Kroeung

Kroeung is a generic Khmer word for a number of spice/herb pastes that make up the base flavors of many Khmer dishes. Such dishes are often dubbed with the "-kroeung" suffix. Kroeung is traditionally made by finely chopping the ingredients and grinding them together using a heavy mortar and pestle although mechanical food processors can be used in modern kitchens. Various ingredients, depending on the dish and the taste of the cook, can be pounded into kroeung. The eight most commonly used are lemongrass, magrut lime zest and leaves, galangal, turmeric, garlic, shallots, dried red chillies and various rhizomes (lesser galangal, fingerroot, Kaempferia galanga, etc.). This herbal paste is essential for preparing Khmer dishes in order to create the authentic flavour. Kroeung has two main categories: "individual kroeung" and "royal kroeung". Individual kroeung are dishes which may call for extra ingredients specific to the dish, resulting in a unique-use kroeung. Royal kroeung on the other hand is fairly standardized. The various types of kroeung can be further distinguished by their colors, specifically, yellow, green and red. The color kroeung are commonly used to make stuffings, soup, and stir-fry. Kroeung that are pounded for specific single dishes or have only one unique use falls into this category. Individual Kroeung also consists of extra ingredients not found in its base recipe. Samlar kakou, for example, requires roasted ground rice for the smoky flavor of the soup. The Kroeung in fish amok is considered an individual kroeung since it uses the red kroeung base but omits Turmeric in favor of Kaffir lime leaves. Traditionally, kroeung recipes, specifically for curries, requires whole spices to be ground with the herb paste. However, curry powder can also be used in place of the whole spices, in which case the kroeung would also be considered individual kroeung.

Source: Wikipedia