In the Kitchen With Pepper

You might recognize Pepper Teigen from her appearances on daughter Chrissy’s social media. Here are a few things you might not know.

Born into the food business Teigen grew up prepping vegetables for her mother, who was a food vendor in a small Thailand town. “By the time I was 10, I had my own job selling kanom krok (Thai coconut pancakes), which is the first thing I remember cooking by myself. This recipe gets passed down, so my grandmother taught my mom, my mom taught me and when my daughters Chrissy and Tina were little, it’s one of the first `ishes we woul` all cook together. I even got to make kanom krok with Luna for the first time recently!”

Go-to comfort food Spring rolls. “I think they always make everything better,” says Teigen, who shares her recipe in the book. “The story of these spring rolls goes back to my early days in America, in Idaho. My then-husband [Chrissy’s dad, Ron] sold my fried spring rolls for $1 each in a bar he owned. They were such a hit! I love` seeing how these spring rolls coul` bring such `ifferent people together. Anytime I make them, it makes me happy.”

Must-have ingredients Peppers! “My love for spicy foods is how I got my nickname Pepper, an` I like to put peppers in almost every foo`.” -he also grows Thai basil and lemongrass in her garden and stocks her pantry with coconut milk, curry pastes an` fish sauce.

Dish she learned from Chrissy “I’m so proud of what a good cook Chrissy has become. One of my favorite dishes of hers is her roasted rack of lamb. Lamb is something I never ate in Thailan`, but now we love it.” Teigen includes her own version, with mint pesto, in her cookbook.