Growing up in Southern Thailand, Nok Suntaranon spent most days after school helping her mother sell homemade curry pastes in the local market.

Dealing with customers. Pushing the heavy cart with her two brothers. Staining her fingers yellow as she peeled turmeric root by the kilo, enough for the 110 pounds of curry paste her mother sold every day.

Her mother needed the help. Suntaranon’s grandfather, who was helping to support the family, and her aunt were killed in a motorbike accident when she was just 4. Her mother was forced to become breadwinner overnight.

“We grew up poor, but when it comes to food, we never skimped,” Suntaranon said. “We always had the best food on our table.”

That her hardworking mother informed her cooking is apparent in the Philadelphia restaurant she named

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