Cha Sremoch

Ingredients

Ants

• 150 gred weaver ants with eggs
• or 150 g weaver ant larvae only

Beef

• 500 gbeef, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoonsfish sauce
• 1 teaspoonsugar
• 1 teaspooncornflour

To fry

• 4 tablespoonsoil
• 6garlic cloves, sliced
• 3shallots, sliced
• 3spring onions, cut in lengths
• 2red chillies, sliced
• 1 tablespoonKampot black pepper, crushed
• 1 tablespoonoyster sauce
• a handful of holy basil

To serve

• steamed jasmine rice

Directions

1. Tip them out into a large colander. Pick out any leaf and twig from the nest. Rinse them briefly under cold water. Drain them thoroughly afterwards. Do not soak them or wash them hard.
2. Slice the beef as thinly as you can. Cut it across the grain of the muscle. That shortens the fibres and keeps it tender.
3. Mix it with the fish sauce, sugar and cornflour. Let it sit for fifteen minutes. That cornflour keeps the beef juicy in the pan. Slice the garlic, shallots and chillies. Cut the spring onions into short lengths.
4. Crush the peppercorns roughly in a mortar. It is aromatic rather than simply hot. Crush it rather than grinding it to dust. Cooking it is fast and needs high heat.
5. Heat a wok or wide pan until it smokes. Add the oil and swirl it around. Add the garlic and the shallots. Fry them for thirty seconds only. Add the beef in a single layer. Let it sear undisturbed for a minute. Then toss it and cook for another minute.
6. Add the chillies and the crushed pepper. Add the oyster sauce and toss it through. Toss them through for thirty seconds only. Do not cook them any longer than that. Add the spring onions and the holy basil. Toss once more and take it off the heat. It should be markedly sour and peppery.
7. Add a squeeze of lime only if it fell flat. Taste it and adjust the fish sauce. Serving it is done immediately while hot. Spoon it onto plates beside steamed rice. It really does not keep well at all.

Technique

• Weaver ants, Oecophylla smaragdina, build nests by stitching leaves together with silk produced by their larvae, and carry formic acid as a defence.
• That formic acid is what makes the dish sour, so no lime or tamarind is used at all.
• Edible insects contain tropomyosin, which cross-reacts with shellfish and dust mite allergies, so anyone allergic to shellfish may react to them.

Substitutions

• Frozen or jarred weaver ants are exported and are what most cooks outside Cambodia use.
• There is no true substitute, since the ants provide the defining sourness.

Variations

• Some cooks use only the eggs and larvae for a milder and creamier dish.
• A version with chicken rather than beef is also cooked.
• Weaver ants also go into Cambodian soups and salads.

History

Weaver ants are gathered from forest nests in Kampong Thom and Mondulkiri; the ants supply acidity in place of lime or tamarind.

Frequently asked questions

What is Cha Sremoch?

Cha Sremoch is a main from Cambodia: beef stir-fried with red tree ants and their eggs, sour and peppery. Weaver ants are gathered from forest nests in Kampong Thom and Mondulkiri; the ants supply acidity in place of lime or tamarind.

How long does Cha Sremoch take to make?

Cha Sremoch takes 20 minutes of preparation and 10 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Cha Sremoch?

Yes, within limits. Frozen or jarred weaver ants are exported and are what most cooks outside Cambodia use. There is no true substitute, since the ants provide the defining sourness.

What is the most important thing to get right in Cha Sremoch?

Tip them out into a large colander. Pick out any leaf and twig from the nest. Rinse them briefly under cold water. Drain them thoroughly afterwards. Do not soak them or wash them hard.