Recipes

Rice Soup with Minced Pork

Khao Tom Moo Sap

Rice soup with ground pork in a light lemongrass and ginger broth

Prep

10 min

Cook

7 min

Serves

4

Heat

mild

Khao Tom is the kind of soup Thai cooks reach for on a cold morning or when they're not feeling well, built on already-cooked rice simmered briefly in a broth infused with lemongrass and ginger rather than cooked from raw grains the way congee often is. Ground pork fries first with garlic and shallot to build a savory base, and the seasoning comes together at the very end with fish sauce and fresh lime, tasted and adjusted until it lands somewhere pleasantly sour and salty. Crispy fried shallots scattered on top, along with a few fresh ginger slivers, round out a soup that's meant to be gentle and comforting rather than bold.

Ingredients

• 5 1/3 cups Cooked Thai jasmine rice (made ahead, or leftover)
• 5.3 oz Ground pork loin
• 3 stalks Lemongrass (cut into 2-3 pieces per stalk)
• 10 Red shallots (peeled, thinly sliced for frying, some finely chopped for the base)
• 3 Green onions (cut into pieces)
• 5 sprigs Coriander/cilantro leaves (chopped, some reserved for garnish)
• 2 inch piece Fresh ginger (peeled, cut into thin slivers, some reserved for garnish)
• 3 Garlic cloves (finely chopped)
• 1-2 Thai hot chili (sliced thin)
• 4 tablespoons Lime juice
• 1 1/3 tablespoons Fish sauce
• 5 1/3 cups Water

Directions

1. Have the rice cooked ahead of time. Peel and thinly slice some of the shallots for frying, and finely chop the rest along with the garlic. Chop the cilantro and cut the green onion. Slice the chili thin. Squeeze the lime juice. Cut the lemongrass into pieces. Peel and sliver the ginger, saving a few pieces for garnish.
2. Heat oil in a small frying pan and fry the sliced shallots over low heat until browned and crispy. Remove and set aside for garnish.
3. Add a small amount of oil to a soup pot, just enough to coat the bottom. Fry the chopped garlic and shallots for a few seconds.
4. Add the ground pork and fry until completely cooked.
5. Add the water and let the soup start to heat up.
6. Add the lemongrass and ginger slivers (saving a few ginger slivers for garnish). Boil hard for about 5 minutes.
7. Remove the lemongrass pieces from the soup.
8. Add the pre-cooked rice to the soup.
9. Add the green onion, chopped cilantro, fish sauce, and lime juice.
10. Boil for about a minute, then turn off the heat and taste — the flavor should be a little sour and a little salty. Adjust with more fish sauce for salt or more lime for sour until it tastes right.
11. Serve topped with the fried shallots, reserved ginger slivers, cilantro leaves, green onion, and sliced red chili.

Notes

Pull the lemongrass pieces out before adding the rice — they've done their job infusing the broth by then, and leaving them in just makes for an unpleasant bite later.

Substitutions

Ground chicken or fish can replace the pork with no other changes to the method.