Khao Tom Moo — Thai Rice Soup with Ground Pork (Budget Batch)

Name: Khao Tom Moo — Thai Rice Soup with Ground Pork (Budget Batch)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 6 clove garlic; 2 inch fresh ginger; 454 g ground pork; 6 cup water; 3 cup cooked jasmine rice; 2 tbsp fish sauce; 1 tsp sugar; 0.5 tsp white pepper; 4 stalk green onion; 0.5 cup fresh cilantro; 1 piece lime; 2 piece large egg; 2 tbsp fried shallots or fried garlic; 0.5 tsp chili flakes; 0.5 tsp salt

A simple, filling Thai rice soup built from cheap pantry staples and leftover rice. Gentle-flavored and quick to make, it feeds four on a very small budget and doubles easily for leftovers.

AI image

30 min

start to finish

10 min

hands on

Easy

difficulty

servings

4 servings

Ingredients

Contains fish. Cooking for an allergy? Check the label on every packet you use — brands differ, and we can only tell you what the recipe calls for.

Method

Heat the oil in a medium pot over medium heat until shimmering.
Add the minced garlic and ginger and sauté, stirring, until fragrant and just starting to color.
Add the ground pork and break it into small pieces with the back of a spoon; cook until it's mostly opaque.
Pour in the water and raise to a gentle boil.
Reduce heat to a simmer and cook uncovered to let flavors blend.
Simmering briefly with the pork lets a little flavor come out into the broth without needing stock.
Stir in the cooked rice, fish sauce, sugar and white pepper until the rice is evenly distributed.
Simmer the soup so the rice loosens and the broth thickens slightly.
If using beaten egg, stir the soup in one direction to create a gentle whirlpool and slowly drizzle in the egg while stirring to form soft ribbons.
Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and extra fish sauce if needed.
Stir in the sliced green onion whites and half the cilantro, then remove the pot from the heat.
Ladle the soup into bowls, top with remaining cilantro, green onion greens, fried shallots or garlic if using, and serve with lime wedges and chili flakes on the side.

Worth knowing

Use leftover day-old rice — it breaks down faster and gives a silkier texture than freshly cooked rice.
If you don't have ground pork, swap for ground chicken or a couple of diced inexpensive chicken thighs (adjust cooking time until cooked through).
For more body on a tiny budget, add a peeled and quartered potato (add with the water) or a handful of shredded cabbage.
Leftovers keep 2–3 days in the fridge; reheat gently on the stove and add a splash of water if it thickens too much.

Make it yours

Cooking without dairy, without an oven, for someone who won't touch chilli, or for six instead of four? Have the recipe rewritten around it — quantities, steps and all.

BudgetMeal prep

More Thai cooking

An original Restaurant Pro recipe — our own composition in the idiom of Thai cooking, not any restaurant's recipe.