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Roughly 2,500 Cambodians live in Maine. Bunly Uy, food and farm manager of Khmer Maine, explained to me that many of them moved to Maine in the late 1970s and 1980s to escape political oppression in Cambodia. Through their churches, these immigrants were assigned sponsors — many of whom lived in small towns in Maine — to help them get settled. Moving to Maine had its challenges, among them the language barrier and a lack of access to traditional Cambodian produce and ingredients. Many who decided to stay ended up moving closer to the Portland area to secure jobs and to find community, and a few opened traditional Cambodian markets.
“Food plays an important role in our culture, so we use food to fill in the gap between the generations,” Bunly noted. “The Food and Farm program opens the door to see if the next generation wants to build it as their future career.”
The vibrant culinary traditions of Cambodian culture have quietly thrived in Maine, helping to bridge generations and offering a taste of home to many.
Read more about the Khmer Maine community.
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RECIPE: Cambodian Doughnuts (Nom Korng)
- Yield: Makes 12 doughnuts 1x
Description
These vegan doughnuts are made with a mixture of two different rice flours, one glutinous and one non-glutinous. The glutinous rice flour gives the interior of the doughnuts a chewy, pull-apart texture, while the non-glutinous rice flour makes for an exterior texture that’s a bit more cake-like than your standard Western donut. The liquid used in this recipe is coconut milk, which gives the doughnuts a subtle coconut flavor. Once fried, the doughnuts get dunked into a golden sesame caramel that hardens as it cools.
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups glutinous rice flour
- 6 Tbsps rice flour
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 2 Tbsps water
- 6 cups neutral oil for frying, such as canola oil or avocado oil
- 2 Tbsps toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Prepare two standard-sized baking sheets, one with a cooling rack topped with towels and the other lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Have a large pot and candy thermometer ready.
- In a large bowl, combine both rice flours, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt, and stir to combine. Add the coconut milk and water, and stir until a wet, craggy dough forms. Then, use your hands to knead the dough in the bowl until it’s smooth. Transfer the dough to a flat surface and divide it into 12 pieces.
- Use the palm of your hands to roll a piece of dough into a ball, then use your finger to poke a hole in the middle, stretching it out to form a classic doughnut shape about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Place the doughnut on the prepared parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat this process with the remaining pieces of dough.
- Fill the large pot with the 6 cups of oil and clip on the candy thermometer. Heat over medium heat until the oil reaches 350°F.
- Place 4 doughnuts at a time in the hot oil. The dough is heavy, so the doughnuts will initially sink to the bottom. Let them cook for 1 to 2 minutes before using a spatula to gently scrape them off the bottom of the pot and flip them over. They will float at this point. Continue to fry them in the oil, flipping them two or three more times to ensure even cooking, until they are light golden brown and cooked through, about 4 to 6 minutes total. Transfer the doughnuts to the towel-lined cooling rack on the first baking sheet. Repeat this process with the remaining doughnuts. If the oil gets too hot during this process, turn the heat down to medium-low or low until the oil returns to 350°F.
- To make the caramel coating, pour 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar into a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until the sugar just begins to melt around the edges and turns a very light golden color in parts, about 1 minute. Turn the heat down to medium-low and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until it’s honey colored and no sugar lumps remain, about 5 more minutes. Quickly stir in the sesame seeds, then turn the heat down to low.
- Use a slotted spoon or spatula, and working quickly, dip the doughnuts in the caramel and place them back onto the other baking sheet until the caramel is completely cooled and crisp. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Reuse the oil: Once the doughnuts have been fried, let the oil cool to room temperature, then filter out any particles from the oil before funneling it back into the container the oil was purchased in. The oil can then get reused one or two more times for frying.
