Prahok (also spelled prahoc) is a salted, fermented fish paste from Cambodia, made mainly from small freshwater fish from the Tonle Sap lake and Mekong. It’s grey-brown, very salty and powerfully pungent, and it’s one of the foundations of Khmer cooking: a spoonful gives soups, curries, dips and sauces a deep savory flavor, much as fish sauce or anchovies do elsewhere. It’s usually cooked into dishes rather than eaten on its own.
How Prahok Is Made
Fish are cleaned and gutted, often sun-dried briefly, then mixed with a large amount of salt, packed tightly into jars and left to ferment for weeks to many months. Over that time the fish’s own enzymes and salt-tolerant bacteria break the protein down into savory amino acids. Fresh (short-fermented) prahok is milder and chunkier; long-aged prahok is darker, smoother and stronger.
When researchers analyzed Cambodian fermented fish products, prahok and its relatives contained 170–270 g of salt per kilogram (17–27%), plenty of acetic and lactic acid, and bacteria such as Bacillus, Clostridium, Staphylococcus and Tetragenococcus (Chuon et al., 2014). A 2025 study that followed prahok through six months of production found that protein and fat were largely preserved and free amino acids increased, while salt-tolerant bacteria dominated the ferment (Thanh et al., 2025).
Is Prahok Safe to Eat?
Commercially made prahok, cooked into food, is eaten daily by millions of people. But there are real risks worth knowing:
- Liver flukes. Raw or undercooked freshwater fish is the main source of Opisthorchis viverrini, a liver fluke that infects more than 12 million people in the Mekong region and can lead to bile-duct cancer; surveys in Cambodia have found prevalence as high as 47.5% (Sripa et al., 2021). Fish sold in and around Phnom Penh are commonly infected (Sohn et al., 2021). Lightly fermented fish may not kill the parasite, so eat prahok cooked.
- Quality and processing. The six-month production study found oxidation (peroxide value) nearly five times the Codex limit by the end, along with Aeromonas and Clostridium, and called for standard processing practices (Thanh et al., 2025). Buy sealed jars from reputable producers and don’t make it at home.
- Salt. At 17–27% salt, prahok is a seasoning; use it by the teaspoon, especially if you watch your sodium.
- Biogenic amines such as cadaverine form during fermentation; in the 2025 study they stayed within acceptable limits.
How Prahok Is Used
- Prahok k’tis – a rich cooked dip of prahok, minced pork, coconut milk and lemongrass paste, served with raw vegetables (the recipe card below).
- In curry pastes for dishes such as fish amok, pounded with lemongrass, galangal, turmeric and kaffir lime.
- In soups (samlor), a small piece simmered into the broth.
- Prahok ang – wrapped in banana leaf and grilled.
Outside Cambodia, prahok is sold in sealed jars in Cambodian, Thai and Vietnamese grocery stores. Keep it tightly closed and refrigerated after opening – mainly to contain the smell.
Related fermented fish and seafood: Lao pa daek, fermented fish sauce, shrimp paste and the Philippine burong isda. For a fermented meat from the region, see Thai naem.