Siem Reap - In a fishing village on the shores of Tonle Sap Lake in northwestern Cambodia, farmers were busy making smoked fish on Tuesday (Feb. 11), a tradition that has existed for centuries.Smoked fish has been a staple food for Cambodians for centuries. Usually, this food is made by people living along the Mekong River and around Tonle Sap Lake. This is a traditional way to preserve fish for consumption or sale later.Smoked fish can be made from various types of fish species such as mud carp, catfish Mystus albolineatus, Paralaubuca typus, bleekeri fish (Micronema bleekeri), catfish, and smith's barb.
Soeum Kimse, an officer who works smoking fish, in Spean Veng Village in Kampong Khleanng District, Soutr Nikom District, said the practice of smoking fish has existed in the village for centuries.
Located about 50 km southeast of the UNESCO-listed Angkor Wat Temple, Spean Veng Village frequently floods during the rainy season and dries out during the dry season due to the lake's tidal cycle.