Rice Porridge (Congee)

For all my fellow Southerners, I like to think of jhok as Thailand’s version of grits. Like most Thai porridges, it’s made with rice, but jhok is cooked with broken rice and simmered for so long that the rice breaks down until the texture is akin to a bowl of grits or oatmeal. The older and drier the leftover rice for this, the better. For the most part, jhok is served with garlicky pork meatballs, a dusting of white pepper, matchsticks of ginger, and a poached egg for good measure. My vers