Cơm Tấm — Vietnamese Broken Rice with Grilled Pork
Saigon's signature plate: fluffy 'broken' rice topped with a smoky, caramelised lemongrass pork chop (sườn nướng), served with a fried egg, pickled vegetables, fragrant scallion oil and a bowl of nuoc cham to pour over. Once a thrifty dish made from fractured rice grains, it's now the beloved breakfast-to-dinner staple of southern Vietnam.
Marinate pork chops (or shoulder steaks) in lemongrass, garlic, shallot, fish sauce, sugar and a little caramel/honey, then grill over high heat until charred and caramelised. Cook broken rice (or short-grain rice) until fluffy. Make a quick scallion oil and a bowl of nuoc cham, and ready some pickled carrot and daikon. Plate the rice with the grilled pork, a fried egg, the pickles and a drizzle of scallion oil, and pour the nuoc cham over to taste.
- Marinate the pork in lemongrass and fish sauce, then grill hot for a smoky, caramelised char.
- Broken rice is traditional and especially fluffy; short-grain rice is the closest substitute.
- Scallion oil (mỡ hành) and nuoc cham are essential finishes — they make the plate.
Equipment
- Grill, griddle or grill pan
- Rice cooker or pot
- Small bowls
Ingredients
Grilled pork (sườn nướng)
- 4 pork chops or shoulder steaks
- 2 stalks lemongrass, minced
- 3 garlic cloves, 2 shallots, minced
- 30 ml fish sauce
- 30 g sugar, plus 1 tbsp honey or caramel
- 1 tbsp oil, black pepper
To serve
- 300 g broken rice (or short-grain rice)
- 4 eggs, fried
- Scallion oil (mỡ hành); pickled carrot & daikon
- Nuoc cham; sliced cucumber and tomato
Method
- STEP01
Mix the lemongrass, garlic, shallot, fish sauce, sugar, honey, oil and pepper, and coat the pork. Marinate at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.
- STEP02
Rinse and cook the broken rice (it cooks like, but slightly faster than, regular rice) until fluffy. Keep warm.
- STEP03
Make scallion oil by pouring hot oil over sliced spring onion with a pinch of salt. Mix a bowl of nuoc cham (fish sauce, lime, sugar, water, garlic, chilli), and ready the pickled vegetables.
- STEP04
Grill the marinated pork over high heat (charcoal is best), turning, until charred, caramelised and cooked through, about 8–10 minutes. Rest briefly.
- STEP05
Mound the rice on each plate with a grilled pork chop, a fried egg, pickles and cucumber. Drizzle the pork and rice with scallion oil and serve the nuoc cham to pour over to taste.
Make ahead
Marinate the pork and make the nuoc cham, scallion oil and pickles ahead — all keep well and improve. Grill the pork, cook the rice and fry the eggs fresh to serve.
Storage
Best fresh and hot. Grilled pork keeps 3 days refrigerated and reheats well (re-char in a hot pan); marinated raw pork freezes well. Cook rice and fry eggs fresh. Nuoc cham keeps a week, scallion oil a few days.
Variations
Full 'sườn bì chả'
Add shredded pork skin (bì) and a steamed egg-pork meatloaf (chả trứng) for the classic loaded com tam.
Chicken
Use the same lemongrass marinade on chicken thighs instead of pork.
Short-grain rice
If you can't find broken rice, use ordinary short- or medium-grain rice.
Serve with
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition values are estimates based on the metric measurements. Adjust as needed.
Frequently asked
What is broken rice?
Broken rice (cơm tấm/tấm) is rice made from grains that fractured during milling. Once sold cheaply, it cooks up especially soft and fluffy with a slightly different texture, and is the traditional base for this Saigon dish. If you can't find it, short- or medium-grain rice is the closest substitute.
What cut of pork is best for sườn nướng?
Thin pork chops or pork shoulder steaks work best — enough fat to stay juicy and caramelise over high heat. Pound them a little so they're even, and grill hot so the sugar in the marinade chars and lacquers the surface.
What is mỡ hành (scallion oil)?
Mỡ hành is a simple scallion oil made by pouring hot oil over sliced spring onions (sometimes with a little fish sauce or sugar). Drizzled over the rice and pork, it adds richness, gloss and fragrance — a small but essential finish on com tam.
Why grill over high heat?
The marinade is sweet with sugar and honey, so high heat (especially charcoal) chars and caramelises the surface into a smoky, lacquered crust — the defining flavour of sườn nướng. Too low and the pork stews and stays pale instead of developing that char.
What goes on a classic com tam plate?
At its fullest (cơm tấm sườn bì chả): broken rice, a grilled lemongrass pork chop, shredded pork skin (bì), a steamed egg-and-pork meatloaf (chả trứng), a fried egg, pickled vegetables, cucumber, scallion oil and nuoc cham. A simpler version is just the rice, grilled pork, egg and nuoc cham.
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