Jok (Thai rice porridge)

Rice

Rinse the rice, cover with 1.5 l of water and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat for 40–45 minutes, stirring often, until the grains break down into a thick porridge.

The porridge catches easily — stir every 5 minutes and add hot water if it gets too thick.

Ground meat

Finely grate the ginger. Mix the pork with half the ginger, 1 tbsp of fish sauce and the pepper until sticky.

Garlic

Finely chop the garlic and fry it in the oil over medium heat for 2–3 minutes until golden. Tip it straight into a bowl with the oil — garlic turns bitter quickly.

Meatballs

With wet hands, roll the pork into walnut-sized balls and drop them into the simmering porridge with the remaining ginger. Cook for 7–8 minutes until the meatballs are white all the way through, with no pink.

Eggs

Add the remaining fish sauce and salt to taste. Crack the eggs into the porridge, spaced apart, and cook for 3–4 minutes without stirring until the whites are set.

In Thailand a raw egg is often cracked straight into the bowl of hot jok, but the white may stay raw — cooking the eggs in the pot is safer.

Serving

Finely chop the green onions. Ladle the jok into bowls with one egg in each and top with green onions, fried garlic and a little pepper. Done!