Chim Chum (Jim Jum): Thai Herb-Broth Hot Pot with Pork and Toasted Rice Dip

Chim Chum: Herb-Scented Pork Broth, Cooked at the Table

Plain pork stock comes to a rapid simmer. Smashed lemongrass, torn kaffir lime leaves and thin rounds of galangal go in and simmer rapidly for 3–5 minutes. The pot then moves to the table. Thin slices of marinated pork, napa cabbage, water spinach, Thai basil and softened glass noodles are cooked in it a little at a time. Each cooked piece is lifted out and dipped into a small bowl of fish sauce, lime, tamarind, roasted chili and toasted rice powder.

That is the shape of the recipe here. It is a version of the Thai hot pot that Pailin Chongchitnant publishes on Hot Thai Kitchen as "Jim Jum" (จิ้มจุ่ม). It is limited to one branch of that recipe: the clear pork-stock pot with pork as the only meat. The scaling, the vegetable choices and the food-safety notes are explained below. This version has not been kitchen-tested by Sekai Gohan.

For more dishes from the same country, see Thai recipes.

Whose Recipe This Is, and How the Name Shifts Between Sources

The recipe followed here is Pailin Chongchitnant's "Thai Hot Pot 'Jim Jum' จิ้มจุ่ม แจ่วฮ้อน." On that page, Jim Jum is described as a northeastern Thai hot pot that is also called jeaw hon in Isaan dialect. The page frames it as a meal cooked and shared with family and friends.

On the author's own profile, Pailin describes being a trained chef who grew up in Hat Yai in southern Thailand. The profile also mentions studying nutritional sciences at UBC, working in professional kitchens, and attending Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in San Francisco. That is background on who wrote the recipe. It does not make the recipe the single authoritative form of the dish.

Other sources group the names differently:

This article does not decide which naming is "correct," and it does not claim an origin town, inventor or date for the dish. It makes only the clear, herb-infused pork-stock version from Pailin's recipe. No blood, no phia, and no other dipping sauce.

Scaling for Two: Why the Pork Doubles but the Broth Does Not

Pailin's recipe card gives a yield of 2, "Serves 2–3." It lists 150 g of thinly sliced beef, pork or chicken, marinated with:

• 1 tsp each of oyster sauce, soy sauce and oil
• 1 tbsp egg white
• 1/2 tsp tapioca starch or cornstarch

The body of the same page, however, suggests about 150 g of protein per person.

This version is for two people eating pork. It follows the per-person guidance, so the pork is 300 g. Only the meat marinade is doubled, and tapioca starch is the chosen thickener. The stock, broth aromatics, dipping sauce, vegetables and noodles stay at the card's 2–3-serving amounts. This is a plain arithmetic adjustment made for this article. It is not a number printed on the card.

The card's optional step of dipping raw meat into raw egg yolk before cooking is left out of this version. Egg white is used only in the pork marinade.

Ingredients for Two

The pork and its marinade are for two people. The dip and the broth are made in one batch for the shared pot.

Toasted rice powder goes in twice, in separate amounts: 1 tbsp into the dip and 1 heaping tbsp into the pot. Fish sauce is also used twice: 2 tbsp in the dip and 1 tbsp in the broth.

Equipment

• Covered bowl for marinating the pork in the refrigerator
• Mixing bowl and spoon for the dip
• Small separate bowl to hold back the toasted rice powder
• Bowl of water for soaking the glass noodles
• Kitchen scissors
• Saucepan or pot for the broth that can be kept simmering at the table
• Separate plates for vegetables, noodles and the raw pork
• Tongs used only for the raw pork
• Clean hot-pot strainer
• Clean eating chopsticks and small dipping bowls

Choosing and Substituting

Pork stock. Use plain unsalted pork stock. If you make it from scratch, simmer pork bones in water for 2 hours.

Sawtooth coriander or cilantro. Use sawtooth coriander in the dip. Cilantro is the alternative, but it is not an exact equivalent.

Tapioca starch or cornstarch. Either works in the marinade. Use tapioca starch here, and use only one of the two.

Vegetables and noodles. Use napa cabbage, water spinach, Thai basil and glass noodles. Thai basil is a must-have.

Method: Marinate, Mix, Infuse, Then Cook at the Table

Keeping Raw Pork Away from the Dip

The recipe does not give a cooking time for thin pork slices in the pot, and none is suggested here. FoodSafety.gov recommends using a food thermometer. Its chart lists pork steaks, roasts and chops at 145°F (63°C) with a 3-minute rest. That entry covers whole cuts, not thin hot-pot slices, so it should not be turned into a guessed number of minutes. Color alone is not a safety measurement.

When Something Goes Off Course

Variations Within the Recipe's Own Options

Pailin's recipe card offers beef or chicken as well as pork, at the same 150 g line with the same marinade. The page also mentions seafood, liver and tofu as options that do not need the marinade. This article covers only the pork branch.

The recipe lists other vegetables as well: other greens, spinach, carrot, Asian mushrooms, cilantro stems and Chinese celery. They are not part of this version, and the recipe gives no amounts for them. The card also includes an optional raw egg yolk dip for the meat before it goes into the broth, which is omitted here. For context, FoodSafety.gov's chart says raw eggs should be cooked until the yolk and white are firm.

Sharing the Pot

Pailin's page presents the hot pot as a meal cooked together with family and friends. The MICHELIN Guide Thailand feature describes hot-pot eating as widely popular in Thailand. It calls Jaew Hon especially common in Isan, and describes sharing the pot with family or friends. Those are the sources' descriptions of how the dish is enjoyed. They are not a rule for every household in Thailand.

Cooking at a shared pot is a format this dish has in common with other table-cooked dishes. That shared format alone does not make it the same dish as any of them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Chim Chum and Jaew Hon the same dish?

The sources disagree. Pailin's recipe and the Tourism Authority of Thailand media page put the names together. MICHELIN Guide Thailand treats them as similar but different. In its account, Chim Chum has a clear herbal broth, and Jaew Hon has a richer broth that includes blood and sometimes phia. This article makes only the clear pork-stock version from Pailin's recipe.

Can I use cilantro instead of sawtooth coriander?

Pailin's recipe names cilantro as an alternative for the dip. This version uses sawtooth coriander. Cilantro is the recipe's own alternative, not a claim that the two taste the same.

How long does the pork take in the pot?

The recipe does not give a time, and this article does not suggest one. Cook each slice until done in the simmering broth. Don't rely on color alone, and use a food thermometer if you want a measurement.

Can I make the pork stock myself?

Yes. The recipe's note says to simmer pork bones in water for 2 hours. It gives no amounts of bones or water, so none are added here. You need 4 cups of plain, unsalted stock.

Is this the Thai version of Japanese sukiyaki?

No. Both are eaten around a shared pot, but this article does not treat chim chum as sukiyaki or as a version of it.

Has this version been tested?

No. This version has not been kitchen-tested by Sekai Gohan. It follows Pailin Chongchitnant's written recipe, with the pork and marinade doubled for two people as explained above.

Sources