Koke and Sok

Lao koke and sak, or mortar and pestle. For when you need to make jeow (spicy chili paste) or thum mak hoong (papaya salad) or, my favorite, thum mak thang (cucumber salad). 

I feel most at home when there’s a sticky rice basket and a koke and sak in the kitchen.

I remember sitting on the floor as a child thumming chilis with nam pha (fish sauce, sugar, salt, and lime in a mortar on the carpet while my aunt and grandmother supervised, occasionally taking a spoon and saying, “need more lime” or “need more salt”.

My grandmother passed in 2021, and I often cook accompanied by only my senior rescue cat and dog. So I thum while they sit vigil near me and think of my grandmother. I taste a spoon, and say to myself, “need more sugar”.