Episode 1

Rick Stein takes the viewer on an epic culinary journey by sea, down rivers and overland to explore the Far East's diverse food cultures, which have soared to the heights of popularity the world over.

He begins his odyssey in Cambodia, a country still recovering from the regime of the Khmer Rouge. Nevertheless, tourists are beginning to return to this land dotted with sugar palms, paddy fields and small villages. Rick discovers the joys of freshly caught swimmer crabs cooked with green peppercorns from Kampot, once the king of pepper. He learns how to cook the most famous dish in the country, fish amok, made with lemongrass and coconut, and he samples lok lak, an extremely popular and delicious dish made with stir-fried strips of marinated beef.

Rick visits the awe-inspiring Angkor Wat temple before joining a rice barge to take him down the mighty Mekong River to the border of Vietnam.