I got this jar of fish from a Cambodian supermarket in Long Beach. I was looking for fish paste, an essential Cambodian ingredient, to go with my new Cambodian cookbook. Overwhelmed by the variety of goopy fish concoctions in jars, I enlisted the woman from the in-house snack stand.She was very enthusiastic, and pointed me to what she said was a good brand of prahok. Then I asked about the Ball jars of fish in some brown sauce, which looked homemade. She was very enthusiastic about that too, but I could hardly understand her — I don’t even know if she was speaking heavily accented English, or just flat-out Khmer. I caught a few words: “steam” and “lemon slices.” Okay. I’m a sucker for homemade ethnic products — it irks me that my mom, who lives in Chicago, can get really good homemade Korean dumplings at her supermarket, and I can’t get any in L.A. that I think are worthwhile. But I digress.

It took me a while to get around to trying the fish, because I was a little afraid of it. I mean, mystery fish? Then, of course, the longer I waited the sketchier it seemed. Finally I decided to just go ahead. I steamed a few pieces with slices of lemon, and ate them with plain rice and sauteed greens.

The fish (it seemed salmon-y or similarly rich) didn’t seem to have suffered during the wait — I think it’s preserved, but not fermented. It’s intensely salty, garlicky, and a little nutty. A really good last-minute meal, in fact. I just wonder how well it keeps, considering that I’m now in India for three weeks, and I’ve got most of a jar left in my refrigerator back home.

KH Supermarket
915 E. Anaheim St
Long Beach 90813
(562) 599-7240