If I remember right, she is from the NE part of Thailand. My son isn't a big fan of spicy food and he tends to take after my wife who doesn't like to try much of anything new, but he raves about a couple of the things she makes from when he's been to their house. Of course her sticky rice is his favorite.
I think you're right on the container. She was in Thailand a while back and posted a photo of a bunch of straw baskets.