Kampot pepper highlighted in Rick Stein's Far Eastern Odyssey
Rick Stein is among the many chefs who promote Kampot pepper. His series, Far Eastern Odyssey, is a delicious adventure for the food connoisseur. The odyssey begins in Cambodia - a country continuing to rebuild after the horrific Khmer Rouge regime. Nevertheless, tourists (and not just backpacking gap year students) are beginning to flock to this land dotted with sugar palms, paddy fields and small villages.
He learns how to cook the most famous dish in the country, Fish Amok, made with lemongrass and coconut and samples Lok Lak, an extremely popular and delicious dish made with stir-fried strips of marinated beef. Every dish incorporates the famous local Kampot pepper, which is the world’s only PGI-rated pepper.
The famous English seafood chef Rick Stein discovers the joys of freshly caught swimmer crabs cooked with the green peppercorns from Kampot, once the king of pepper. The centuries-old pepper industry was destroyed under the Khmer Rouge, but is now experiencing a farmer-led renaissance. BoTree Farm honours the incredible legacy of Kampot pepper by ensuring its grown organically, sustainably, and ethically.
As for the taste Rick Stein commented that, “The pepper has a fabulous depth of flavour, aroma and pepperiness”.