A Cantonese cauldron boils over to Thailand

It's a gastronomic practice health inspectors may wag a finger at.

But patrons give it a thumbs-up.

Wisa Kaweenuntawong is nourishing a culinary tradition that originates from Guangdong province's Chaozhou - in the heart of Thailand's capital, Bangkok.

The 38-year-old, third-generation restaurateur doesn't even know if farmers in her grandfather's hometown still stew beef in pots cleaned only once a year - that is, at Chinese Spring Festival to coax fortune in the coming lunar year. Grandpa emigrated from eastern Guangdong province to Bangkok as a boy, she says.

Every slice of a cow - tendons, briskets and, yes, the penis - are cooked in the huge cauldron in the doorway of Watanapanit restaurant.

But livers and hearts, while boiled with the rest of the oxen, must be ordered separately.

Diners dip meat hunks in sugar, chilies in vinegar, or pulverized chili - colloquially called "gunpowder" for its explosive flavor.

The pots' contents are relished with such sides as greens with rice or noodles, and pork knuckle.

Kaweenuntawong's grandfather first started a small noodle shop before he opened Watanapanit about four decades ago, at age 20.

"He learned how to do this in Chaozhou's countryside and taught the family," Kaweenuntawong says.

"At first, only ethnically Chinese customers came. But word spread about the taste. It was viral word-of-mouth marketing."

The eatery serves more than 300 customers daily, from 10 am to 9 pm.

"Thai people eat all day," she says, smiling.

"I don't know how many cows we go through. But it's a lot."

Steam twirls off the pot's bubbling surface. The vessel's mouth exhales a shrill aroma as it gargles beef chunks and permeable sacks of herbs and garlic.

"I'm the only one who tastes it every day," Kaweenuntawong says. "So, only I know if the flavor changes and something needs to be added."

But the sum of the flavors that had accumulated over the year has recently been wiped out, as the Year of the Horse arrived on Jan 31.

"We clean it every Spring Festival for good luck for the coming year," she says.

"I don't know if people in Chaozhou do this anymore. But I'm glad to keep this tradition alive. I'm the third generation and hope my children will continue the legacy."

IF YOU GO

Watanapanit Restaurant

336-338 Sukhumvit 63 Road,

Wattana, Bangkok

662-391-7264