I not too long ago spent an unglamorous stay-cation moping round my Brooklyn condo, preventing a viral an infection. It’s winter. Colds occur. But dammit, being sick sucks. Few issues give me consolation amid a bout of illness—blankets are both too sizzling or not heat sufficient, tea parches my throat, and sleep is difficult to come back by. Thankfully, I can all the time rely upon the therapeutic presence of my cats, and my mother’s Thai jok.
Since I’m not keen to lend you my cats, let me let you know how I batch put together every week’s price of my mother’s soothing rice porridge to eat till I really feel higher. It’s a nourishing, heat hug of a soup, excellent for while you’re feeling your worst.
What is jok (โจ๊ก)?
Thai jok (pronounced a bit like “joe-g”) is a comforting rice porridge just like dishes from different Asian nations (factor Chinese congee, or lugaw from the Philippines). In Thailand, you will discover it served at eating places focusing on simply this specific dish. Jok is primarily eaten for breakfast, however I prefer to have it for lunch too, particularly after I’m sick and my sleep schedule is struggling.
The soup base is produced from damaged jasmine rice and rooster broth. You should buy baggage of damaged rice at some asian grocery shops for this goal, however I simply break up common rice by myself. Breaking it’s key. You’ve in all probability added grain-intact rice to soup earlier than; this rice swells and sits on the backside of the bowl. The rice in jok acts in another way.
When you break the grains of rice, the within is uncovered to the broth. As the water boils, the starches swell and burst. As the construction of the grain is already destroyed, extra of the obtainable gelatinized starch releases into the broth, making the soup silky and glutinous.
Once you’ve got the bottom porridge ready, poach an egg within the sizzling liquid, add shredded meats, shrimp, or meatballs and high with contemporary herbs and aromatics—cilantro, contemporary chopped ginger, fried garlic, and chopped scallions. You can mix all or any of those additions, however after I’m feeling down within the dumps myself, a combo of rooster broth, egg, cilantro, and ginger are indispensable in my bowl.
How to make jok the simple method
Cooking from scratch is the very last thing you wish to do while you’re sick, and whereas making this soup isn’t as simple as cracking a can of Progresso, it’s mild years extra satisfying. To make it a tad simpler than the traditional preparation, I prefer to meal prep the parts to make a soup that can final me every week—I simply must warmth it up and drop in a pair eggs when I’m hungry. This makes the method way more manageable, and it nonetheless tastes simply pretty much as good as when my mother makes it.
1. Cook the rice
Cook a big amount of rice, or simply use leftover rice that you have already got. I often dump one and a half cups every of jasmine rice and water into my rice cooker and press “cook,” however in case you prefer to make rice in a pot, do your factor. Once the rice is cooked and cooled, put it in a container with a lid and retailer it within the fridge.
2. Chop the greens
Whenever I make a bowl of jok I simply take a pinch of every. They’ll hold properly for a couple of week.
Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
Peel the ginger and finely chop or julienne an inch or two of the foundation. Store this in a small container with a lid. Make positive the items aren’t packed too tightly or they’ll freeze right into a brick. Chop three or 4 scallions into skinny rounds and retailer them in a small container with a moist paper towel. Do the identical with a handful of cilantro. You can retailer them individually in their very own containers or do a roommate state of affairs like I did within the image. Put the ginger within the freezer and the opposite two within the fridge.
3. Make the jok
When you’re prepared for soup, you’ll be able to break the rice with an immersion blender, a meals processor, or a typical blender. I exploit an immersion blender, so I pour two cups of rooster broth right into a medium sized pot and add a couple of cup of the cooked, leftover rice. (Once you will get the dangle of it, you’ll be able to modify the thickness of the soup by adjusting the quantity of rice.) Break aside the lump of rice with a spoon. Use an immersion blender and pulse the combination within the pot, concentrating on completely different areas, about 10 to fifteen instances. If you’re utilizing a blender or meals processor, add the broth and rice to the blender and pulse 10 to fifteen instances. You wish to break the rice into small elements, however you don’t wish to purée it into nothingness. Add the combination to a pot.
This rice has been pulsed 10 instances. It’s nearly there however there are a number of complete grains nonetheless. I pulsed it one other 5 instances after taking this image.
Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
Turn the burner on to medium-low and permit the porridge to warmth up, stirring sometimes because it heats and thickens. Let it boil for 2 or three minutes. It will proceed to thicken because it cools.
4. Add your toppings
If you’re including eggs, and I extremely advocate you do, crack and drop them straight into the gently boiling jok. Turn off the warmth and canopy it with a lid. Let the eggs poach for about quarter-hour, which can go away you with a runny yolk that can cool the porridge right down to the right temperature to appease a sore throat. If you want your eggs cooked additional, you’ll be able to all the time snap the warmth again on for a couple of minutes.
Scoop the soup right into a bowl, fastidiously spooning the poached eggs on high. Add a pinch every of frozen ginger (it’ll thaw when you stir it in), scallions, and cilantro.
This recipe makes sufficient jok for 2 servings and consists of toppings that ship a light taste, with soothing qualities for the stomach and throat. You can eat it any time of yr, after all, and change up the toppings along with your temper. Try including fried garlic chips, chili crisp, cooked leftover slices of beef or rooster, and a dab of soy sauce and fish sauce in case you’d like a lift of saltiness and umami. Keep the batch-prepared parts within the fridge and freezer in order that they’re prepared for you while you want a pick-me-up in the course of the week.
Quick Jok Recipe
Ingredients:
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1 cup of leftover cooked jasmine rice
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2 cups of rooster broth
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2 eggs
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2 teaspoons chopped contemporary or frozen ginger
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2 teaspoons chopped contemporary cilantro
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2 teaspoons sliced scallions
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Salt and pepper if desired
1. Add the rice and rooster broth to a medium sized pot. Break up the rice into smaller clusters with a spoon. Use an immersion blender to pulse the combination about 10 instances. The objective is to interrupt up the rice, however to not obliterate it. Use a spoon to scoop a number of the rice up so you’ll be able to test on the way it’s going. The rice items must be small however distinguishable. A number of intact rice grains are effective.
2. Heat the combination on medium-low warmth, stirring sometimes. Let the soup boil for a minute or two. The combination will thicken up towards the tip of the cooking time and proceed to thicken because it cools.
3. Just earlier than turning off the warmth, crack the eggs and drop them instantly into the jok. Cover the pot with a lid and switch off the warmth. Let the eggs poach for about quarter-hour. Scoop the porridge into two bowls with one egg every and distribute the ginger, cilantro, and scallions. Add salt and pepper as desired.
