Golden Rain Tree

In Cambodian cuisine, num pang (Khmer: នំបុ័ង [num paŋ]; from French: pain – "bread") is a short baguette with thin, crisp crust and soft, airy texture. It is often split lengthwise and filled with savory ingredients like a submarine sandwich and served as a meal, called num pang sach (នំបុ័ងសាច់ [num paŋ sac]; "bread with meats"). It is similar to Laos's khao jee pâté and Vietnam's bánh mì.

History

Baguettes were adopted into Cambodian cuisine from the French when Cambodia was a protectorate in French Indochina.^[1]

More recently, num pang has spread outside of Cambodia with eateries specializing in num pang opened in cities, such as New York,^[2] Washington,^[3] Boston,^[4] and Melbourne.^[5]

Variations

There are a number regional variations of num pang with different fillings:

• Num pang pâté (នំបុ័ងប៉ាតេ) with pâté, a variety of cold cuts, mayonnaise, pickled carrots and daikon, cucumbers and fresh herbs (such as coriander).^[6]
• Num pang brahet (នំបុ័ងប្រហិត) with pork meatballs, mayonnaisee, pickled carrots and daikon, salad, and fresh herbs (such as coriander, mint and basil). A very popular street food snack in Siem Reap.^[7]
• Num pang sach chruk (នំបុ័ងសាច់ជ្រូក) with braised pork belly, mayonnaise, pickled carrots and papaya, and fresh herbs (such as coriander).
• Num pang sach ko (នំបុ័ងសាច់គោ) with grilled lemongrass beef skewers, mayonnaise, pickled carrots and papaya, cucumber and fresh herbs.
• Num pang trey khaw (នំបុ័ងខត្រី) with fish simmered in tomato sauce, mayonnaise, pickled carrots and papaya, cucumber, and fresh herbs (such as coriander).

• 
  Num pang with liver pâté
• 
  Num pang with oxtail
• 
  Num pang with catfish

References

External links

• Coconut Shrimp Sandwich Recipe From Num Pang | Between the Bread. PopSugar Food. 23 October 2013.
• Jenn Harris. What We’re Into: Obsessing over the spicy pork num pang from Gamboge. Los Angeles Times Food. 8 December 2020.