198 The Magnetic Thai Grandma and Her Soothing Breakfast Jok

The Storied Recipe

198 The Magnetic Thai Grandma and Her Soothing Breakfast Jok

January 14, 2026

What was your first moment of consciousness this morning? The sound of an alarm clock? The feeling of a toddler whose presence you felt before you even opened your eyes? If you’re really lucky, maybe it was the sun in your eyes?

For Dom, it was the smell of garlic, gently frying outside. Then sounds - a burner catches, the scrape of an aluminum pan, the soft shuffling of small feet, rain on the roof of their home harmonizing with the sound of rain on the roof of their small outdoor kitchen in Thailand.

Still bleary-eyed, but now awake enough to put his feet on the floor, Dom follows another scent — jasmine rice, steaming, floral and comforting - through a doorway and into the morning light.

Predictably, she is already there. Dom’s grandmother squats near the burner, reaching for the soy sauce in its place in line with the other small glass jars of cooking essentials.

When she turns and sees Dom, her beloved grandson - her precious son - her face opens into a smile and the beauty of her youth, a beauty that lifted her from poverty, glows undimmed.

Years later, Dom and Sherri’s kids come home on Friday evenings in their suburban North Carolina home to the same smell - but much more significantly, to the same stability, the same predictability, the same safe assurance of a loving home where they are cherished and prioritized - that Dom awoke to a generation ago.

This is the story of a woman who changed the future of generations. Tiny as she was, she stood in the path of generational addictions and said, like Gandalf to the Balrog, “You shall not pass.”

Because of the way she loved and raised Dom, her grandson turned son, a legacy was changed for generations.

Listen to Sherri and Dom Now

Follow The Storied Recipe in Your Favorite Player Sherri and Dom's Recipe: Thai Breakfast Rice Porridge with Crispy Garlic & Pork https://thestoriedrecipe.com/thai-jok-thai-congee/ Connect with Sherri Pengjad

Read more about Sherri on Thai Foodie.com

Email Sherri at sherri@thai-foodie.com

Learn about Sherri's cooking classes

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198 The Magnetic Thai Grandma and Her Soothing Breakfast Jok

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