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    Home » Recipes » All Recipes » Entrées

    Quick & Easy Congee with Meatballs

    Published: Apr 19, 2019 · Modified: Dec 7, 2020 by Pailin Chongchitnant · This post may contain affiliate links

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    Breakfast in Thailand

    There are not many dishes in Thailand that are considered specifically "breakfast food". Our breakfast often looks like lunch, snacks, or even dinner foods. Growing up in Thailand my breakfast was often just leftover dinner!

    Congee is the one exception. Congee, or what we call "jok" in Thai, is one of the few dishes considered "breakfast" and you can easily find it on the streets of Thailand in the morning (although you can buy jok at all times of the day, even night time, too.)

    Slow VS Quick Method for Making Congee

    I have a video that shows you the traditional way of making congee from scratch, starting with raw rice, just like street vendors do. This takes a long time stirring broken rice in a pot until thick and creamy.

    This version is much quicker and takes only 30 minutes. It still comes out equally delicious if you ask me, and is the reason why I never go back to the from-scratch method anymore! It does require that you have some rice already cooked (perfect for leftover rice), and you also need some good pork stock or chicken stock on hand as well.

    Watch The Full Video Tutorial!

    All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video below to ensure success - and if you enjoy the show, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. Thank you!

    Ingredients

    Here are all the ingredients you'll need to make this recipe. For amounts, check out the full recipe card below.

    Congee:

    • Cooked jasmine rice, can be leftover
    • Pork or chicken stock, unsalted (or if salted, reduce seasoning)
    • Soy sauce
    • Fish sauce
    • Ground white pepper, to taste
    • Green onion, chopped
    • Ginger, julienned, or more to taste

    Meatballs:

    • Ground pork or chicken, preferably not lean
    • Cloves garlic, finely grated
    • Ground white pepper
    • Soy sauce
    • Fish sauce
    • Sugar
    • Sesame oil (optional)

    How to Make Quick and Easy Congee with Meatballs

    Here are all the steps to make this recipe. If this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success.

    1. If the rice is chilled, microwave it for a minute so it’s hot, which will help it absorb liquid more readily.
    2.  Add rice to blender along with just enough of the stock to blend. Blend the rice briefly (several seconds) until you have your desired consistency—this could be coarser or finer depending on your preference, but make sure not to over-blend it cuz you do not want a smooth puree! (Tip: You do not actually have to blend the rice at all, but if you use whole rice it'll take longer to break down in the pot.)
    3. Pour blended rice into a heavy-bottomed pot, then use the remaining stock to rinse out the blender so you get everything out and add to the pot.
    4. Add soy sauce and fish sauce and bring rice to a simmer.
    5. Simmer for at least 10 minutes, or up to 20 minutes. The longer you simmer, the softer and smoother the texture will be, but for a “quick” version, I find that 10 minutes will do just fine. Once the rice starts to thicken up, stir frequently with a rubber spatula to prevent the bottom from sticking to the pot.
    6. While the rice is cooking, make meatballs simply by combining all ingredients in a mixing bowl and knead everything together with your hands until smooth (wear gloves if you have them).
    7. When rice is done, add meatballs in chunks directly into the rice using 2 teaspoons. Cook the meatballs for about 3 minutes until done.
    8. Taste and adjust seasoning.
    9. Stir in julienned ginger if you want, or you can leave it for each person to add to their own bowl when serving.
    10. Serve with green onions and extra white pepper if desired. Enjoy!

    If you want to add eggs, you can poach eggs separately and add it to the congee when serving. Or if you want the eggs mixed in, you can crack the eggs right into the congee, let them poach submerged in the congee for 3-4 minutes to firm up the whites slightly, then stir it up to mix into the congee.

    Recipe Card

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    Quick congee

    Quick and Easy Congee with Meatballs

    5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews
    • Author: Pailin Chongchitnant
    • Prep Time: 10 mins
    • Cook Time: 20 mins
    • Total Time: 30 minutes
    • Yield: 4 Servings
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    Description

    This Thai style congee recipe is so quick and easy you can make it on a weekend morning! All you need is some leftover rice 


    Ingredients

    Congee

    • 3 cups cooked jasmine rice, can be leftover
    • 4 cups pork or chicken stock, unsalted (or if salted, reduce seasoning)
    • 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp soy sauce
    • 2 tsp fish sauce
    • Ground white pepper, to taste
    • 1 green onion, chopped
    • 1 inch piece ginger, julienned, or more to taste

    Meatballs:

    • 250 g ground pork or chicken, preferably not lean
    • 2 cloves garlic, finely grated
    • ¼ tsp ground white pepper
    • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
    • 1 tsp fish sauce
    • 1 ½  tsp sugar
    • ½  tsp sesame oil (optional)

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    Instructions

    1. If the rice is chilled, microwave it for a minute so it’s hot, which will help it absorb liquid more readily.
    2.  Add rice to blender along with just enough of the stock to blend. Blend the rice briefly (several seconds) until you have your desired consistency—this could be coarser or finer depending on your preference, but make sure not to over-blend it cuz you do not want a smooth puree! (Tip: You do not actually have to blend the rice at all, but if you use whole rice it'll take longer to break down in the pot.)
    3. Pour blended rice into a heavy-bottomed pot, then use the remaining stock to rinse out the blender so you get everything out and add to the pot.
    4. Add soy sauce and fish sauce and bring rice to a simmer.
    5. Simmer for at least 10 minutes, or up to 20 minutes. The longer you simmer, the softer and smoother the texture will be, but for a “quick” version, I find that 10 minutes will do just fine. Once the rice starts to thicken up, stir frequently with a rubber spatula to prevent the bottom from sticking to the pot.
    6. While the rice is cooking, make meatballs simply by combining all ingredients in a mixing bowl and knead everything together with your hands until smooth (wear gloves if you have them).
    7. When rice is done, add meatballs in chunks directly into the rice using 2 teaspoons. Cook the meatballs for about 3 minutes until done.
    8. Taste and adjust seasoning.
    9. Stir in julienned ginger if you want, or you can leave it for each person to add to their own bowl when serving.
    10. Serve with green onions and extra white pepper if desired. Enjoy!

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    Notes

    If you want to add eggs, you can poach eggs separately and add it to the congee when serving. Or if you want the eggs mixed in, you can crack the eggs right into the congee, let them poach submerged in the congee for 3-4 minutes to firm up the whites slightly, then stir it up to mix into the congee.

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @HOTTHAIKITCHEN on Instagram and hashtag it #HotThaiKitchen!

    Congee is a traditional, classic Asian breakfast dish. With this method you can make this delicious comfort food in less than 20 minutes using leftover rice! #congee #thaifood #chinesefood #asianbreakfast

    Want to save this recipe?

    We can email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!

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    1. Maricar says

      September 21, 2024 at 6:32 am

      I just recently saw the video for this. I have brown rice instead, can it get the same treatment as the quick version?

      Reply
      • Pailin Chongchitnant says

        September 30, 2024 at 1:11 pm

        Yes, but the end result may not be as creamy as you're introducing a lot of fiber. I'd do half white half brown rice if possible.

        Reply
    2. Jim says

      January 05, 2024 at 6:59 am

      As always, love your recipes! Just curious, would this be baby friendly (6 months+). I've read that in Thailand Jok is sometimes a baby food?

      Thanks!

      Reply
      • Pailin Chongchitnant says

        January 08, 2024 at 1:49 pm

        Yes this would be baby friendly, but for 6 month olds you will need to smash the meatballs up obviously!

        Reply
      • Pailin Chongchitnant says

        January 08, 2024 at 1:49 pm

        Oh and less seasoning for babies!

        Reply
    3. Joe says

      January 08, 2022 at 7:36 pm

      I make the chicken or pork meatballs with chopped cilantro,garlic white pepper and sesame oil with fish and soy sauce.
      I let the mixture set for an hour then drop them into the cooking jook. I serve with toasted garlic, cilantro and rice vinegar with thai chillis. Aroi.

      Reply

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