The Ubiquitous Subject of Rice

In the western world, bread is a staple food that is eaten by many at all hours of the day. The same could be said of rice for those living in the Orient, but the fact of the matter is that this stuff is so much more. For Cambodians, it literally is food. The word for rice in Khmer is bai, and it is used to mean both rice and any other type of food. When one Cambodian says to another “Neeyam bai,” the phrase literally translates as “Let us eat rice.” The phrase implies the words “Let’s eat our meal,” but the use of the word for rice in daily conversation certainly suggests its immense importance in Cambodian culture.

Rice is served with almost every single meal, with the exception of sometimes breakfast, and it is the central part of the repast. I can recount what I have eaten today on October 10th, 2008 of what this means. This morning I arrived at the breakfast stand in front of my house to eat a meal of bo boah. The lady who works there served me a bowl of watery rice porridge with some wild onions, garlic, and pieces of chicken that floated near the top of it. After adding a few drops of chili sauce for an extra punch of flavor, I swirled the mixture before eating it with a single spoon. At lunch, the family I lived with served me sñou tralop tah goo an with kong kaip and rice. The two former dishes were a stew of green beans and sprouts, and a plate of boiled frogs. Some who read this may balk at the notion of eating frogs, and I assure that it was no different for me the first time. I have learned, however, to follow the advice of what my former Khmer teacher told me about eating strange new food in Cambodia. He said to me once, “Adrian, don’t look. Just eat,” and I have never thought otherwise since then. Dinner that evening was a meal of rice and a curry stew with pork. Sometimes I have noodles at breakfast, but for the most part my diet consists of having rice at meals three times a day.

One would think that I would be tired of eating it by now, but my attitude is the exact opposite of this. By the end of my first two weeks here, I was sick of eating rice. Now, I am hooked on the white stuff. If I do not get my rice sometimes in the morning, I quickly become very cranky. My stomach and digestive system have adapted themselves very well to this diet, for which I am very proud of them, but I have noticed that they cannot handle western food as well as they used to. Several slices of pizza and glasses of beer is not a familiar site for them anymore, and sometimes this means trouble. This quick and troublesome change in diet is almost proof enough to demonstrate that rice is an all-important substance in Cambodian cuisine.

At the same time, it is so much more important that this. I have written here already about the ocean of green rice fields that surrounds the town of Anchor, but I have yet to touch on the people who work there. Riding my bicycle through this expanse, I can see men and women who have toiled their entire lives in the fields. The young men are usually shirtless, lean, muscled, and have the darkest of skin and hair of anyone in this country. They sometimes smile and shout “Hello!” as I ride by, and their smile reveals a gallery of white teeth. The young women usually have their heads wrapped in a long scarf and a straw hat, and have a haggard and sun worn face. They stare at me, and do not smile. The older people are almost indistinguishable from each other. Rail thin and white haired, they sometimes laugh crazily or stare in amazement at the spectacle before their eyes. Their entire life has been spent working hard in the fields to feed the people of Cambodia, and there is no telling what they remember from the days when the country was at war. It is they who I think of when my bowl is filled with rice everyday.

Rice is also a frequent topic of conversation. Whether it is used as an offering for the monks, one’s dead ancestors, or for everyday consumption, the supply of rice is talked about frequently. The grandfather of my host family, who works for an agricultural NGO in the area, has told me that there has not been enough rain this year for a good harvest in the dry season. With rising food prices in the world, this is not good news for Cambodia. ABC radio, which broadcasts from Australia, has reported that the consumption of dog meat has increased over the last couple of months. I have yet to see this myself, but I would not be surprised if some of the people out in the country were eating it as a source of protein.

I am curious to see how this will affect my diet. I have every confidence that I will be able to eat enough to sustain my health over the next two years, but there might be less of the food I eat for everyone around me.