Thai Rice Porridge Breakfast Plate (Jok)

About This Recipe

Jok is the rice porridge Thai families eat for breakfast, made by simmering broken jasmine rice in stock until the grains break down into a thick, spoonable congee. It's closely related to Chinese congee, brought to Thailand generations ago and adapted with local seasonings — white pepper, fried garlic, and fresh ginger instead of century egg or scallion oil. The key technique is starting with rice that's already partly broken (or pulsing whole rice briefly in a food processor) so it releases starch faster and thickens the porridge without hours of simmering. Stirring occasionally prevents the rice from catching on the bottom of the pot while it slowly turns from separate grains into a uniform, creamy base. Each bowl gets built at the table: a soft-cooked or raw egg stirred in to cook from residual heat, a shower of crispy fried shallots, julienned ginger, and a drizzle of soy sauce and sesame oil. It's comfort food, meant to be eaten hot and adjusted to taste as you go.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 cupjasmine rice, rinsed and roughly pulsed in a food processor
• 2 Lchicken stock
• 300 gground pork
• 1 tbspsoy sauce
• 1 tspwhite pepper
• 4 wholeeggs
• 3 tbspvegetable oil
• 4 wholeshallots, thinly sliced
• 1 piecefresh ginger (5cm), julienned
• 2 stalkscallions, sliced
• 1 handfulcilantro leaves
• 1 tspsesame oil

Instructions

1. 1

   Fry the shallots

   Heat oil in a small pan over medium heat and fry shallots, stirring often, until deep golden and crisp, about 8 minutes. Drain on paper towels; reserve the oil.

2. 2

   Season the pork

   Mix ground pork with soy sauce and half the white pepper. Roll into small meatballs, about the size of a marble.

3. 3

   Simmer the rice

   Bring stock to a boil, add the pulsed rice, and reduce to a low simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring every few minutes, for 30-35 minutes until thick and creamy.

4. 4

   Cook the pork balls

   Drop the pork meatballs into the simmering porridge for the last 8 minutes of cooking, until cooked through.

5. 5

   Assemble bowls

   Ladle porridge into bowls, crack a soft-cooked or poached egg on top, and finish with fried shallots, ginger, scallions, cilantro, remaining white pepper, and a drizzle of sesame oil.

Variations

• •

  Swap ground pork for shredded rotisserie chicken or sliced fish for a lighter version.

• •

  Add a spoonful of preserved radish (chai po) for extra savory crunch.

• •

  Make it vegetarian with mushroom stock and silken tofu cubes instead of meat.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 3 days in an airtight container; the porridge will thicken further, so add a splash of stock or water when reheating on the stove.

Frequently Asked Questions