At Malis in Phnom Penh, the saraman beef is cooked very slowly in coconut cream, with a special kroeung and peanuts. It is listed at just 21 dollars on the menu of the Norodom Boulevard restaurant.

In October, the executive chef of Malis Siem Reap will join a Cambodian delegation at SIAL Paris, one of the world's largest professional food industry events. He will present a Khmer cuisine built around local products, including Kampot pepper, palm sugar, mango and cashew nuts.

Born in Windsor, Ontario, to Cambodian refugee parents, Chanthy Yen learned to cook on the floor of his grandmother's kitchen. He has since won Top Chef Canada, cooked for Justin Trudeau, and opened Touk, his Cambodian restaurant, in Vancouver. A portrait of a chef who has put Khmer cooking front and centre.