Cambodia & Street food: Savour Toektaohu, a popular offal-based dish

The pork and cow intestines served in the markets are not particularly tasty, but are a huge hit with Cambodians.

Cow intestines and pork meatballs

As the sun sets over northern Phnom Penh, many of the capital's markets are alive with street food stalls. Some are packed with hungry customers. Miniature tables and plastic chairs stretch out into the street.

Behind the stall, several Cambodian women are busy frying chicken kebabs over an open flame. Chicken eggs sizzle in small, apparently delicate bowls. Next to the barbecues, large bundles of skewered pork and cow intestines, spleens and pork meatballs float in two huge pots of hot water to maintain the temperature.

Bought at the market earlier in the day, these offal have already been carefully washed and boiled for two hours, explains Serey, 34, who smiles and then goes back to waiting tables.

Called ‘pus vean’ in Khmer, this type of dish is very popular, not only because of the range of meats available, but also because of the delicious toektaohu sauce that accompanies them in a small dipping bowl. This sauce is made by boiling tofu until it becomes soft, then mixing it with raw chilli, sugar, salt and fish sauce. The chilli gives the sauce a kick, while the balance between the salty fish sauce and the sugar makes it a wonderful condiment. The tofu is pleasantly thick, a bit like tartar sauce, which allows the sauce to flow over the meat when dipped in it.

The owner of the stall explains that she has been making this dish for many years and sells around a kilo of meat a day. The recipe for toektaohu was passed on to her by an older lady and that's why it's so popular, she says. Although two neighbouring shops also produce toektaohu with the same ingredients, this essential recipe guarantees a perfect balance of flavours.

The meats, sold at 1,000 riels a skewer, are not for the faint-hearted. Both pork intestine and cow intestine have a soft, viscous texture. Neither has a distinct flavour and both are rather bland, allowing the sauce to shine with its heat and tang. But it's the cow's spleen that really stands out. With its grainy, paste-like texture, it's unfamiliar, to say the least. As with other meats, there isn't really any particular flavour, but rather a feeling of dirtiness that sticks to your skin. The safest thing to do is opt for the fried pork meatballs and chicken meatballs.

Pus vean with toektaoho is usually served from 2pm, but if you're looking for a more lively experience, eat after 5pm when the stalls are busiest.

Christopher Scott