Spey chrourk

What it is and what it is called

Spey chrourk is a Cambodian fermented mustard green, served as a side dish. A 2019 study prints the name as Spey chrourk and translates it as fermented mustard. The Cambodia Recipe site calls its version spee chrout and describes a related mustard pickle used with rice or in cooked dishes.

The Khmer spelling, pronunciation and cultivar are not verified. The two names may not describe the same method, so they are kept together only as a provisional identification.

Place and history

The 2019 and 2020 studies sampled retail products collected in Phnom Penh, which were said to come from several Cambodian provinces. They document contemporary commercial samples. They do not trace the production province, an earliest attestation or a harvest season for this product.

A general statement that fermented vegetables are popular snacks in Cambodia is not history specific to this product.

Uses

The 2019 study lists Spey chrourk as a side dish. The Cambodia Recipe site describes its spee chrout as a salad served with rice, fish or meat, and as an ingredient in soup or stir-fry. These are reported uses, not a national survey.

Ingredients and microbes

The 2019 study records Chinese mustard and salt as the ingredients of the sampled product. Its isolates from the market products were identified by MALDI-TOF and partial 16S sequencing, with Lactobacillus fermentum the most frequent. These were isolates from two market products. They are not evidence of a starter culture or of a succession of organisms.

The 2020 paper, on a set of three retail products, reports pH 3.6 to 3.9, water activity 0.96 to 0.97 and salt 2 to 5 percent by weight. Those are observations of retail samples, not recommended targets. The same paper reports biogenic amines in the samples, and a small retail sample does not establish a household risk level.

Home method as published

The Cambodia Recipe method, dated 10 September 2023, uses 900 g of greens. The greens are blanched in rice-rinse water or plain boiled water, drained, and spread to dry for at least eight hours. Half a tablespoon of salt and one tablespoon of sugar are dissolved in two cups of water, cooled, and poured over the greens in a jar. Chilli is optional. The card gives readiness after two weeks refrigerated, three days in a cool place, or one day with a tablespoon of added vinegar or lime-style acid.

These storage and readiness statements are not validated. They should not be repeated as safe shelf lives. The method names a large pot, a colander, a tray or basket, a small saucepan and a jar. No jar capacity, material, closure or cleaning procedure is given.

Limits

No home endpoint, failure criterion or validated storage interval was found. The temperature branches (refrigerator or cool place) have no measured setpoint. The method is research material, not an executable home recipe, and no controlled apparatus is required or proposed.

Related products include the Vietnamese mustard pickle dua muoi (veg-0043), a Thai mustard pickle and Filipino burong mustasa. They are comparisons only, not equivalent processes.