Happy Sangkran Cambodian New Year! The Memory of Kampot Pepper

As spring awakens across the globe, cultures celebrate renewal in their own languages — with water and food. From the sunshine of Khmer New Year in Cambodia to the soft petals of Japan’s cherry blossoms, to Easter’s resurrection and Iran’s glowing Nowruz fires — this season marks a return to life, to land, to memory.

In Cambodia, Choul Chnam Thmey or Sangkran Chnam They is not just a New Year — it is a reunion with family, a cleansing of the old, and a celebration of the harvest to come. Kampot pepper, grown in the mineral-rich soils near the sea, has long been part of this rhythm — a gift of the land, handpicked with care, and shared in sacred meals that honour family, history, and spirit.

Just as Easter traditions bake meaning into symbolic breads and painted eggs, Cambodian New Year weaves its spirit into steamed pork bean sticky rice cake and the pepper that sparks memory on the tongue.

One of the most cherished tastes of this family gathering is grilled chicken or grilled river fish served with a dipping sauce of sea salt, Kampot pepper, and fresh lime juice — a simple alchemy that awakens the senses. It’s a reminder of the river, sea, the mineral-rich earth, and the ancestral memories that live on through the tongue. A taste of home, of heritage, of the land speaking back through food. Served alongside rice and seasonal herbs and vegetables pickles, it’s a meal that brings families together and pays quiet tribute to the land.

No matter where we are in the world, spring reminds us that nourishment is more than survival — it’s about connection. To land. To each other. To those who came before.

This New Year, whether you’re celebrating with water, flowers, or foods, we invite you to taste something ancient — and remember that in every grain of Kampot pepper spices, there is a story of renewal, reverence, and return.

Written and curated by the TYKCOLLECTIVE Research & Culinary Studio.

Image by an-thet via Unsplash