Thai Coconut Grater: The Coconut Rabbit กระต่ายขูดมะพร้าว

While my maternal grandmother hardly ever cooked (but the three things she did cook she cooked extremely well, the famous Yellow Chicken being one of them), my paternal grandmother spent much of her life in the kitchen. She was extremely particular about how things were done in her kitchen; everything had to be just so.

I wasn't as close to my paternal grandmother as I was to my maternal grandmother, so I can hardly recall any quality hang-out time I had with Khun Ya in the kitchen or any place else. I do remember, though, that whenever Khun Ya saw me moseying around the house, looking like I didn't have enough to keep me busy, she always motioned me into the kitchen and thrust upon the unwilling and exasperated me the task of grating coconut. I went from not knowing how to deal with coconut to knowing almost everything about the darn thing thanks to my paternal grandmother.

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Panaeng Curry with Pork and Kabocha Squash

Growing up, I hated all tubers: taro, cassava, potato, yam, etc. And since cooked hard squashes have similar texture to cooked tubers, I avoided them as well. Funny how your taste changes over time. I now love all kinds of tubers and root vegetables including all hard squashes. Kabocha or buttercup squash is my top favorite. This particular type of squash has lower moisture content which means its flesh is firmer. Besides, it is the only winter squash that doesn't have that "squashy" smell, if you know what I mean.

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How to Cut and Prepare Papaya

Papaya is one of those fruits that are best eaten when they are very, very ripe. (The only exception, of course, is when you intentionally use papayas when they're green as the Thai people do when they make the famous Thai green papaya salad, Som Tam (ส้มตำ), or when Filipinos do when they make Tinola or Tinolang Manok.)

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Beer Can Chicken: The Antithesis of Pretty Food

Marinate a whole chicken with the marinade for my Southern-style Thai grilled chicken, leaving out the turmeric.

After 4-5 hours, or overnight, mount the chicken on an opened beer can with half of the beer inside and aromatics of your choice. You could also use a gadget made to mimic a beer can and fill the tube with wine or beer.

Bake the chicken at 400° F oven for one to one and a half hours, depending on the size of your chicken.

It's downhill from here. Aesthetically, that is. In fact, I'm just going to stop writing at this point.

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