Preserved Salted Limes (Ngam Ngov)

Hello! Today I am going to introduce you to one of the many favourite ingredients in Cambodian kitchen. Known in Khmer language as "Ngam Ngov" or "Nam Ngov" and sometimes as "Kroch Tram", salted limes are commonly enjoyed in traditional chicken spring onion soup (my husband's only favourite Khmer soup) and some people use it to make refreshing drink.

Although, you would find it in glass jars almost in every Asian grocery stores, it is in fact easy to make, the only problem (if it is at all) is it does need time. You wanna make sure you make it ahead of time and have to start making a new batch long before the old one is finished. 

Get set ...

So, using my mum's recipe, here's how:

Ingredients:

20 limes

4 litres water

3 tbsp salt

Directions:

In a pot large enough for all limes, bring 2 litres of water to boil. Meanwhile, clean the limes and set aside. Once boils, put all limes into the pot. Do not cover. Stir frequently to avoid the limes being "cooked". When the limes turn greenish-yellowish, remove from the pot. Let it cool. According to my mum, this process is to get rid of some of the bitter oil on the limes' peel. Trust me, that bitterness is quite unpleasant. You wouldn't want it in your preserved limes. 

Making brine:

1. Bring the remaining water to boil and add salt. Stir until dissolved. Remove from the heat and let it cool off completely or just let it be luke-warm.

2. Prepare the limes in an air tight glass container (If you use the jar with the clamp lid, do get the stainless steel one. I didn't find one in all three big supermarkets in the DR. In the end, the clamp is partly damaged), pour in the salt-water brine. Make sure there're no cheeky limes peeking over the brine. They must remain under. Close/secure the lid. Bring it outside to where you have the most sun and let the jar sit there for minimum a month before you can use it although it would still taste a bit "raw" and slightly bitter. I prefer to leave it for three months. 

and ready to soak up some sun :-)

Three months later.