When my mother moved to England over thirty years ago, she brought only two things of sentimental value, a pair of scissors from her days as a dressmaker and her maternal grandmother’s pestle and mortar. She has now passed the latter on to me and when my daughter is older, it will be hers.

The two most popular Thai dishes to make with the aid of a pestle and mortar are fresh curry paste and dressings for salads, called Yum. ‘Yum’ is a well-known salad in Thailand, which is spicy and sour.

This is my version of a Thai Beef Salad called ‘Yum Neur’. I made the dish with a grilled piece of beef fillet, uncooked rice (which I toasted lightly and ground using my pestle and mortar), tomato, cucumber, lemon juice and chilli.