yes.
Oh, shit.
Have a quick look at the honey? That is amazing.
You're fucking It's the honey bee.
You're fucking nuts, you know that? (Laughter) With the honey in the bag, we've got a half an hour walk back to the village.
But Hong's got other ideas.
.
.
three! OK.
Help.
Oh, no, no, no! (Laughs) OK.
Oh, no, no, no! Jeez! OK.
Nay! Nay! You want to go, go, go.
Nee! Nee! Wild elephants live in these forests.
This one was caught and tamed by the villagers over 50 years ago.
'How' is 'stop'.
How! How! How! How! How.
How! Yes.
OK, good.
You OK? Yes.
Good drive? First time on an elephant.
That's crazy.
Yes.
Back in the village, the wedding party's warming up.
They'll all be expecting an exquisite Pnong feast, so Hong gets straight to work separating the honey.
Close this and start to be squeezed.
Now Hong shows me his favourite dessert.
First he toasts some of the tribe's homegrown rice.
And this is rice from the local field.
Sticky rice.
Sticky rice.
When the sticky rice turns a wonderful golden colour, Hong gets me to pound it into a coarse flour.
Gently.
Then I pour in some of the hard-earned honey.
You don't cook it? Just like that? Yeah, this is Yeah, just like that.
Mm.
And make like this.
That's nice.
It's like a nut brittle.
That tastes amazing.
Let them sort of dry out in the sun now and they get even firmer, more brittle.
And a lot more crunchier.
Who would have thought, in a village like this, they'd be coming up with a dainty, delicious little petit four that would knock the socks off a Ferrero Rocher.
This honey and rice recipe could seal my success at the royal dinner, so chef to chef, I'm returning the favour.
God, it's very tough, man.
Because the meat hasn't been hung, I think it needs a bit of help.
I'm showing Hong my take on buffalo kebabs.
It's fresh, a little bit too fresh to cook with, so I want to tenderise it.
And I'll do a sort of marinated version.
So dice it in big chunks.
Little bit of salt.
After seasoning the meat, I simply add chopped chilli to give it a kick, garlic and soy sauce.
And marinade that, so, Hong, the flavour will be amazing.
Get rid of the flames and get the hot coal underneath, right? Yeah, yeah.
As the buffalo cooks, I'm going to see the final blessing of the wedding ceremony.
The bride and groom anoint their family with the villagers' precious ingredient.
And that's the buffalo blood on their forehead.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And the cheers to the head.
And this is the final celebration.
Then they're husband and wife.
Yeah.
Congratulations to you both.
Husband and wife.
(Speaks other language) May I wish you a very happy marriage and lots of children.
Yeah.
(Speaks other language) (Laughter) The ceremony over, it's time to eat.
OK, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, now we've got the most amazing barbecued buffalo.
(Villagers speak other language) It's good? Yes? My marinaded buffalo kebabs are going down a storm.
Gah yoong chang.
Joong tang.
Joong tang.
That means very good.
They're happy.
And the kids especially are loving the little sweets, the honey and the ground rice.
Delicious.
Music's started, party's in full swing.
Look at these guys.
How much rice wine have they got? Big.
Big! Oh, Jesus! With the whole tribe tucking into the rice wine, it's going to be a long night.
But I've got to leave.
Goodbye.
Take care.
Take care, take care, take care, yes? Thank you very much indeed.
Thank you.
Take care.
I've had an amazing week, but my royal appointment looms.
Next, I've got to cook Cambodian food fit for a king.
Or a prince and a couple of princesses at least.
That was incredible.
We were literally in the middle of nowhere.
Great tribe.
Interesting food.
I think the one I'll take back is that rice mixed with that amazing honey and served as a sort of little petit four.
Something from the jungle that I don't even think they've actually heard of in the capital.
Fingers crossed.
I'm a chef, get me to fuck out of the jungle.
I've come to the end of my Cambodian odyssey.
I've eaten dishes that were nearly lost for good under Khmer Rouge rule.
It's delicious.
And delicacies born from necessity.
(Spits) My adventure has taken me to some of the remotest places I've ever been.
Nice to see you.
Now I'm back in Phnom Penh to cook my take on traditional Cambodian food for royalty alongside one of the country's top chefs.
This is a big ask tonight.
There's members of the royal family coming, there's ministers.
I can't afford to screw this one up.
The royal dinner's being held on a 180ft imperial barge that's going to be sailing up the Mekong River.
Welcome aboard.
Thank you.
Hello, Luu.
I'll be cooking with Luu Meng.
He runs one of Cambodia's best restaurants.
Is this yours? No.
(Laughs) So it's very exciting, cooking for the royal family? Yes.
Is it stressful? Yes, because we need to make it perfectly, the meal.
Tonight he's trusting me to cook half the dishes on the traditional menu.
His food is some of the best in the country, and I need to reach his high standard.
He's going to raise the bar.
I have to get my shit together big time.
I can't afford to make myself look stupid.
OK, Sopheak, how are you? I'm fine.
Earlier in the week, I met Sopheak at Phnom Penh's amazing catering school for street kids.
Welcome, welcome, welcome.
And he so impressed me, I asked him to come along and be my sous chef tonight.
Look at you.
I'm so proud of you, you know that? You look like a pro.
We're cooking for Cambodia's most important VIPs.
A royal party of two princesses and a prince.
And my culinary mentor Kethana is on board too.
As soon as the boat gets under way, Sopheak and I get down to work.
My menu's inspired by the revival of traditional Cambodian dishes I've tasted on my trip.
A version of fish amok, a Cambodian curry, and my take on the jungle dessert.
Have a little taste of this.
We got this from the beehives in Mondulkiri.
Fit for a princess? Yeah.
Mm, nice.
My dishes are going to be served to royalty, side by side with Luu Meng's, so they have to be perfect.
Look at the size of this kitchen.
You couldn't swing a baby pig in this kitchen.
I'm starting with my version of the amazing amok dish Kethana taught me at the beginning of my week.
Luu Meng is watching every move, and I've made a mistake with the first step, the classic Cambodian spice paste.
Got a problem with the kroeung.
Just a little bit too It's not fine enough.
I try to salvage it in the blender.
It wasn't holding.
So it was separating.
So I took it off, last minute, and blended it.
I had no choice.
Fucking hell.
We are so behind.
He's organised.
He hasn't even sweated yet.
So Fucking hell.
I'm adding the salvaged paste to our Cambodian freshwater fish called snakehead and praying the mixture will souffle.
The guests are sitting down, and they're expecting faultless Cambodian cuisine.
You give me a time, first table of four, and I'll tell you if I can match it, yes? Yep.
If Luu is fast ahead of me, then tough shit, they'll have to wait.
Luu Meng's beef kebabs on lemongrass skewers look great as they go out.
And they're hitting the spot.
Beef is very good.
Delicious.
The taste is really good, and the presentation also is lovely.
Now it's down to me to deliver.
Thankfully, the souffle has risen like Kethana's.
How many tables to go, please? But what will she make of my amok? The amok has got lots of flavour, but there's something missing about it.
Because compared to what we used to cook, they're more souffle-like, very light.
And this one, a little bit more heavy.
After Kethana's lukewarm reaction, I need to pull out all the stops with my next two dishes.
I'm determined not to let Luu Meng down.
And a little bit of sugar, right? A little bit of sugar.
And a little bit of salt.
Yeah.
Sugar and salt.
Good man.
He's doing brilliantly.
He's doing absolutely brilliantly.
Next course, I'm doing a curry inspired by Sopheak's teacher at the cookery school.
I'm sieving the pumpkin to give it a luxurious taste, and using chicken instead of pork.
The balance of flavours is crucial.
I'm adding fish sauce for saltiness and depth.
It's being served with Luu Meng's exquisite aromatic rice wrapped in turmeric leaves, and I'm feeling confident.
I'll be very, very surprised if this doesn't go down a storm, honestly.
It's got that sweet and spicy, 50-50 on the button.
It's the lotus leaf.
Have a look, see if they're happy and smiling.
My curry has been served to the royal party, Prince Sisowath Tesso and princesses Marinyang and Buppha Devi.
But have I done enough to justify Luu Meng's faith in me? It was well done.
Because it was melting in my mouth.
I love it, and I think also some guests love it as well.
(Laughs) Just as I've managed to pull it back, I hit a problem with my last dish, the jungle-inspired honey and rice dessert.
This should have been set an hour ago.
So the chances of getting this set now is going to be very, very, very slim.
Fucking hell.
I'm not even too sure if it's going to be ready in time, to be honest.
And the pressure has got to me.
Oh, fuck off.
What a fucking piece of shit.
As Luu Meng's jasmine mousse wows the diners, my reputation is hanging in the balance.
I've got to start cutting the sticky rice.
If it hasn't set now, yeah, we're screwed.
Shit.
In the 35-degree heat, the rice has barely set.
OK, Sopheak.
My jungle dessert is my last chance to wow the royal party.
I'm praying they're not too soft.
I've got to send them out.
This is excellent.
It surprised me.
I would think he's a Cambodian cook.
He's a better cook than my cook.
I have a cook at home.
I would hire him anytime.
(Applause) It's been a hell of a night, serving my twist on traditional Cambodian dishes side by side with one of the country's best chefs was a real tester.
This is the first time that I've experienced somebody bringing the cuisine from the countryside back to the city.
We have our own regional cooking, and we don't know how to develop that.
And I think Gordon showed us tonight how it can be done.
I only just held my own, but I'll be forever grateful to Luu Meng for the opportunity he's given me tonight.
It was an honour to be in the kitchen, and I've had the most extraordinary week.
Kethana told me, 'Get out of town, get off the beaten track and get into the countryside.
You'll be amazed.
' And I was.
I was amazed and shocked at the same time.
The civil war, the Khmer Rouge.
No-one's had to deal with that level of crap and then start clawing back their roots and wanting to put a stake in the ground, because they can produce bloody good food.
I'm leaving Cambodia with a vast amount of knowledge, and I'm going to tuck that away and use it to great use.
No macaroni, no fish and chips.
We're in Malaysia, for God's sake.
You try your best to not to get angry.
Mine's gone overcooked.
(Laughs) It's the part of the cow.
A bull's penis? This is my clitoria bush.
(Laughs) Oh, Jeez.
Come on, the Prime Minister's waiting.
Prime Minister, absolute pleasure.
The boat's filling up with water.
Fuck.
(Laughter) Closed Captions by CSI
Whoo-hoo! Getting away from it all.
How are you? And I'm back to doing what I love best.
It's still beating.
I've been cooking now for 25 years and I still get so excited about being taught something unique, something new.
My appetite for culinary adventure takes me country-hopping around South-East Asia.
It's home to some of the world's best cuisines.
I've never seen squid that fresh.
But it's way off my gastronomic map.
What the fuck is that? It's the part of the cow.
A bull's penis? Yeah.
This time, I'm in Cambodia.
I'm on an epic food adventure.
That is amazing.
Eating toe-curling delicacies, braving the dangers of the jungle Bolt.
Get out of there.
The bees are leaving.
OK.
On the trail of Cambodia's most exotic .
.
and exciting food.
You eat that? Are you fucking crazy? I've just touched down in Siem Reap in remote north-west Cambodia.
It's home to the renowned temples of Angkor Wat.
But I'm on a different mission - to discover the secret of this country's fantastic food.
Jesus.
I feel like I'm in the back of beyond.
I cannot believe they're swimming in there.
Hi.
This place seems so laid-back.
Cambodia is a country in recovery.
In the late 1970s, the ruling communist party, the Khmer Rouge, forced the population into the countryside to live off the land.
The result was a devastating famine.
And when you think of what it went through, and it became abolished, really, on the back of the war, the famine.
And everyone forgot about it.
But it is starting to see a revival.
So I can't wait to get to grips with it, get out there and really understand what Cambodian cuisine is all about.
Thank God he's so small.
I'm starting my education with a master class in Cambodia's historic recipes from a chef who is leading the country's food renaissance at a restaurant, the Sugar Palm.
I'm on my way to meet Kethana, who's got one of the best restaurants in town.
If I'm going to get my hands dirty, I can't think of a better place to start.
Kethana was exiled in New Zealand 35 years ago when the Khmer Rouge ruled Cambodia.
Looks nice and busy.
She returned seven years ago determined to rediscover and celebrate traditional dishes.
Hello.
Kethana? Yes.
How are you, my darling? Nice to see you.
Nice to see you.
What a beautiful place.
Thank you.
That looks amazing out there.
You're clearly at the forefront of the revival of Cambodian cooking.
I'm trying to.
Have you gone back to childhood dishes in terms of Yes, that's what I'm trying to do.
My mum and my grandmother's recipes.
Trying to revive the old cooking style.
Take me back to 1975.
What actually happened to the food in the war? So people trying to survive so they could get Whatever they could get around them from the jungle or from anywhere they could find, and they just had to cook anything.
I just couldn't imagine what sort of thing they would eat to survive.
I think that's why the food sort of gradually disappeared.
So Kethana is reviving traditional authentic Cambodian recipes All girls in the kitchen? One guy.
Somewhere here behind you.
You lucky man.
The locals love it.
It's a busy lunchtime service and I'm going to learn on the job.
Now, we've got order So first dish is .
.
from the clients, it's a fish amok.
The first order in is a classic.
One tablespoon of dry red pepper.
It starts with kroeung, a spicy paste that was used before the war.
That smells so fragrant.
Very nice smell.
Coconut cream.
So it's not exactly healthy, is it? No.
As long as you don't eat too much, you'll be fine.
Whole egg.
This traditional recipe is far more refined than I expected.
And what kind of fish do you use for amok? I'm using freshwater fishes called snakehead.
And this is a tradition.
This is what you watched your mother making.
Yes.
That's incredible.
It's quite complex, isn't it? Yes.
The mixture is cooked in a palm leaf.
And you're going to steam these? Going to steam these.
OK.
Into the steamer.
Excuse me, darling.
Wow, look at yours.
And the results are fantastic.
I'm amazed the way it's souffled up.
That's delicious.
Delicious? It's got a really nice, soft Nice texture, nice flavour.
.
.
sweet texture.
It's like a red pepper fish souffle, but you've got the texture of the fish and the sweetness without being overpowering.
That's lovely.
After years in the wilderness, this country's food is being put back on the map.
I want my time here to do it justice.
Where do I need to go next to really get my fingers on the pulse and really understand Cambodian cuisine? The next step, you should go to visit the local home in the villages and the countryside.
So you could go there and have a look and see what those people do.
I'm very grateful.
Amazing.
A big eye-opener.
Thank you very much.
Good to see you.
Kethana's really inspired me.
Cambodia's food is waiting to be rediscovered.
I want to scour the country for dishes as magnificent as the amok.
I'm about to set off when I get a call from one of the country's top chefs, Luu Meng, with a surprising invitation.
Hello? Yes.
Hold on a minute.
I've just arrived.
Obviously word's got out.
And you're having a dinner for members of the royal family and ministers, and you want me to come and cook a few dishes.
(Laughs) I haven't even unpacked yet.
Cooking for royalty is nerve-racking enough, but now I've signed up to cook a traditional Cambodian dinner.
Look forward to seeing you at the end of the week, and thank you.
Royal family, ministers.
I've only just arrived.
Now I'm seriously going to have to pull something out of the bag.
I've received a royal summons to cook an old style Cambodian dinner at the end of the week.
So I'm going cross-country to scour the land for dishes that are worthy of this great honour.
Butha? How are you, sir? Hi.
Getting around Cambodia's back roads will take more than a sat nav, so I've hired local driver Butha.
Maybe not so close to the truck.
I can see the whiskers on the driver.
OK.
Excellent.
(Butha laughs) First stop on my foodie safari is to try one of Cambodia's favourite street foods, and Butha knows where they serve the best.
It's the baby duck eggs.
Baby duck eggs? Hello.
And what's so special about the duck eggs? Make man have power.
And it's good for your sex life? Yeah.
Yes.
Butha, ducking every day for power.
You randy little bastard.
Unbelievable.
Right, shall we try them? Duck egg Viagra? This I've got to see.
Salt, pepper, lemon.
Jesus, it's like we're doing tequila shots.
I've had duck eggs before, but I can't wait to find out what makes these so special.
Oh, please.
The water is still good.
We've got the body in there.
Yes, body in there.
I can't believe Butha wants me to eat an unborn baby duck.
And then you eat that? Yes.
Whole thing.
Are you fucking crazy? (Laughs) Not so crazy.
And that's good for your sex life? Yeah.
Tasty.
Mm.
It's nice, fresh.
How old was that? 20 days.
20 days.
It actually tastes better than it looks.
(Laughs) It looks disgusting, but actually tastes quite nice.
(Laughs) Anything happening downstairs? Um Pecker.
Not yet.
Not yet? Later on.
This is a real insight.
It was easier to swallow than it looked.
I'm looking forward to what Butha has in store for me next.
Where heading to Kompeurt, a remote village in the north-east, on the trial of one of Cambodia's strangest delicacies.
Another one, buffalo, crossing the road.
Look at the size of him.
Jesus.
When the Khmer Rouge ruled the country, food was scarce.
During the famine, people were forced to eat wildlife from the countryside.
Amazingly, over time, these necessities have evolved into Cambodian specialities.
The most popular is tarantula.
The thought of catching tarantulas sounds a little bit eerie.
Eating them Oh! Very tasty.
Have you ever been bitten by a tarantula? Never.
Never.
(Laughs) (Laughs) You're crazy! No! Not crazy! (Laughs) The remote countryside around Kompeurt is renowned for some of the biggest, best and tastiest in Cambodia.
What a journey.
This place is amazing.
Yeah, it's an amazing place.
Hello.
But before I can try them for myself, I've got to catch one.
Mr Paul.
Mr Paul, how are you? Fine.
And you? Very well indeed.
Excited about these fresh tarantulas.
Butha introduces me to Mr Paul, king of the tarantula hunters.
He's agreed to take me to his favourite spider spot, but worryingly, Butha is leaving me to it.
Do they move very fast? Because they have eight legs, they move fast.
Eight legs, you'd think they'd move bloody fast.
And are they big? Yes, big, about this big.
Bloody hell.
There's a real art to catching these hairy critters.
They live in burrows deep in the jungle.
Ah.
Look at the size of that hole in there.
Yeah.
For the villagers, selling tarantulas is a welcome source of extra cash.
There's only one tarantula in there? God, they go down deep, don't they? He's gone? Yeah, he's gone.
Eating out of necessity, the Cambodians have developed an insatiable appetite for these eight-legged beasts.
God, that's a massive hole.
Bloody hell.
Got him? Is he in there? Ha.
There he is.
Jesus Christ.
It's a big one.
Fuck.
Use your shovel.
Shit.
If bitten now, it's painful, very painful.
Where are the fangs? Here.
So he's not going to bite you now? Shit! No? Argh! Put him on me.
Oh, fuck! (Man laughs) Fuck.
You pull him.
Stronger.
That feels weird.
Furry here.
Jesus.
You can hear how strong the head is.
(Gentle scraping) Huh? Eugh.
Now it's my turn.
Mr Paul's discovered a really large burrow that promises a prize specimen.
We can move the lid, you see the hole.
I've faced some really tough challenges on my travels Is it normally this deep down? .
.
but there's something about these big hairy beasts that really gives me the willies.
Oh, here he is.
Here he is.
Shit.
He's not getting away.
Corner him.
There? Shit, they're strong.
Very brave.
Jesus Christ.
Jesus.
I was amazed at how strong the head was.
Really strong.
Really strong.
Jesus Christ! Is that big enough to eat? Yes, big enough to eat.
Fuck! (Laughter) Shit! Sorry.
OK.
I mean, it feels really weird 'cause they're furry and absolutely disgusting.
And now you're going to tell me that is delicious.
Yeah, it's full of the herb in the belly, so really delicious.
This is insane.
Absolutely crazy.
Yeah, your boys are pissing themselves.
'Oh, look at that English knob-head, scared of a little furry spider.
Yeah, right.
OK.
Let's take him off.
Eugh, Je Oh, shit! You little fucker! Catching these hairy beasts is one thing.
Now I've got to eat them.
Let's go.
We take our eight-legged haul back to the village, where Mr Paul's cousin shows me her recipe for Cambodia's favourite snack.
Great stove.
After killing the tarantulas and boiling them in salted water for a couple of minutes, they're simply deep-fried in hot oil.
Jesus Christ, they're crispy, aren't they? Finger-lickin' tarantula.
After a few minutes, they're ready for eating.
Look at that.
Oh dear.
And the whole village has turned up to see how the westerner likes their local speciality.
The moment we've all been waiting for.
OK.
Whew.
How tastes? Mm.
It's good? Mm.
I'm glad they're happy.
After the legs, Mr Paul shows me the part of the tarantula that is most highly prized by the true connoisseur - the belly.
The belly, yeah.
Full of something.
Yeah, full of pus.
Yeah.
Yeah.
(Laughter) I've eaten some weird things in my time, but I'm really not sure about this.
Whew.
(Laughter) (Spits) It's bitter.
Yeah, it's very bitter.
(Sighs) Can I just say, I prefer the legs.
(Laughter) Weird texture when you're biting into it first off.
It's like crunchy chicken thigh, mm, delicious.
Bite through it, then all of a sudden, burst of sweetness.
Then it's the body, and it's like a sort of bitter, bile, sour taste.
It's been a long day.
After I've said my goodbyes, I hit the road.
As surprising as it was, I don't think I'll be putting tarantula on the menu for the royal dinner.
The next day, and I'm heading to the place that Cambodians call their natural larder.
Tonle Sap has more freshwater fish than any other lake in the world.
Does it bite? No, it doesn't bite? Thank you.
And unusual ingredients that are the mainstay of Cambodian cooking.
I'm heading upriver to meet a fantastic home cook whose old family recipes use these wonderful local ingredients.
Nice to see you.
Are you good? Good to see you.
Welcome.
This is my aunt.
Aunt.
How are you? Gordon.
Tonight, Mrs Sovannary's going to teach me her speciality.
What are we cooking? One special dish is stuffed frog.
Stuffed frog? Yes.
(Speaks other language) Stuff it through the tummy.
Stuff it through the tummy.
But before we can get cooking, we need to catch our ingredients.
(Speaks other language) She's talking to the frogs? Bloody hell.
The ideal time to stalk frogs in this labyrinth of rivers is at night.
It's dangerous work, so I'm glad to be joining a party of the best hunters in the village.
Nice to see you.
Looks like he's harpooned his face.
Bloody hell.
How old is he? 11? (Speaks other language) 24.
24 years old.
Oh, please! Come on.
Take ten.
He's 14.
He just looks so young.
How old are you? How old am I? How old do you think? (Man speaks other language) He said you're about 28.
You and I, we're like that.
Brothers.
43.
Old enough to be your father.
(Laughter) I'm going to follow you, sonny.
Right into the middle? Yeah.
Wading through the jungle water teeming with God knows what in the pitch black is starting to seem a very bad idea.
Are there any snakes in there? Water snake are usually safe.
Water snakes are safe.
(Dog barks) Before we get our first sniff of frog, something catches my eye - a snakeskin.
Look at the size of it.
Yeah, this is not big.
It's like a normal size.
Poison? No.
Not poison.
Not like cobra.
You have cobras in here? Yes, we have.
Jesus Christ.
With snakes that big swimming around, I'm beginning to get the heebie-jeebies, and I want to turn back, but I've got to front this out.
This is insane.
Wading waist deep through water for my supper, these frogs better be worth it.
Then hiding in the undergrowth we spot our first frog.
Great shot.
And that's a good size? That's a good size frog, yes.
OK, we can carry on.
Find some more.
I'm amazed by the skill of these guys.
Once they get their eye in, our fresh frog tally soon mounts.
That's big enough to stuff as well? Sure.
With the hard work over, Mrs Sovannary is going to show me her famous stuffed frog recipe.
I can't wait.
Big enough to stuff? (Speaks other language) Yeah, that's a good size.
First, the frogs are killed, gutted and skinned.
I'm dying to see how he does this.
Fiddly little buggers to do.
That frog has seen better days.
The legs are removed, the meat cut off and finely chopped.
Nice and fine? (Speaks other language) She said that's enough.
OK.
Then Mrs Sovannary mixes it with pork mince.
So obviously the pork and the fat keeps it moist and stops the frog from drying out, right? Yes.
Next, she gets me to make a special version of kroeung, the classic Cambodian spice paste using fresh turmeric Galangal.
.
.
and kaffir lime It's the lime family.
It's the sour flavour.
.
.
garlic and chilli.
Then she mixes the kroeung with the minced meat.
One spoon of this.
Finally, for salty depth, a tablespoon of fish sauce.
It's an extraordinary aromatic filling.
Then I get to stuff my first frog.
Stuff as tight as you can.
So you're filling up the actual body.
She said you seem to know the way to do it.
That's very good.
Using a nifty trick with split bamboo, the frogs are ready for grilling.
Amazing.
They look like quails.
They cook for 15 minutes over a low charcoal heat, then they're ready.
Is she happy with those? (Speaks other language) Yeah? Beautiful.
Word's got round Mrs Sovannary is cooking her famous frog recipe.
Good evening.
So we've got a full house for dinner.
MAN: Mm, very good! You happy? Yeah.
WOMAN: Very, very good.
I'm starting to see why the revival of traditional cuisine is so important.
This old recipe's fantastic.
Auntie, how was it? To judge Tres bon.
Tres bon.
In just a few days time, I have to cook a traditional Cambodian menu for royalty.
I'm in the busy capital city, Phnom Penh, visiting a cooking school dedicated to re-establishing traditional Cambodian cuisine.
But what makes this place remarkable are the students.
Thousands of orphans and street kids have passed through its doors.
These children are the legacy of over 15 years of Khmer Rouge rule and civil war.
Nice to see you.
Yeah.
Happy to meet you.
I'm very happy to meet you too.
What an amazing place! Nina, the woman in charge, has invited me to join her class.
Now you have a uniform.
Uniform? Yes.
And then after you clean your hands.
Clean my hands? Yes.
OK.
I tell you what, she doesn't mess with anyone.
Inside the hat.
Hair inside the hat, please.
Yes.
Today she's teaching an old style Cambodian pork and pumpkin curry.
Now you clean your hands, yes.
OK.
Nina, you're scary! (Laughs) Love it.
Nina's the project's matriarch.
She's nurtured hundreds of children to create some real cooking talent.
I'm teamed up with 18-year-old Sopheak.
His parents died ten years ago, and he's spent time living on the streets.
Today he's the project's prize pupil.
So how long have you been cooking? One year? Two years? I'm cooking three years.
Three years.
Yeah.
Amazing.
And you? How long have I been cooking? 25 years.
So long.
So long.
But when it comes to Cambodian cuisine, I still feel like a novice.
And a little bit salt.
Yes.
50-50.
Once the complex spice paste is made, we hit the hobs and start cooking.
You fry until the smell's good, and then you put lemongrass.
This one, he's a baby.
He's 18 years of age.
He's been cooking for three years.
So excited about the flavours, the smell.
It's amazing.
OK, fry off the coconut.
It looks simple, but getting the balance of flavours is tricky to master.
Every time I turn around, you're there.
You're watching me like I'm your worst student, yes? Whoo! (Laughter) Finally, for that all-important sweet touch, palm sugar.
Then we leave the curry to cook.
How long are we going to cook that for now? 30 minutes.
OK, good.
Excellent.
Once our curries are done, the class ends with a taste test.
Right, Nina, here we go.
Here we go.
Fingers crossed.
Yeah, that's it.
It means 'good luck'.
OK? And now and now your toes.
Jeez, look at her face.
Very serious.
Eight per cent.
Eight out of ten? Yes, eight per cent.
Not enough palm sugar.
Not enough palm sugar? And palm sugar.
Oh, please.
Please.
Eight out of ten? Yeah.
I'm not going to argue with her, that's for sure.
Damn.
Eight out of ten.
She's right.
Definitely needs more palm sugar, without a doubt.
Because it's just a little bit too spicy.
I've got it.
It's back to the hob and in with another ladle of palm sugar to get it absolutely spot-on.
(Bell rings) The project doesn't only train kids to be chefs, it feeds the city's underprivileged children too.
It's lunchtime, and our curry is on the menu.
The kids have just started to arrive now, and God, look at the age of them.
They're young.
This project is a real inspiration.
I've got a sort of lump in my throat.
I thought when they said street kids, I'm thinking teenagers.
But no, in walk, you know, 50-odd three, four, five-year-olds.
I'm leaving with huge respect for the work they do here, but first I want to make my classmate Sopheak an offer I hope he can't refuse.
I've got a very, very important dinner for members of the royal family.
And I'm so impressed with what you've done this morning, I would like this amazing student to come and help me cook.
Would you like to come and cook with me? I would like to come.
Yes? Yes.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Keep up the good work.
Yes.
Thank you so much.
Goodbye.
I've got a sous chef and a great curry recipe.
But I've planned one final excursion to ensure that we really impress royalty.
I want to find a dish they won't have tasted, and I'm going to deepest Cambodia to find it.
Off into the jungle to help cook at a wedding and serve food that you won't see anywhere else in Cambodia, unique to this tribe.
So God knows what's in store.
First, a helicopter ride.
OK, let's go.
Fuck, it's hot.
I'm heading to Pu Pol, near the border with Vietnam, home to the Pnong tribe.
for hundreds of years they've lived a self-sufficient life cut off from the rest of Cambodia.
It's my chance to discover a cuisine that predates the Khmer Rouge.
So we're now coming to the region of Mondulkiri, and it's getting slightly hillier but a lot more greener.
And this is real proper outback tribal Cambodia.
There are 30,000 Pnong people living here in the country's biggest, wildest forest.
I've arranged to meet a local guide called Monet to take me to the village of Pu Pol.
I'm relying on him to get me to the wedding feast on time.
The brake doesn't work.
Don't worry.
How are you? I'm good.
I'm sorry to let you wait.
Don't worry.
OK.
Can you come with me to the village? Yes, please.
Can I drive? Yeah, sure.
Which way, left or right? Right.
Shit.
My boot.
The village is another 8km into the jungle.
When you see the small house for the spirit, you can slow down, yeah? Right.
I'm pumping the brakes.
Yeah.
Fucking hell, this is crazy! That's right.
Use the gears to slow down? Just pray to the spirit.
Jesus Christ.
Oh, shit! (Horn blares) Sorry.
I'm one of the few westerners the villagers have ever seen, and that was quite an entrance.
Hello.
How are you? Nice to see you.
Akun.
Akun.
Akun.
Gordon from Glasgow.
Welang.
Welang.
Welang.
Welang, good to see you.
Good to see you.
Hey.
The Pnong welcome guests with prayers for good fortune and a drink of rice wine.
Sweet and sour.
Sweet and sour, yeah.
(Laughter) More.
Yeah.
Finish.
Finish it off, yeah.
(Laughs) If I finish the lot, tell him, I'll fall flat on my face.
(Villagers speak other language) Whoa! Pu Pol has just ten families, but a wedding's big news in Pnong culture, and 100 guests have joined them from the groom's village a day's walk away.
The pressure's on.
Haven't got a clue what we're cooking.
I don't know if it's wild boar, buffalo, snake, or even stir-fried chicken with honey.
God knows.
Isolated from the rest of Cambodia, the Pnong still use age-old recipes.
Head chef Hong shows me what's on the wedding menu.
What's that called? Gom harr.
Gom harr.
Soup.
Soup, and is it done with pork? Yeah.
And it's a village recipe? Yeah.
Nice.
Under Hong's direction, they're making a whole array of dishes, including soups, spicy salads and stews.
You guys have got strong strong stomachs.
Yeah, strong.
But the centrepiece for the feast is the buffalo.
That's the buffalo for the wedding? Yeah.
Jesus Christ.
Huh? He senses something's wrong, doesn't he? A wedding's so important they sacrifice their most valuable animal for the feast.
Powerful things, huh? Very strong.
Strong.
Part of the wedding ritual involves the bride's father killing the buffalo.
He steps up with a homemade wooden axe.
(Axe thwacks) Fuck me.
As soon as it's dead, they give me the honour of slitting its throat to collect the blood.
It's a gruesome task.
OK, yes.
Jesus.
What's the blood for? (Speaks other language) He said, for one or two year, they take the blood to cook.
So they leave the blood to ferment for two years? Yeah.
And then they cook with it.
Yeah.
Whew.
I've never seen an axe like that go through a buffalo's head quite like that.
But it's part of the village's tradition.
And it's what they do to celebrate the marriage.
It's religion.
Under Hong's watchful gaze, I get my first lesson in buffalo skinning.
Strong, strong, strong.
Good, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
And it's big job.
Then Hong sets the rest of the village to work jointing the carcass and preparing the meat.
As the buffalo's being cut up ready for barbecuing, we head off to the Pnong's local supermarket, otherwise known as the jungle.
You see? Look between the tree and see very black up here.
We're shopping for honey.
That's huge.
But there must be thousands of bees in there.
Yeah! With up to 70,000 fierce bees in the hive, collecting it is extremely dangerous.
And we set this alight? To subdue the bees they smoke them out.
The bee gets stoned from the smoke, they cannot do anything to you, just fly away.
Oh, really? Yeah.
So we've got to stone the bees.
Mind you, it's a big enough joint, isn't it? Carrying his homemade smoker, the bravest hunter climbs over 20 metres to the hive.
(Coughs) There's got to be an easier way of getting honey.
Surely.
Jesus Christ.
He's got no safety rope on or If the bees attack when they've been disturbed, they can easily kill a man.
So down on the ground, Monet is making our defences.
But I'm not convinced a few twigs are going to be much use against thousands of angry bees.
The bees are leaving.
The bees are leaving! Shit.
Come with me.
OK.
The bees are going absolutely nuts.
That was almost an evacuation point.
Bolt.
Get out of here.
As we're panicking down on the ground, I can't believe the honey collector is hanging on to a branch 20m up in a swarm of bees he's just made homeless.
Great job.
Did they sting you? (Monet speaks other language) No.
No.
Not once? Yes.
Oh, shit.
Have a quick look at the honey? That is amazing.
You're fucking It's the honey bee.
You're fucking nuts, you know that? (Laughter) With the honey in the bag, we've got a half an hour walk back to the village.
But Hong's got other ideas.
.
.
three! OK.
Help.
Oh, no, no, no! (Laughs) OK.
Oh, no, no, no! Jeez! OK.
Nay! Nay! You want to go, go, go.
Nee! Nee! Wild elephants live in these forests.
This one was caught and tamed by the villagers over 50 years ago.
'How' is 'stop'.
How! How! How! How! How.
How! Yes.
OK, good.
You OK? Yes.
Good drive? First time on an elephant.
That's crazy.
Yes.
Back in the village, the wedding party's warming up.
They'll all be expecting an exquisite Pnong feast, so Hong gets straight to work separating the honey.
Close this and start to be squeezed.
Now Hong shows me his favourite dessert.
First he toasts some of the tribe's homegrown rice.
And this is rice from the local field.
Sticky rice.
Sticky rice.
When the sticky rice turns a wonderful golden colour, Hong gets me to pound it into a coarse flour.
Gently.
Then I pour in some of the hard-earned honey.
You don't cook it? Just like that? Yeah, this is Yeah, just like that.
Mm.
And make like this.
That's nice.
It's like a nut brittle.
That tastes amazing.
Let them sort of dry out in the sun now and they get even firmer, more brittle.
And a lot more crunchier.
Who would have thought, in a village like this, they'd be coming up with a dainty, delicious little petit four that would knock the socks off a Ferrero Rocher.
This honey and rice recipe could seal my success at the royal dinner, so chef to chef, I'm returning the favour.
God, it's very tough, man.
Because the meat hasn't been hung, I think it needs a bit of help.
I'm showing Hong my take on buffalo kebabs.
It's fresh, a little bit too fresh to cook with, so I want to tenderise it.
And I'll do a sort of marinated version.
So dice it in big chunks.
Little bit of salt.
After seasoning the meat, I simply add chopped chilli to give it a kick, garlic and soy sauce.
And marinade that, so, Hong, the flavour will be amazing.
Get rid of the flames and get the hot coal underneath, right? Yeah, yeah.
As the buffalo cooks, I'm going to see the final blessing of the wedding ceremony.
The bride and groom anoint their family with the villagers' precious ingredient.
And that's the buffalo blood on their forehead.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And the cheers to the head.
And this is the final celebration.
Then they're husband and wife.
Yeah.
Congratulations to you both.
Husband and wife.
(Speaks other language) May I wish you a very happy marriage and lots of children.
Yeah.
(Speaks other language) (Laughter) The ceremony over, it's time to eat.
OK, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, now we've got the most amazing barbecued buffalo.
(Villagers speak other language) It's good? Yes? My marinaded buffalo kebabs are going down a storm.
Gah yoong chang.
Joong tang.
Joong tang.
That means very good.
They're happy.
And the kids especially are loving the little sweets, the honey and the ground rice.
Delicious.
Music's started, party's in full swing.
Look at these guys.
How much rice wine have they got? Big.
Big! Oh, Jesus! With the whole tribe tucking into the rice wine, it's going to be a long night.
But I've got to leave.
Goodbye.
Take care.
Take care, take care, take care, yes? Thank you very much indeed.
Thank you.
Take care.
I've had an amazing week, but my royal appointment looms.
Next, I've got to cook Cambodian food fit for a king.
Or a prince and a couple of princesses at least.
That was incredible.
We were literally in the middle of nowhere.
Great tribe.
Interesting food.
I think the one I'll take back is that rice mixed with that amazing honey and served as a sort of little petit four.
Something from the jungle that I don't even think they've actually heard of in the capital.
Fingers crossed.
I'm a chef, get me to fuck out of the jungle.
I've come to the end of my Cambodian odyssey.
I've eaten dishes that were nearly lost for good under Khmer Rouge rule.
It's delicious.
And delicacies born from necessity.
(Spits) My adventure has taken me to some of the remotest places I've ever been.
Nice to see you.
Now I'm back in Phnom Penh to cook my take on traditional Cambodian food for royalty alongside one of the country's top chefs.
This is a big ask tonight.
There's members of the royal family coming, there's ministers.
I can't afford to screw this one up.
The royal dinner's being held on a 180ft imperial barge that's going to be sailing up the Mekong River.
Welcome aboard.
Thank you.
Hello, Luu.
I'll be cooking with Luu Meng.
He runs one of Cambodia's best restaurants.
Is this yours? No.
(Laughs) So it's very exciting, cooking for the royal family? Yes.
Is it stressful? Yes, because we need to make it perfectly, the meal.
Tonight he's trusting me to cook half the dishes on the traditional menu.
His food is some of the best in the country, and I need to reach his high standard.
He's going to raise the bar.
I have to get my shit together big time.
I can't afford to make myself look stupid.
OK, Sopheak, how are you? I'm fine.
Earlier in the week, I met Sopheak at Phnom Penh's amazing catering school for street kids.
Welcome, welcome, welcome.
And he so impressed me, I asked him to come along and be my sous chef tonight.
Look at you.
I'm so proud of you, you know that? You look like a pro.
We're cooking for Cambodia's most important VIPs.
A royal party of two princesses and a prince.
And my culinary mentor Kethana is on board too.
As soon as the boat gets under way, Sopheak and I get down to work.
My menu's inspired by the revival of traditional Cambodian dishes I've tasted on my trip.
A version of fish amok, a Cambodian curry, and my take on the jungle dessert.
Have a little taste of this.
We got this from the beehives in Mondulkiri.
Fit for a princess? Yeah.
Mm, nice.
My dishes are going to be served to royalty, side by side with Luu Meng's, so they have to be perfect.
Look at the size of this kitchen.
You couldn't swing a baby pig in this kitchen.
I'm starting with my version of the amazing amok dish Kethana taught me at the beginning of my week.
Luu Meng is watching every move, and I've made a mistake with the first step, the classic Cambodian spice paste.
Got a problem with the kroeung.
Just a little bit too It's not fine enough.
I try to salvage it in the blender.
It wasn't holding.
So it was separating.
So I took it off, last minute, and blended it.
I had no choice.
Fucking hell.
We are so behind.
He's organised.
He hasn't even sweated yet.
So Fucking hell.
I'm adding the salvaged paste to our Cambodian freshwater fish called snakehead and praying the mixture will souffle.
The guests are sitting down, and they're expecting faultless Cambodian cuisine.
You give me a time, first table of four, and I'll tell you if I can match it, yes? Yep.
If Luu is fast ahead of me, then tough shit, they'll have to wait.
Luu Meng's beef kebabs on lemongrass skewers look great as they go out.
And they're hitting the spot.
Beef is very good.
Delicious.
The taste is really good, and the presentation also is lovely.
Now it's down to me to deliver.
Thankfully, the souffle has risen like Kethana's.
How many tables to go, please? But what will she make of my amok? The amok has got lots of flavour, but there's something missing about it.
Because compared to what we used to cook, they're more souffle-like, very light.
And this one, a little bit more heavy.
After Kethana's lukewarm reaction, I need to pull out all the stops with my next two dishes.
I'm determined not to let Luu Meng down.
And a little bit of sugar, right? A little bit of sugar.
And a little bit of salt.
Yeah.
Sugar and salt.
Good man.
He's doing brilliantly.
He's doing absolutely brilliantly.
Next course, I'm doing a curry inspired by Sopheak's teacher at the cookery school.
I'm sieving the pumpkin to give it a luxurious taste, and using chicken instead of pork.
The balance of flavours is crucial.
I'm adding fish sauce for saltiness and depth.
It's being served with Luu Meng's exquisite aromatic rice wrapped in turmeric leaves, and I'm feeling confident.
I'll be very, very surprised if this doesn't go down a storm, honestly.
It's got that sweet and spicy, 50-50 on the button.
It's the lotus leaf.
Have a look, see if they're happy and smiling.
My curry has been served to the royal party, Prince Sisowath Tesso and princesses Marinyang and Buppha Devi.
But have I done enough to justify Luu Meng's faith in me? It was well done.
Because it was melting in my mouth.
I love it, and I think also some guests love it as well.
(Laughs) Just as I've managed to pull it back, I hit a problem with my last dish, the jungle-inspired honey and rice dessert.
This should have been set an hour ago.
So the chances of getting this set now is going to be very, very, very slim.
Fucking hell.
I'm not even too sure if it's going to be ready in time, to be honest.
And the pressure has got to me.
Oh, fuck off.
What a fucking piece of shit.
As Luu Meng's jasmine mousse wows the diners, my reputation is hanging in the balance.
I've got to start cutting the sticky rice.
If it hasn't set now, yeah, we're screwed.
Shit.
In the 35-degree heat, the rice has barely set.
OK, Sopheak.
My jungle dessert is my last chance to wow the royal party.
I'm praying they're not too soft.
I've got to send them out.
This is excellent.
It surprised me.
I would think he's a Cambodian cook.
He's a better cook than my cook.
I have a cook at home.
I would hire him anytime.
(Applause) It's been a hell of a night, serving my twist on traditional Cambodian dishes side by side with one of the country's best chefs was a real tester.
This is the first time that I've experienced somebody bringing the cuisine from the countryside back to the city.
We have our own regional cooking, and we don't know how to develop that.
And I think Gordon showed us tonight how it can be done.
I only just held my own, but I'll be forever grateful to Luu Meng for the opportunity he's given me tonight.
It was an honour to be in the kitchen, and I've had the most extraordinary week.
Kethana told me, 'Get out of town, get off the beaten track and get into the countryside.
You'll be amazed.
' And I was.
I was amazed and shocked at the same time.
The civil war, the Khmer Rouge.
No-one's had to deal with that level of crap and then start clawing back their roots and wanting to put a stake in the ground, because they can produce bloody good food.
I'm leaving Cambodia with a vast amount of knowledge, and I'm going to tuck that away and use it to great use.
No macaroni, no fish and chips.
We're in Malaysia, for God's sake.
You try your best to not to get angry.
Mine's gone overcooked.
(Laughs) It's the part of the cow.
A bull's penis? This is my clitoria bush.
(Laughs) Oh, Jeez.
Come on, the Prime Minister's waiting.
Prime Minister, absolute pleasure.
The boat's filling up with water.
Fuck.
(Laughter) Closed Captions by CSI