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Saich Kor Ang

CAMBODIA

Lemongrass Beef Skewers

SUBMITTED BY

James

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James showed me an easy way to introduce yourself to Cambodian cuisine, and what better way than with a BBQ?

Long before backyard grills and charcoal briquettes became household staples, Cambodians were perfecting the art of open-flame cooking over clay braziers. Saich Ko Ang, thin strips of marinated beef threaded onto skewers and grilled until smoky and caramelized, grew out of this tradition. The dish reflects a broader Southeast Asian instinct: take affordable cuts of meat, tenderize them through slicing and marinating, and let live fire do the rest. In Khmer, the name translates roughly to “grilled beef,” a simple description for a dish that carries centuries of culinary evolution.

The Role of Kroeung in Khmer BBQ

At the heart of Saich Ko Ang is kroeung, the aromatic lemongrass-based paste that defines much of Cambodian cooking. Traditionally pounded by hand with a mortar and pestle, kroeung blends lemongrass with garlic, shallots, and other regional aromatics. Over generations, cooks adapted the paste for grilled meats specifically, balancing it with fish sauce, oyster sauce, and palm or brown sugar to create a marinade that hits sweet first, then herbal, then deeply savory. This layered flavor profile is what separates Cambodian BBQ from its neighbors, even though similar lemongrass skewers appear across Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.

From Family Kitchens to Street Stalls

Saich Ko Ang has long occupied a dual identity in Cambodian food culture. In homes, it’s a dish for gatherings, marinated the night before and grilled outdoors while family members catch up nearby. On the street, it became a fast, portable snack sold from smoky charcoal carts in the late afternoon and early evening, often alongside baguettes left over from Cambodia’s French colonial period. Vendors would slide the grilled beef straight off the skewer into bread, creating an easy handheld meal similar in spirit to a banh mi. This street food role helped cement Saich Ko Ang as one of Cambodia’s most recognizable BBQ exports.

Why the Char Matters

The grilling method itself is essential to the dish’s identity. Traditional clay braziers using charcoal, often made from coconut shells, produce a slow, steady heat that chars the marinade’s sugars without drying out the thin beef slices. That caramelization is non-negotiable; it’s what gives Saich Ko Ang its signature smoky-sweet crust. Home cooks recreating the dish today on gas grills or stovetop grill pans still aim to mimic that same char, proving how central live-fire cooking is to the dish’s flavor, not just its preparation.

A Dish Served with Balance

No plate of Saich Ko Ang is complete without a side of quick-pickled daikon and carrot. The bright acidity cuts through the richness of the grilled, fatty beef, mirroring a broader theme in Khmer cuisine: pairing smoky, savory proteins with something tangy and cool. Whether eaten with rice, tucked into bread, or served straight off the skewer, Saich Ko Ang remains a snapshot of Cambodian barbecue history, one built on resourcefulness, shared aromatics, and the simple joy of meat grilled over fire.

Saich Kor Ang

Servings 12
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Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup Cambodian lemongrass paste
  • ¼ cup oyster sauce
  • 1 Tbsp chicken bouillon powder
  • ¼ cup fish sauce
  • ⅓ cup brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp neutral oil
  • 2½-3 lb skirt steak
  • pickled daikon & carrot for serving

Instructions
 

  • In a bowl combine your lemongrass paste with oyster sauce, chicken bouillon powder, fish sauce and brown sugar. Generally you want the mixture to be runny, almost like the texture of heavy cream.
  • Add about 2 tablespoons of oil so that it helps carry the flavor, prevents sticking to the grill, keeps the meat moist and improves browning. Add about ¼ cup of cold or lukewarm water until the paste is runny. When you taste it, it should hit with sweetness first before you start tasting the lemongrass and then you will taste the umami and other flavors. Set aside.
  • Thinly slice the skirt steak. You want it to be thin but not as thin as carpaccio otherwise the beef burns too quickly when you grill it.
  • Add the sliced beef into the marinade. Marinate at least 4 hours or, for best results, overnight.
  • If using wooden skewers, be sure to soak them in water before using to prevent burning.
  • Skewer your beef. If it's a long slice, you will need to skewer it several times by creating somewhat of a wave by piercing the end and then the middle part and then the other end. Basically you don't want the pieces to be too thick so that it can grill and cook evenly.
  • Get your grill ready and start grilling. Grill for a few minutes on each side and don't be afraid to get a little char on there.
  • Eat hot with pickles.
Course: Dinner
Region: Asia

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About Beryl

I have been in the film and media industry for the past 12 years and have worked for companies including Great Big Story, ABC, CNN, Martha Stewart, News Corporation, Harper Collins and Fast Company.