Taco Death Match 2024 is upon us, Long Beach. Ten taqueros and chefs from Long Beach and L.A. battling in the ultimate competition focused on SoCal’s favorite food. They were asked to create special “ofrenda tacos” that honor dead loved ones in honor of Day of the Dead. Those tacos will then be paired with a beer from a local brewery. Each will be judged by both professionals in the field and the festival patrons.

In addition to the tacos, there will also be plenty of tequila tastings. Some shopping. Some ultra-special VIP perks. And entertainment. And the chance for a taquero to proclaim victory in the ultimate Taco Death Match.

Why the Cambodian community could not be excluded from Taco Death Match 2024.

Writing about and eating Cambodian food is not just an activity one partakes in; in all seriousness, it is a spirtual, communal, deeply human endeavor. I say this with such weight because to eat Cambodian food in Long Beach, with fellow Cambodians and Cambodian-Americans, is to directly experience the result of cultural resilience in a way few can.

There is a stark difference between an immigrant and a refugee—and the fact that, after being forced out of their home due to genocide, the Cambodian community made Long Beach their home is both a serendipitous gift and, again, an act of cultural resilience. Their dedication toward simultaneously assimilating and showcasing their culture has proven they are a loving, viable community that deserves to be uplifted.

Here are two Cambodian businesses participating in Taco Death Match 2024.

Battambong BBQ

What kind of Taco Death Match 2024 creation? The one that honors the man and family who invited Chef Chad Phuong into their home for smoked venison.

The food of Chef Chad Phuong—Long Beach’s “Cambodian Cowboy” of barbecue—cannot be disentangled from the three parts of the world that have most influenced him. Cambodia. Long Beach. Texas. This triptych of Chef Chad’s life—escaping genocide with his mother after his father was murdered by the Khmer Rouge; making Long Beach his second permanent home; living in the panhandle of Texas while supporting his stepfather, whom he lovingly calls his Dad after raising him in the States—define his barbecue.

Merging heartland American meats with not-so-subtle Cambodian influence, hunks of brisket layered with dry spices and lemongrass sit next to twako, a Cambodian sausage with fermented rice that is typically deep-fried but here is smoked. There are witty plays on Cambodian num pang sandwiches, where daikon is replaced with green papaya salad and traditional meat is replaced with smoky proteins…

For Taco Death Match 2024, Chef Chad will be honoring his love of Texas and its people—particularly one special friend.

“I will be making this amazing 17 hour smoked brisket taco for Taco Death Match,” Chef Chad said. “It’s a brisket taco is dedicated to my late friend David Ballejo from Hereford, Texas. His stepdad was a hunter… He would smoke venison and brisket for his family. When David invited me over, they all welcomed me and treated me like family. So, by making this smoked brisket taco, I hope to keep my memory of my friendship with David alive and make him proud.”

That taco includes a slice of his 17-hour smoked brisket, aioli sriracha sauce, green papaya’n’carrot slaw, and is finished with Mexican crema, hot sauce, and cilantro microgreens. He’ll also be making a twako taco and a moked pork belly, which is dedicated to his grandmother and grandfather.

“Our Cambodian seasoned pork belly is made with with Kampot black pepper, soy sauce, palm sugar, and some Chinese Five Spice,” Chef Chad said. “We’ll put that on a corn tortilla with aioli, glazed sweet soy sauce, papaya’n’carrot slaw, crème, hot sauce, and green onions.”

Chinitos Tacos

What kind of Taco Death Match creation? The one that can only come from a Cambodian mom’s kitchen.

It is safe to say that Chinitos Tacos—the Cambodian-American-owned taco shop headed by Chef Beeline Krouch—is about as Long Beach as it gets. And in all frankness, there has been a continual frustration on my end, as both a writer and steward for the food community, by the lack of love Chinitos gets (even after multiple inclusions from me on my underrated restaurants lists and a glowing feature in the Los Angeles Times by the much-missed Patricia Escárcega all the way back in 2019).

The blunt reality is that while Chinitos might be in Lakewood, it is one-hundred-percent birthed out of Long Beach: Krouch, a Long Beach native, has been serving up some of the region’s most distinct, lavishly layered tacos with his melding of Cambodian and Southeast Asian flavors with Mexican grub, where rounds of melted cheese—burnt to a brown, crêpe-thin crisp—act as taco shells and lemongrass and Chinese 5 spice blend into meats.

“There are many dishes that the moment my Momma is making them, I just become instantly comforted and warm,” Chef Beeline said. “Her chicken curry is one of those plates. So I’m trying to recreate that.”

And, of course, his “tortilla” will be anything but a simple, traditional corn or flour round. He’ll be making Indo-Chinese paratha, a flaky, buttery round that is made with wheat.

Taco Death Match 2024 takes place on Sunday, Nov. 3 at Mosaic in Downtown Long Beach. For more information and tickets, click here.