Kroeung
Also known as kreung, Khmer spice paste, Cambodian curry paste, kroeung samlor
Paste
Quick answer
The pounded herb paste at the base of Khmer cooking: lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, makrut lime and garlic, named by colour — yellow from turmeric, green from lemongrass tops, red from dried chilli. Unlike Thai curry paste, the base carries no chilli at all.
In essentially every version: Lemongrass, Galangal, Makrut lime zest and leaf, Garlic, Shallot.
3 distinct versions are set out below. None of them is presented as the correct one, because there isn’t one.
What goes into it
What essentially every version is made from, with what each ingredient is there to do.
| Ingredient | Role | How essential |
|---|---|---|
| Lemongrass (fresh) | primary aromatic | defining |
| Galangal (fresh) | primary aromatic | defining |
| Makrut lime leaf | supporting aromatic | defining |
| Garlic (fresh) | savoury depth | defining |
| Onion (fresh) | base | usual |
| Turmeric | colour | regional |
| Fingerroot | supporting aromatic | optional |
By colour first. Yellow kroeung, led by fresh turmeric, is the everyday paste and the most versatile; green kroeung uses the green tops of lemongrass for colour and a fresher flavour; red kroeung adds soaked dried red chillies and is used in curries. Within each, households shift the balance of galangal, fingerroot and garlic. Chilli is what the three do not share, which is the practical difference from a Thai paste.
The versions
Each attributed to whoever describes it. The sources say what goes in and how it is made and give no amounts, so none are shown.
Yellow kroeung (kroeung samlor machou)
Regional traditionKhmer household practice · no amounts given · medium confidence
Lemongrass, galangal, fresh turmeric, makrut lime zest and leaf, garlic and shallot, pounded together. The everyday paste for sour soups, stir-fries, grilled meat and amok.
Made with: Lemongrass, Fresh turmeric, Galangal, Makrut lime zest and leaf, Garlic, Shallot. The source gives no amounts, so none are shown.
Green kroeung
Regional traditionKhmer household practice · no amounts given · medium confidence
The lemongrass-led paste, coloured green by the tops of the stalks rather than by turmeric, with galangal, makrut lime and garlic. Fresher and more herbal; used in soups and with fish.
Made with: Lemongrass, stalks and green tops, Galangal, Makrut lime zest and leaf, Garlic. The source gives no amounts, so none are shown.
Red kroeung
Regional traditionKhmer household practice · no amounts given · medium confidence
The yellow paste with soaked dried red chillies pounded in, which gives it colour and heat. Used in curries, including the coconut curries eaten at festivals.
Made with: Dried red chillies, soaked, Lemongrass, Galangal, Fresh turmeric, Garlic, Shallot. The source gives no amounts, so none are shown.
Using it
Pounded fresh in a mortar and fried briefly in oil before liquid goes in, or mixed raw into a marinade for grilled meat, or folded with coconut milk and egg for steamed amok. Heat comes, where wanted, from fresh chilli at the table or from the red paste.
Bright, citrus and green: lemongrass and makrut lime in front, galangal’s peppery warmth and turmeric’s earthiness underneath, with no heat in the yellow and green pastes.
None in yellow and green kroeung; moderate in red.
- Fish amok
- Sour soups (samlor)
- Grilled beef and chicken
- Coconut curries (red)
Scaling: Scales freely by weight of fresh ingredients.
What to use it on
White fish
ClassicFish amok — fish steamed in banana leaf with yellow kroeung, coconut milk and egg — is the best-known Khmer dish and the clearest showcase of the paste: lemongrass and makrut lime scent the fish, and there is no chilli heat at all.
How: Fish amok
Beef
StrongGrilled beef skewers marinated in yellow kroeung, sold from street grills across Cambodia, are the everyday use of the paste on meat.
How: Grilled beef skewers
Chicken
StrongChicken in samlor, the Khmer sour soups and stews, and chicken curry with red kroeung and coconut milk are both built on the paste.
How: Samlor with chicken; Khmer chicken curry
If you have none
Thai curry paste
PoorThe aromatics are close — lemongrass, galangal, makrut lime — which is why the swap is suggested. But Thai pastes carry chilli and shrimp paste, and kroeung carries neither: amok made with Thai paste is hot and shrimp-savoury where the Khmer dish is fragrant and mild.
| Flavour | Aroma | Colour | Heat |
|---|---|---|---|
| partial | close | close | more |
Works for
- A Khmer red curry, using a small amount of Thai red paste
Does not work for
- Fish amok
- Yellow and green kroeung dishes, which have no chilli
Cuisine: Moves the dish from Cambodian to Thai.
Kroeung compared
Direct comparisons with the blends and spices it is most often taken for.
Storage
Good for: not established
In the fridge, covered, for a few days.
A perishable fresh paste: faded aroma is quality, warm storage is safety.
Allergens and safety
Not among the substances that must be declared as allergens under EU Regulation 1169/2011 Annex II or under the United States major food allergen rules. That is a statement about labelling law and not about whether allergy occurs: allergic reactions to spices are documented in the clinical literature and are simply not a labelling category. Where a ground spice presents an allergen risk it is usually through adulteration or shared processing equipment rather than through the plant itself.
Culture and origin
Cambodia, where kroeung is the foundation of soups, curries, grills and the steamed fish amok.
Khmer cooking
Kroeung and prahok together are the signatures of the Khmer kitchen, and freshly pounded kroeung is sold by colour in Cambodian markets. The Khmer Rouge years broke the transmission of much Cambodian cooking, and much of what is written about kroeung in English comes from cooks in the diaspora who set out to record it.