Welcome to the King of Spice site. Cambodia is a remarkable country with a rich, and in modern times, tragic history. Angkor Wat is certainly the most well known living monument in Southeast Asia, if not the world. Many consider Angkor the eight wonder of the world. Of the seven classical wonders of the world only the Great Pyramid of Giza exists to this day. Angkor Wat is an active temple, not just an archeological monument.
There is another wonder of the world from Cambodia, at least from a culinary perspective, and that is Kampot pepper. If you have never tasted the exquisite yet subtle flavour of this ‘king of kings’ then you have something to look forward to.
I have always loved pepper, freshly ground pepper is my favourite spice. Pepper has been called the ‘King of Spice’ and centuries ago when introduced to Europe from Asia it was referred to as ‘Black Gold’. My first experience of the delight of Kampot pepper was when I went to Kep, a small seaside community on the Gulf of Thailand, famous for its crab market. I had been told about Kimly Restaurant and that it served some of the best seafood in Southeast Asia. I was not disappointed. This began my journey into the world of Kampot pepper.
In 2012 I brought back a half a kilo of Kampot pepper and began to use it in my cooking as well as freshly ground on the table. Over the next few years I continued to bring back black, then the red and white peppercorns. I gifted most of the pepper to friends and family Last year I decided to try and experiment and brought back six kilos and held a fundraiser for a local foundation of which I am a member and it was so successful that…. the light went on. People love Kampot pepper. So I decided to make it available on the net.
A culinary note: The chef at Kimly told me of a little trick he uses and that is prior to preparing his food for the day he takes a small number of peppercorns and pours hot water over them and let’s them sit. He then uses the liquid and the softened peppercorns in his sauces and his pepper dishes. I tried it with sauteed vegetables, a beef stew and my favourite chicken soup recipe. WOW! What flavour!
