Jok Moo
โจ๊กหมู·(joke moo)
Thai Morning Comfort & The Healing Pot
Jok is the ultimate Thai comfort food—a velvety, soul-warming rice porridge that serves as a breakfast staple, a late-night street food savior, and the unquestionable cure for whatever ails you. While traditional spots simmer massive pots of pork bones and broken rice for hours before dawn, Thai home cooks have a few brilliant tricks to achieve that exact same starchy magic on a Tuesday night. A blender breaks down the rice, a handful of sticky rice keeps it glossy, and a pounded paste of cilantro, garlic, and white pepper makes the pork impossibly flavorful. Keep it simple. This is exactly what it tastes like at a street cart in Bangkok, made right in your own kitchen.
Before you start
Soft-boil the eggs in advance.
Lower cold eggs into boiling water for exactly six minutes, then immediately transfer to an ice bath before gently peeling.
Ingredients
- jasmine rice1 cup
- glutinous rice1/4 cup
- water6 cup
- pork bouillon cubes2 small
- ground pork1 lb
- garlic cloves3 large
- cilantro roots or thick bottom stems3 med
- whole white peppercorns1 tsp
- thin soy sauce1 tbsp
- oyster sauce1 tbsp
- tapioca starch1 tbsp
- ice water2 tbsp
- eggs4 large
- fresh ginger1 med
- crispy fried garlic and its oil2 tbsp
- spring onions2 med
- fresh cilantro1 small bunch
- white pepper powder1 tsp
- Golden Mountain seasoning sauce or thin soy sauce1 tbsp
Method
- 01
Transfer the rinsed rice and one cup of water to a blender.
Pulse five to six times until the grains are broken into coarse, gritty pieces. Do not blend it into a fine paste; this hack mimics traditional Thai broken rice and drastically cuts the cooking time.
- 02
Aggressively pound the white peppercorns, garlic, and cilantro roots in a mortar and pestle.
Pound until they form a fine, aromatic paste known as Sam Kloe. If you lack a mortar, mince everything as finely as humanly possible and mash it repeatedly with the side of your knife.
- 03
Combine the ground pork, pounded aromatic paste, thin soy sauce, oyster sauce, tapioca starch, and ice water in a bowl.
Vigorously mix and slap the meat against the side of the bowl in a circular motion for about two minutes. The cold water prevents the fat from melting, while the starch and agitation extract proteins to create a tacky, cohesive paste. Set it in the fridge.
- 04
Bring the remaining five cups of water to a boil in a heavy pot and dissolve the pork bouillon cubes.
Stir the blended rice mixture into the boiling broth, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir frequently, scraping the bottom of the pot so the starches don't scorch, until it thickens into a luscious, velvety porridge.
- 05
Drop thumb-sized pieces of the pork paste directly into the gently simmering porridge.
Dip a small spoon into cold water to prevent sticking, scoop the pork, and let the meatballs poach for three to four minutes until they float to the surface and are cooked through. Turn off the heat.
- 06
Ladle the hot porridge and meatballs into warm bowls and crack a soft-boiled egg into the center of each.
Garnish generously with a pinch of julienned ginger, chopped spring onions and cilantro, a spoonful of crispy fried garlic with its oil, and a dusting of white pepper. Serve immediately with extra seasoning sauce on the side.
Notes
Glutinous rice is the secret to a stable porridge.
Adding a small percentage of sticky rice to the jasmine rice prevents the porridge from separating into a watery mess as it sits, a common flaw when only using jasmine rice.
White pepper is strictly mandatory.
Do not substitute black pepper in the aromatic paste or as a garnish; white pepper provides the distinct, earthy heat that authenticates this dish.
From Cook Thai in America.