PHOTOS BY PETER HALEY/THE NEWS TRIBUNEMitapeap Khmer Restaurant features Cambodian cuisine prepared by husband and wife owners Tharath, left, and Souvanna Eang. Trei Chien with its salsa is in the foreground, and Loc Lac is at left
PETER HALEY/THE NEWS TRIBUNEMitapeap Khmer Restaurant owner Souvanna Eang prepares vegetables for Loc Lac, a favorite dish at the restaurant. In the background, her husband, Tharath, works over a hot wok. The couple opened the Cambodian restaurant at the urging of friends.
A “good luck frog” with a coin in its mouth guards the kitchen at Mitapeap restaurant in Tacoma.Tacoma couple create a haven for authentic Cambodian cooking
THE NEWS TRIBUNE
DEBBIE CAFAZZO; debbie.cafazzo@thenewstribune.com
Published: September 3rd, 2008
Tharath Eang uses a wide-bladed knife to slice a fish diagonally, scoring the flesh with cuts a few inches apart.
The cuts, he explains, will help the tilapia cook faster.
He tosses the gutted fish – head, tail and skin intact – into the deep fryer.
While the fish fries, Eang’s wife Souvanna prepares a sauce to accompany it. The sauce mixes tamarind, tomato, basil, garlic and other spices.
“You have to do it right, or don’t put it on the menu,” says Tharath, who takes pride in cooking the traditional food of his native Cambodia, the way he remembers his mother cooking it. “What we do here, we do authentically.”
The Eangs opened Mitapeap Khmer Restaurant on Tacoma’s East Side in December to showcase the food they grew up eating. Mitapeap is a Khmer word that means “friendship” and “welcome to old friends.”
The restaurant is a family operation, with the Eangs handling all the cooking and their teenage son Aalex waiting tables when he’s not in school.
Tharath, 40, a former delivery driver, and Souvanna, 38, who once worked in a dental clinic, both grew up in the Battambang area of Cambodia, not far from the border of Thailand. Both fled with their families from Cambodia’s oppressive government to Thai refugee camps in the late 1970s, then to the United States.
“When we came here, it felt like we were in heaven,” says Souvanna. “Everything was beautiful.”
Her family immigrated first to Virginia, but they disliked the cold winters. So after hearing about Tacoma from a family friend, the family relocated. The cross-country bus trip took three or four days, Souvanna remembers, with her newborn sibling crying all the way.
Tharath’s family moved first to Ilwaco, on the Washington coast, where a Catholic church sponsored them. But there were few other Asian families in Ilwaco, so Tharath’s family moved to South Bend, Pacific County, and Raymond, where Tharath graduated from high school, then to Tacoma.
Tharath and Souvanna met in Tacoma in 1989.
The couple decided to open Mitapeap, their first restaurant, at the urging of friends.
“Friends would come to our house to eat and they’d say, ‘Your food is good. Why not think about opening a restaurant?’” Souvanna says.
The Eangs dined at Asian restaurants around town before Tharath decided he and Souvanna could do as well or better.
While there are many Thai and Vietnamese restaurants in Tacoma, Cambodian restaurants are rare. The Eangs describe the food of their homeland as somewhere between the food of Thailand and China – with a dash of French influence, left over from colonial days.
“If you like Thai food, you will love Camobdian food,” Tharath says.
The Eangs use spices familiar from other types of Asian cooking, including lemongrass, curry and ginger. “I julienne the ginger,” says Tharath. “I use it as a vegetable.” But they also add flavors such as tamarind and turmeric.
The menu offers nearly two dozen entrees and a variety of soups, salads and appetizers, with fish and seafood dishes prominent. Among them:
Prahut trei: Deep-fried ground fish patty seasoned with garlic, lemongrass and other spices.
Ngoim Sadao Kreung Samot: Seafood salad featuring shrimp, squid, mussels and preserved fish
Sngao Chruok Trei: Fish soup with lemongrass and other herbs in a lime broth
Trei andang chean: Deep-fried Cambodian-style catfish
Trei chean: Fried whole tilapia with house sauce
Tharath says fish plays an important role in Cambodian cuisine. In his home country, fish are everywhere, he says.
“In Cambodia, there’s a saying that if there is water, there are fish,” he says. “If there is a little puddle, there are fish in there. You can find fish in the backyard, or under the house when it rains.”
Although Cambodians love to eat meat, he says, cattle are often used as draught animals, so killing a cow for food isn’t often considered. Chickens are needed to produce eggs – and more chickens. So chicken meat is also an infrequent menu item.
Fish fills in the gaps, Tharath explains.
And at Mitapeap Khmer, it plays a starring role.
Debbie Cafazzo: 253-597-8635
A Khmer glossary
Some words you’ll find on the menu of Mitapeap Khmer Restaurant:
bai: rice
cha: stir fry
chean: deep fry
trei: fish
tdoung: eel Mitapeap Khmer Restaurant
1314 72nd St. E., Suite A-3, Tacoma
253-414-2262
11 a.m.- 9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday
11 a.m.- 7 p.m. Sunday
Closed Mondays Loc Lac
THE NEWS TRIBUNE
DEBBIE CAFAZZO; debbie.cafazzo@thenewstribune.com
Published: September 3rd, 2008
Tharath Eang uses a wide-bladed knife to slice a fish diagonally, scoring the flesh with cuts a few inches apart.
The cuts, he explains, will help the tilapia cook faster.
He tosses the gutted fish – head, tail and skin intact – into the deep fryer.
While the fish fries, Eang’s wife Souvanna prepares a sauce to accompany it. The sauce mixes tamarind, tomato, basil, garlic and other spices.
“You have to do it right, or don’t put it on the menu,” says Tharath, who takes pride in cooking the traditional food of his native Cambodia, the way he remembers his mother cooking it. “What we do here, we do authentically.”
The Eangs opened Mitapeap Khmer Restaurant on Tacoma’s East Side in December to showcase the food they grew up eating. Mitapeap is a Khmer word that means “friendship” and “welcome to old friends.”
The restaurant is a family operation, with the Eangs handling all the cooking and their teenage son Aalex waiting tables when he’s not in school.
Tharath, 40, a former delivery driver, and Souvanna, 38, who once worked in a dental clinic, both grew up in the Battambang area of Cambodia, not far from the border of Thailand. Both fled with their families from Cambodia’s oppressive government to Thai refugee camps in the late 1970s, then to the United States.
“When we came here, it felt like we were in heaven,” says Souvanna. “Everything was beautiful.”
Her family immigrated first to Virginia, but they disliked the cold winters. So after hearing about Tacoma from a family friend, the family relocated. The cross-country bus trip took three or four days, Souvanna remembers, with her newborn sibling crying all the way.
Tharath’s family moved first to Ilwaco, on the Washington coast, where a Catholic church sponsored them. But there were few other Asian families in Ilwaco, so Tharath’s family moved to South Bend, Pacific County, and Raymond, where Tharath graduated from high school, then to Tacoma.
Tharath and Souvanna met in Tacoma in 1989.
The couple decided to open Mitapeap, their first restaurant, at the urging of friends.
“Friends would come to our house to eat and they’d say, ‘Your food is good. Why not think about opening a restaurant?’” Souvanna says.
The Eangs dined at Asian restaurants around town before Tharath decided he and Souvanna could do as well or better.
While there are many Thai and Vietnamese restaurants in Tacoma, Cambodian restaurants are rare. The Eangs describe the food of their homeland as somewhere between the food of Thailand and China – with a dash of French influence, left over from colonial days.
“If you like Thai food, you will love Camobdian food,” Tharath says.
The Eangs use spices familiar from other types of Asian cooking, including lemongrass, curry and ginger. “I julienne the ginger,” says Tharath. “I use it as a vegetable.” But they also add flavors such as tamarind and turmeric.
The menu offers nearly two dozen entrees and a variety of soups, salads and appetizers, with fish and seafood dishes prominent. Among them:
Prahut trei: Deep-fried ground fish patty seasoned with garlic, lemongrass and other spices.
Ngoim Sadao Kreung Samot: Seafood salad featuring shrimp, squid, mussels and preserved fish
Sngao Chruok Trei: Fish soup with lemongrass and other herbs in a lime broth
Trei andang chean: Deep-fried Cambodian-style catfish
Trei chean: Fried whole tilapia with house sauce
Tharath says fish plays an important role in Cambodian cuisine. In his home country, fish are everywhere, he says.
“In Cambodia, there’s a saying that if there is water, there are fish,” he says. “If there is a little puddle, there are fish in there. You can find fish in the backyard, or under the house when it rains.”
Although Cambodians love to eat meat, he says, cattle are often used as draught animals, so killing a cow for food isn’t often considered. Chickens are needed to produce eggs – and more chickens. So chicken meat is also an infrequent menu item.
Fish fills in the gaps, Tharath explains.
And at Mitapeap Khmer, it plays a starring role.
Debbie Cafazzo: 253-597-8635
A Khmer glossary
Some words you’ll find on the menu of Mitapeap Khmer Restaurant:
bai: rice
cha: stir fry
chean: deep fry
trei: fish
tdoung: eel Mitapeap Khmer Restaurant
1314 72nd St. E., Suite A-3, Tacoma
253-414-2262
11 a.m.- 9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday
11 a.m.- 7 p.m. Sunday
Closed Mondays Loc Lac
Cambodian lettuce wrap
For the wrap:
Whole Romaine or iceberg lettuce leaves or spinach leaves
For the garnish:
Medium tomato
Red onion
Cucumber
For the filling
8 ounces beef, chicken, pork or tofu
Garlic
3 Tablespoons canola oil
For the filling sauce:
1 Tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 cup water
Green onion
For the lime dipping sauce:
Juice of a fresh-squeezed lime
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon fish sauce
Pinch of salt
Cut the meat or tofu into 1/4-inch cubes. Stir fry in oil, then add garlic. Heat oyster sauce, sugar and pepper, then green onion. Add cornstarch and stir until incorporated. Then add water. Pour atop meat or tofu.
Line a plate with whole lettuce or spinach leaves.
Slice the tomato and place the slices on one side of the plate. Slice the cucumber and arrange slices on the opposite side. Slice some of the red onion and place it on either side of the plate.
Top lettuce with meat or tofu filling.
Blend dipping sauce ingredients together and serve in a small bowl.
To eat, wrap filling in lettuce leaves and dip into lime sauce.
Recipe from Mitapeap Khmer Restaurant
Trei Chean
Fried whole tilapia with side sauce
1 whole tilapia fish, cleaned
Sauce:
Medium tomato
Several basil leaves
Several cilantro leaves
1 jalapeno pepper
Roasted chopped garlic (from a jar)
Ground tamarind, to taste
Splash of fish sauce
Start with a cleaned whole tilapia. (Thaw it first if it’s frozen.)
Score the fish body with a knife, making cuts an inch or two apart, but not slicing all the way through.
Deep fry the fish whole (including head and tail) until the meat is cooked and the skin is crispy, at least 10 minutes.
While the fish is frying, chop sauce ingredients together. Think of the sauce as a kind of salsa to get the mix of ingredients correct.
Serve sauce atop cooked fish.
Recipe from Mitapeap Khmer Restaurant
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