With tender meatballs and fragrant rice, Thai Rice and Meatball Soup (Khao Tom) is a cozy soup that makes a great stand-in for chicken noodle soup if you want something hearty and aromatic.

Although Thai Rice and Meatball Soup and other similar soups were extremely common in Bangkok for breakfast, I hadn’t had it for a few years when I came across a version in Milk Street: Tuesday Nights. I quickly made that version, wanting something that would fight off the chill of January and that would be an easy win with my kids. 

The version I’m sharing below takes some inspiration from Milk Street in the meatball technique, but for the broth, I returned to my Thai cooking lessons from years ago and used a similar method to making broth for Tom Yum Goong. The process is simple – smash the aromatics gently to bring out their flavor, saute them for a few minutes, and simmer them in stock. Then, and this is key, remove and discard those aromatics before adding the meatballs and rice. 

What you are left with is a soup that is full of flavor, but with no pieces of aromatics floating around to dissuade suspicious six-year-olds from diving in. It’s comfort food at its most delicious. 

Ingredients

• Fish Sauce – For the most authentic flavor, use fish sauce in the meatballs and to flavor the broth. I prefer Red Boat Fish Sauce which has fewer additives and a very clean flavor. You can definitely use soy sauce as a sub if you prefer. 
• Ground Meat – Ground pork is classic and adds a ton of flavor, but ground chicken or turkey will work just fine (use dark meat chicken or turkey if you can find them since they’ll be more tender and moist once cooked). 
• Ginger, Shallots, Garlic, and Lemongrass – These are the flavorful foundation for the stock. Don’t skip any of them if you can help it, and you’ll get the most flavorful base. See below for more information on how to prepare these for adding to the soup. 
• Soy Sauce – Adds savory flavor to the soup. Use Tamari to make this recipe gluten-free.
• Stock / Broth – I use store-bought chicken or vegetable stock as the base of the soup. Homemade would also be great. In a pinch you can use water, but the soup won’t have nearly as much flavor. 
• Cooked Jasmine Rice – The rice should be cooked before being added to the soup and then you can continue cooking it until the soup reaches your desired consistency. This is a great use for leftover rice!
• Lime Juice – Don’t skip the lime juice stirred into the soup at the end. It adds a key fresh / tart flavor. 

How to Make Stock for Thai Rice and Meatball Soup

The key to a flavorful soup is a stock made with a specific combination of aromatics – ginger, shallot, garlic, and lemongrass. 

1. Before getting started, smash the ginger, shallot, garlic, and lemongrass gently with a rolling pin or meat tenderizer. You want them to stay mostly intact (you won’t want small pieces of these in your finished soup), but smashing them helps them to release more flavor into the stock as it cooks. (Tip: to minimize mess, you can put these in a small plastic bag before smashing them.)
2. Saute aromatics for a few minutes over medium heat to get them started cooking, 2 to 3 minutes. 
3. Add fish sauce, soy sauce, and stock to aromatics and simmer for 15 minutes to flavor the stock. 

How Long to Simmer the Soup

This soup typically comes in two different textures, so you can customize it to your preference. 

1. Simmer the rice for 5 minutes for a broth-y texture in which the rice grains are small and separate.
2. Simmer for up to 15 minutes for a thicker texture (like rice porridge / congee / jok) in which the rice grains absorb most of the broth and are plump.

Keep in mind that the rice will absorb the liquid as it sits, so if you serve this soup as leftovers, it will likely become the thicker porridge-like texture.

Meatballs – These freeze well, so if you want to prepare ahead for another meal, double the meatball recipe and freeze half to make another batch of soup down the road.

If you are making this meal ahead for yourself or someone else, prepare stock and rice as directed. Store separately. Refrigerate for up to 3 days. Freeze for up to 4 months. Print and attach the label below so cooking instructions are ready when you are!

More Cozy Soup Recipes

Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup with Ginger

Easy Wonton Soup

Lentil Chili

Moroccan Red Lentil Soup