Thai Khao Tom Soup with Spicy Pork Meatballs

A recent survey undertaken by an interested party in such matters has worked out that Thai people are the most dedicated commuters in our World. Many are prepared to commute to the larger cities like the capital Bangkok and Chang Mai in the north, and accept journey times from anything up to two hours. They are prepared more than any other nation to commute huge distances from their homes for the right job. After reading this curious survey I decided that perhaps a proportion of their journey might be spent in a noodle or Khao Tom bar having some breakfast. It has always struck me how Thai folk like to eat out and regularly enjoy a take away, the rice waiting prepared at home. They whizz by on their motorbikes with little plastic bags tied to their handlebars filled with delicious fragrant curry for their dinner. So eating out for breakfast on the way to work would be nothing out of the ordinary in Thailand.

Thai cuisine is a wonderful style of cooking; it feels like medicine for the mind, body and soul when prepared correctly using the right balance of fresh spices and herbs. The sweet, sour and salty flavours sometimes fiery and sometimes pleasantly bitter are incredible and delicious if handled with care. Breakfast for many Thai people is a bowl of rice soup called Khao Tom. Traditionally made with ground pork, chicken or prawns and made with leftover rice from yesterday’s dinner. It is a quick breakfast to make and a gentle start to the day, one reminiscent in its effects to Jewish chicken noodle soup. Often prescribed for the elderly or the young and enjoyed by nighttime revellers as a precaution to decrease being hit with the consequence.

In my recipe I have made the ground pork into small spiced  meatballs that are lightly poached in the soup prior to serving. The contrast of their peppery taste against the gentle quiet flavour of the soup is lovely. If you wish, once served, everyone can add their own garnish and extra flavourings to their bowl to suit their own particular palate. Serve this soup with some finely chopped spring onions, torn coriander, lightly fried garlic slices and some thinly sliced red chilli, for the brave. Thai commuters soup, delicious.

A word of warning when using leftover cooked rice, care must be taken. Cool the cooked rice for up to an hour before storing it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Cooked rice left standing at room temperature can encourage some food poisoning spores to develop and re-heating the rice will not kill the spores off. Never reheat this rice more than once. It is far better to make rice fresh when needed.

Spicy Pork Meatballs

makes 20

250 gms ground pork

1 tbsp black peppercorns

1 tspn Thai shrimp paste

1 tspn palm sugar

1 washed coriander root

2 fat garlic cloves

Place the peppercorns, Thai shrimp paste, palm sugar, garlic and coriander root into a mortar and pestle and grind until peppercorns are finely crushed and a dark pungent paste is formed.   Remove the coriander root as it will be stringy and it is the earthy flavour that you are after. Place the ground pork into the mortar and pestle and pound the meat and paste together for a good 5 minutes or until the paste is distributed throughout the meat. Make the meat mixture into small balls the size of Quail eggs. Put them into the refridgerator for half an hour to firm up.

Khao Tom Soup

Serves 4

250 gms freshly cooked jasmine rice

1 litre fresh chicken stock

1 lime leaf

4-6 tbsp fish sauce


Put the stock into a large saucepan and add the fish sauce. Bring gently up to the boil. Once boiling add the cooked rice and carefully put you meatballs into the soup, boil for five minutes, lower the heat and let the soup simmer for ten minutes to ensure the meatballs are poached all the way through. Serve in deep bowls with freshly torn coriander, some sliced spring onions, fried garlic and some finely sliced red chilli.