UNISTAR : Invisible Moon [ENG Version]

Chapter 17 : The Coconut Milk Moon

"Alright." P'In nodded.

His answer made me smile so wide, I could have sworn it reached my eyes.

"Can you wait?" P'In asked while walking to the kitchen. P'In put some uncooked rice in the cooker, washed the rice for a while, then plugged it in.

"Uh..." I thought P'In meant that this recipe would take time to cook.

"I can wait, no problem. P'In, let me help you."

"No need." He replied. He then took a jar of green curry paste from the fridge. I peeked and saw that he had plenty of curry paste jars stored.

P'In took a container filled with chicken tenderloins, which was already cut into small pieces. He also took out Thai eggplants, chilli, kaffir lime leaves, and basil. Everything was well prepared.

I assumed that P'In is used to cooking everyday, which is why he had them stocked. Add to the fact that all the necessary ingredients and cooking equipment were already set in place.

"You can sit and wait," P'In said as he saw me standing and watching.

I saw his hands, he was holding the coconut fruit. I widened my eyes.

"Why did you bring out the coconut?"

"Make the coconut milk," P'In said in a flat tone. He then took out something from under the cabinet — a coconut grater[1].

"Huh? Make coconut milk? Personally?" I was obviously shocked because nowadays, most people would buy instant coconut milk as it was more convenient. However, I knew that this equipment was used for making coconut milk manually.

"Yes." P'In nodded. And took the knife that was hanging to chop the coconut.

"Oh, P'In, you don't have to trouble yourself like this." I felt so guilty because I requested to eat a dish that P'In could make. If I had known it would trouble him to grate the coconut, I would rather choose a simpler dish like Thai omelette[2] with rice.

"It's yum." P'In replied. It seemed like he was trying to convince me that the dishes made from fresh coconut milk were really delicious.

I went silent and couldn't refuse anymore.

I was watching P'In chop the coconut into half, revealing the white meat inside it.

I was reminded of the TV program 'Moon in the Kitchen'. P'In had made various dishes with coconut milk. He didn't use instant coconut milk, but instead used fresh ones. It could make the food more delicious and give the dish a more intense coconut scent. However, the TV program didn't show how P'In made the fresh coconut milk. I assumed that the staff might have done that for him or bought them from the market in order to save time.

I was amazed to find out that everytime he cooked a coconut milk menu, he had always personally made fresh coconut milk. It's no surprise that this room was full of coconut milk scent, and P'In also had the fragrant scent of coconut milk.

"Please let me help you." I told him again as I saw him preparing to grate the coconut.

"Know how to?" P'In tilted his head. I then looked at the coconut grater and scratched my head.

On the coconut grater, there was a circular knife on its head, and its body was shaped like a small stool, for its user to sit and grate the coconut.

"I'll try." I had never done this before, but I had seen how it was done in Thai period dramas. I thought that it wouldn't be that difficult.

P'In took a big bowl, placed it under the coconut grater's knife, then handed me half a coconut.

I sat down, used both my hands to hold the coconut in the right angle before moving it to the knife and started to grate.