I love crap squid
The squid on the beach in Sihanoukville is crap but I love it. The beachside barbecued squid (mohk aing) may be rubbery, overcooked, and subject to the ignominy of suspect storage and the discomfiture of dodgy handling but the context matters more than the food itself. Sitting in a deckchair, bare feet in the sand, while people bring an endless supply of cold beer and barbecued meat is my idea of a good time. I can overlook that Sihanoukville lacks immaculate beaches and isn’t the next Goa or Phuket when I’m full of cheap seafood.
These thumb-sized squid were brushed with fish sauce and spring onions (which seems de rigeur), then barbecued and reheated as necessary throughout the day. Served in a polystyrene clamshell with one half devoted to meat, the other to a weak, sweet chili sauce.
See also: Kraken guy at Psar Thmei
December 4th, 2006 at 7:32 am
Phil, agree with you about the squid here, I was down in Snooky all last week and left my private beach for a morning just so that I could get some of that barbequed elastic squid !
Lord Playboy
www.khmer440.com
December 4th, 2006 at 11:09 am
I agree with you…sitting in a deckchair, with sun and sands, eating some BBQ sure is good time! Now if you can also get a massage while you are at it.
December 4th, 2006 at 11:20 am
Rasa - Actually, massage and pedicure are available.
December 4th, 2006 at 1:51 pm
Massage, manicure, pedicure, mango, pineapple, tee-shirts, sarongs, friendship bracelets, the list goes on and on – just in time for me to retire from the hassle of the public beach back to the safety of my private beach and a bottle of Taittinger blanc de blancs.
December 6th, 2006 at 10:09 pm
Aye…. mad jealous of that from here in France. Getting squid’s no bother, but not like this, not on a beach etc. etc…..
December 7th, 2006 at 4:59 pm
I wouldn’t eat the seafood after about 10am,that hot sun is not good for the seafood experience….
January 4th, 2008 at 8:25 am
[…] While I’ve been saying for what seems like years that Sihanoukville is the new Luanda, in one of its final posts of the year, Epicurious has announced that for 2008, Cambodian food will supplant Thai food. A triangulation between Vietnamese, Chinese, and Thai cooking, Cambodian’s emphasis on noodle dishes, curries, stir fries and prahok, the strong-flavored fish paste, will grow in popularity. Cambodian food has stronger flavors than Vietnamese, slightly more subtle that Thai and is not as heavy as Chinese. […]