While there are a lot of great Khmer dishes, Cambodian fried noodles, also known as lort cha (Khmer: លត់ចា), is not only one of the best but also one of the most reliable dishes you can get in country.
In its different guises, it is available throughout the length and breadth of the Kingdom, with a whole heap of culinary and regional variations. And if you’re thinking it is just some Chinese rip-off, you would be very wrong.
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What is Lort Cha?
Lort cha is the classic Cambodian fried noodle dish made from short, thick noodles stir-fried in a wok with garlic, soy, fish sauce, and usually a bit of meat or seafood. The noodles themselves are chewy and slightly sticky, made to soak up the sauce without falling apart. It’s a dish eaten any time of day, though most locals go for it at night from roadside stalls with a plastic chair and a cold beer.
There are a few variations people call lort cha that aren’t exactly the same thing but belong to the wider Cambodian fried noodle family. Some stalls use thinner noodles, others use instant ramen, and many will even call mi cha a type of lort cha. What unites them is the wok, the speed, and that smoky fried flavour that makes it a Khmer favourite.
How to Make Lort Cha – Cambodian Fried Noodles
To make proper Cambodian fried noodles, you start with the noodles themselves, called lort, short, thick pieces made from wheat and rice flour. Heat a wok with a spoon of oil, throw in chopped garlic, and fry until golden. Add your meat of choice — chicken, beef, pork, or shrimp all work well. Once the meat is half-cooked, add the noodles, a spoon of soy sauce, a splash of fish sauce, and a pinch of sugar. Stir fry fast for a few minutes until the noodles brown slightly and soak up the sauces. Add bean sprouts and spring onion at the end.
Simple Street Recipe Example:
- Lort noodles 200g
- Garlic 3 cloves, crushed
- Beef or chicken 150g, sliced thin
- Soy sauce 1 tablespoon
- Fish sauce 1 tablespoon
- Sugar 1 teaspoon
- Oil 2 tablespoons
- Bean sprouts, a handful
- Fried egg (optional)
- Lime and chili sauce to serve
Instructions:
- Heat oil in a wok until hot.
- Add garlic and fry briefly.
- Add meat and stir until half-cooked.
- Add noodles, soy sauce, fish sauce, and sugar. Stir fry on high heat for 2–3 minutes.
- Add bean sprouts and toss quickly.
- Serve with a fried egg on top, lime on the side, and chili sauce if you want it spicy.
It can be combined with vegetables like morning glory or Chinese kale, and you can swap the meat for shrimp or even crab if you’re near the coast. Some stalls make it vegetarian with tofu, though the fish sauce usually stays because that’s where the Khmer flavour comes from.
Variations of Cambodian Fried Noodles
In Khmer, “cha” means fried, and it can be used for all kinds of noodle and rice dishes. Mi cha is fried with egg noodles, while lort cha uses the short, thick ones. There’s also bai cha, which means fried rice, and in coastal towns like Kep, you’ll often find seafood cha using crab, shrimp, or squid.
In Phnom Penh, you can get lort cha with beef, chicken, pork, or mixed meat, sometimes even with liver or sausage added for extra flavour. Every region does it slightly differently, but the idea is always the same, fried noodles cooked hot and fast with lots of fish sauce, soy, and garlic.
Where Can You Get Cambodian Fried Noodles
When it comes to Cambodian fried noodles, they are an absolute staple of Khmer street food and, alongside fried rice, can basically be found everywhere. I have lort cha pretty much wherever I am in Cambodia, simply because it is so reliable, particularly with beef or chicken. I’ll do an article on it later, but there are some awesome restaurants in Phnom Penh that specialize in the stuff.
And when there’s no lort cha, there’s pretty much always mi cha. This is, as stated before, simple Cambodian fried noodles made with ramen instead of real noodles. This has saved me a few times in rural Cambodia, such as on Koh Trong island.
What Do Cambodian Fried Noodles Taste Like?
Cambodian fried noodles, as in the stir-fried lort cha, consist of chewy, meaty noodles that are relatively thick and lightly fried. This is nothing like the fried noodles you get in China and is much more akin to Cantonese or Hong Kong-style cuisine.
What they do differently with lort cha, though, is that you generally add Khmer fish sauce, which gives it a real edge. Khmer dishes also come with extremely unique accompaniments such as local herbs, hot sauce, and, if you really want to be kinky, limes, sweet chili sauce, and Khmer pepper.
So, while not exactly fine dining, Cambodian fried noodles are unique, filling, and, in general, will never let you down.