How to Make the Perfect Com Tam Broken Rice
Vietnamese · Medium · 50 min · 4 servings
A quintessential Saigon street food dish built on a base of fragrant broken jasmine rice topped with a charcoal-grilled pork chop marinated in lemongrass and fish sauce, alongside a fried egg and tangy nuoc cham. It is a complete and deeply satisfying meal that captures the heart of southern Vietnamese home cooking.
Why this recipe works
This Com Tam Broken Rice recipe has been crafted to deliver restaurant-quality results in your home kitchen. At just 50 minutes from start to finish, it fits perfectly into a busy schedule without sacrificing flavor. Each serving comes in at 610 calories with 42g of protein, making it a balanced choice for any meal.
What you will need
This recipe uses 6 simple ingredients that you can find at any grocery store:
- 2 cups broken jasmine rice
- 4 whole thin bone-in pork chops
- 3 tbsp lemongrass minced
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 4 whole large eggs
- 4 tbsp nuoc cham dipping sauce
Step by step instructions
Step 1: Marinate the Pork Chops
Combine minced lemongrass with fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 2 minced garlic cloves, and 1 tablespoon of neutral oil. Score the pork chops lightly on both sides with a knife to help the marinade penetrate. Coat thoroughly and marinate for at least 20 minutes or up to 4 hours in the refrigerator for deeper flavor.
Step 2: Cook the Broken Rice
Rinse the broken rice under cold water until the water runs mostly clear. Cook in a rice cooker or on the stovetop using a 1 to 1.5 water ratio. Broken rice absorbs less water than whole grain rice, so check for doneness at 15 minutes. The finished rice should be tender with a slightly sticky quality that holds together when scooped.
Step 3: Grill the Pork and Fry the Eggs
Grill the marinated pork chops over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side until caramelized and cooked through with a slight char on the edges. Simultaneously fry eggs sunny-side up in a lightly oiled nonstick pan over medium heat until the whites are set and the yolk remains runny.
Step 4: Plate and Serve
Scoop a generous mound of broken rice onto each plate. Lay the grilled pork chop alongside the rice and place a fried egg on top of or beside the rice. Drizzle nuoc cham sauce generously over the entire plate and serve with sliced cucumber and a small portion of do chua pickled vegetables on the side.
Easy substitutions
Missing an ingredient? Here are some swaps that work perfectly:
- broken jasmine rice → regular jasmine rice broken roughly in a blender as a substitute
- pork chops → chicken thighs marinated with the same lemongrass mixture
Common mistakes to avoid
Watch out for these pitfalls that can affect your results:
- Using regular long grain rice without adjusting the water ratio which causes the rice to become mushy
- Not scoring the pork chops before marinating which means the flavor stays on the surface only
Nutrition facts
Per serving: 610 calories, 42g protein, 65g carbs, 20g fat, 2g fiber.
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