I recently spent an unglamorous stay-cation moping around my Brooklyn apartment, fighting a viral infection.
But dammit, being sick sucks.
Thankfully, I can always depend on the healing presence of my cats, and my moms Thai jok.
Its a nourishing, warm hug of a soup, perfect for when youre feeling your worst.
What is jok ()?
In Thailand, you might find it served at restaurants that specialize in just this particular dish.
The soup base is made from broken jasmine rice and chicken broth.
Breaking it is key.
The rice in jok acts differently.
When you break the grains of rice, the inside is exposed to the broth.
As the water boils, the starches swell and burst.
Cook the rice
Cook a large quantity of rice, or just use leftover rice that you already have.
Chop the vegetables
Peel the ginger and finely chop orjuliennean inch or two of the root.
Store this in a small container with a lid.
check that the pieces arent packed too tightly or theyll freeze into a brick.
Do the same with a handful of cilantro.
Put the ginger in the freezer and the other two in the fridge.
Break apart the lump of rice with a spoon.
You want to break the rice into small parts, but you dont want to puree it into nothingness.
Add the mixture to a pot.
Let it boil for two or three minutes.
It will continue to thicken as it cools.
Turn off the heat and cover it with a lid.
Scoop the soup into a bowl, carefully spooning the poached eggs on top.
Add the rice and chicken broth to a medium sized pot.
Break up the rice into smaller clusters with a spoon.
Use an immersion blender to pulse the mixture about 10 times.
The goal is to break up the rice, but not to obliterate it.
Use a spoon to scoop some of the rice up so you might check on how its going.
The rice pieces should be small but distinguishable.
A few intact rice grains are fine.
Heat the mixture on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
Let the soup boil for a minute or two.
The mixture will thicken up toward the end of the cooking time and continue to thicken as it cools.
Just before turning off the heat, crack the eggs and drop them directly into the jok.
Cover the pot with a lid and turn off the heat.
Let the eggs poach for about 15 minutes.
Scoop the porridge into two bowls with one egg each and distribute the ginger, cilantro, and scallions.
Add salt and pepper as desired.
