Num anksom sach chrouk.
( Sticky rice cake with pork.)

*Bon Chole Chnam Thmey * Celebration of Khmer New Year is one of most important Khmer holidays, that our people religiously observe in *Kampuchea Krom* (lower Cambodia now known as South Viet Nam since French government illegally gave part of our land to Viet Nam on June 4, 1949). As in Khmer ancient time, our Khmer Krom people would keep on following our tradition; despite of many years suffering from injustice and hardship under Viet Nam government, we still prepare and celebrate Cambodian New Year.
Our houses will be clean through out and colorful decorations will displaces at our *Watts* pagodas, and on the altars there will be *num anksom* sweet rice cake with pork, *num anksom chet* banana sweet rice cake and several types of *num kom* sweet rice flour cake, along with fruits, drinks and other food offerings.
Like many Khmer Krom families, each year, a few days before New Year, my family would dedicate a day just for making rice cakes. Some of my relatives, neighbors and friends would get together usually at our house. Some brings sweet rice, some bring mung beans, some bring meat for the cooking event. We would makes and shares hundreds of *num anksom chrouk* , *num anksom chet*, and *num kom*. We would take some sweet rice cakes to local Watts for food offerings to our ancestors, but most cake we shares with friends, family and the poor.
Wrapping num anksom and num kom requires very skillful hands. Back home, this year, I am sure my great aunt and one of my aunts will be appointed for wrapping the cakes again. It's look easy to wraps those sweet rice cakes but it is not. I think anyone can make num anksom and num kom but not everyone can wraps as neatly as my great aunt and some of the Khmer Krom ladies at our villages. Each cake they made always looks exactly the same and it always came out perfect! I've came up with an easy way to wrap num anksom, it don’t looks as nice and neat as my great aunt cakes, but the recipe is authentic and I hope it will help any one who loves to make Khmer ethnic food *num anksom*.
It's always bring a good feeling to see my family having fun, laughing, talking and singing while cooking. It is good to see that our people will put away the differences, sadness, and worry to celebrate our tradition holidays.I am very proud to see that in spite of oppression against us, most Khmer Krom people are not willing to give up our Khmer culture and tradition.
Happy Cambodian New Year every one!
May you and your family will be richly blesses with love, happiness, health, wealth and good luck.
Sour sdey chnam thmey and have fun making *num anksom* na jaa. :)
• Ingredients :
  • 4 Cups un cook Jasmine sticky rice(sweet rice)
  • 1 Package, 12 oz peeled spit mung bean
  • ½ lb Pork belly or lean meat, cut in long strips
  • 2 Stalks green onion, minced
  • ½ Teaspoon salt
  • ¼ Teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 Large canned coconut milk
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon salt
  • ½ Teaspoon liquid pandan extract
  • 1 Cup fresh or frozen grated coconut
  • 2- 3 Packages frozen banana leaves
  • Strings to ties
• Procedures :
  Soaked sticky rice and mung bean with water in separates bowl over night.
  Next morning, rinsed and drained mung bean in a large colander, steamed mung bean till tender, set it a side.
  Rinsed and drained sticky rice, put sticky rice in a large bowl, set a side.
  In a large bowl, put pork meat with green onion, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper, mix it together, set a side.
  In a small sauce pan, put coconut milk with 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon salt and liquid pandan extract, stirs well, simmering till coconut sauce reduced, add grated coconut to coconut sauce, stirs well.
  Pour coconut sauce over sticky rice, mix well, set a side.
  WRAPPING SWEET RICE CAKE:
  Very gentle wash and wipes banana leaf with paper towels, cut the edge out and cut it all up to pieces of 14 inches in length per each one.
  Lay a piece of banana leaf flat on hard surface of cutting board or counter with the shinning face down, length wide.
  Layer another piece of banana leaf on top that one cross wide, repeats to 3, or 4 layers.
  Scoop a cup of sticky rice, spreads in the middle of prepared banana leaf.
  Then scoop ½ cup of cooked mung bean, spread in the middle on top of the sticky rice.
  Take a piece of marinated pork meat, put on top of mung bean.
  Add another layer of mung bean and a layer of sticky rice on top of.
  Lifts up one the end of banana leaf and roll tightly to other end.
  Fold one end over; take a piece of string ties it at the end of the fold, see photo
  Pick up the cake with the ties end down, and lightly shake the cake down so that the sticky rice sets tightly.
  Fold the opposite end and ties with string, see photo
  Ties cake with more strings enough to secure it from falling apart when you cook, see photo
  , when done set it a side and continue make another cake.This recipe makes 4 sticky rice cakes.
  Put sticky rice cakes in a large pot, pour water to cover it,covered pot with lid, cook for 2 hours or till the sticky rice tender, carefully remove each cake, put it in a colander to drain residue water.
  Cut off the strings and removes the banana leaf before serve.