Mod’s food recommendation: Thai Hot Pot (Jim Jum)

A fantastic way to relax over dinner with a few friends. A small clay pot filled with an outstanding aromatic broth sits over a bed of charcoal. There are raw morning glory , cabbage , thin sliced meats (usually pork, beef and liver), beaten eggs, glass noodles, and the all important holy Thai basil.

This dish is called จิ้มจุ่ม [jîm-jùm ] or จุ่มจิ้ม [jùm-jîm].  The name is given by the way you have this dish. You are served with a clay pot filled with broth. When the broth is boiling, then you first add the vegetables. This will lower the temperature in the pot a little and you should wait until it boils again before putting a piece of meat in the pot using your chopstick, and cook the meat for just less than one minute. (If you cook the meat too long, it will become chewy)

So,  the first stage of cooking  is called  จุ่ม [jùm] to dip something in water.

Then, you dip your meat in a small bowl of spicy dipping sauce which is called to จิ้ม [jîm] to dip something in the sauce.

Its origins are Lao or Khmer. Thai Northeastern people call this dish แจ่วฮ้อน [jàew hórn]

My favorite part of this meal is having the soup. The soup becomes richer the more meat and vegetables are boiled in it and is best at the end. A-ROY maak ka!!

My favourite place to have Jim Jum is at a street place in Soi Sukhumvit 20. It is just about 50 meters from the beginning of the Soi, and it is on your left hand side. This place has no name. There are 6 or 7  tables and plastic chairs, and it is always full. Last time I went there I had to wait for a table for 15 minutes.

 

Have you ever had Jim Jum? How did you like it?