Gluten free in Cambodia: A complete dream

A new country and a whole new cuisine to navigate, yet eating gluten free in Cambodia is surprisingly easy?

I’d heard from a few different people that this would be one of the most difficult countries for me to eat in. With this in mind, I decided to book myself onto an organised tour with an English speaking Cambodian guide, so that I had a bit of guidance on what I could and couldn’t eat. Best decision ever.

Trying the local dishes

One word, delicious. This is a popular traditional dish in Cambodia that is also naturally gluten free. It is a milk curry with delicious flavours such as lemongrass, and pieces of white fish which is usually monk fish.

I ate this several times over the course of my stay here, and it really did not disappoint. In all honesty whether you’re in you are or aren’t gluten free in Cambodia, this is  crowd pleaser for everyone.

Delicious salads

Get ready for these to pack a punch and completely overwhelm you with their incredible flavour. I had a couple of banana flower salads and yet again, this is another naturally gluten free food in Cambodia.

My personal favourite was at a restaurant in Siem Reap called Haven, which was founded as a place of education to provide jobs and training to the locals. A truly wonderful place that is bursting with delicious dishes. However, I did find this on the menu at a lot of restaurants as it is again a popular local dish. So you should be able to enjoy it wherever you’re eating in Cambodia.

Ginger is everywhere

Ginger is everywhere when eating gluten free in Cambodia, and I’m not mad about it. The way they use it in their dishes is divine and compliments the food beautifully. I think my favourite dish in the whole of Cambodia was the fried cauliflower and ginger with veggies, again at Haven.

I very happily could have eaten five times the amount, not because the portions were small but just because the food was so yummy! An absolute 10/10 from me and a meal I have often thought about since visiting.

A bubbly pudding?

Now there’s no denying it, puddings in Asia can often seem a little strange to us Westerners. But wow, my eyes were opened.

I only had pudding once whilst in Cambodia, as traveling on a budget rarely allows for this. However there was a three course dinner included with my arranged tour which was absolutely divine.

We were served hot bananas in coconut milk with sago pearls, otherwise known as tapioca. Now, I really don’t like this texture usually. You’d have to pay me a significant amount of money to drink bubble tea.

But this was once again, a dreamy gluten free option in Cambodia. It was sweet, creamy and packed full of flavour all in equal measure. I would highly recommend trying this dish, even though it looks slightly bizarre upon first glance.

Snack on cereal bars

After the disaster which was gluten free in Bangkok and the scarcity of gluten free snacks here, I had low expectations. But of course, I had to explore the main local supermarket here, 7 Mart.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I walked in and the first thing I saw was cereal bars with ‘gluten free’ plastered on the front of the box. Could this be true? Something that was guaranteed to not upset my stomach, and would actually fill me up. What a dream. It’s safe to say I stocked up for the week and was very happy.

All in all it’s safe to say that if you are gluten free in Cambodia, you have nothing to worry about. There were a few other restaurants on my list I didn’t get to try, like the gluten free crepes at ARTillery in both Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, but no regrets here.

There’s plenty of choice and variation and I felt spoilt for choice, a rare thing when eating gluten free in Asia