Equipment
* optional
Ingredients
Pickled Vegetables (Do Chua)
- 150 g daikon radish, peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 150 g carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 60 ml white vinegar
- 40 g white sugar
- 120 ml warm water
- 2 g kosher salt
Pork and Marinade
- 800 g bone-in pork chops, sliced thinly, about 1.5cm thick
- 30 g lemongrass, bottom third only, finely minced
- 15 g garlic, minced
- 20 g shallot, minced
- 45 ml fish sauce
- 30 ml soy sauce
- 15 ml oyster sauce
- 40 g honey
- 30 ml neutral oil
- 5 ml toasted sesame oil
- 2 g black pepper, freshly ground
Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Cham)
- 180 ml warm water
- 45 g white sugar
- 45 ml fish sauce
- 30 ml fresh lime juice
- 10 g garlic, finely minced
- bird's eye chili, thinly sliced
Broken Rice & Scallion Oil
- 400 g broken rice, dry
- 480 ml water
- 50 g scallions, thinly sliced
- 60 ml neutral oil
- 1 g kosher salt
Accompaniments
- 4 eggs, large
- 15 ml neutral oil
- 100 g cucumber, thinly sliced
- 100 g tomato, thinly sliced
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 1255 kcal
- Protein
- 56 g
- Carbohydrates
- 125 g
- Fat
- 58 g
- Fiber
- 4 g
- Sugar
- 36 g
- Sodium
- 2831 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 14 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 12 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 6 g
- Cholesterol
- 312 mg
- Potassium
- 1317 mg
- Calcium
- 205 mg
- Iron
- 8.3 mg
- Magnesium
- 140 mg
- Phosphorus
- 705 mg
- Zinc
- 7.5 mg
- Vitamin A
- 414 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 24 mg
- Vitamin D
- 2.4 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 1.4 mg
- Vitamin K
- 37 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 1.4 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 1.7 mcg
- Thiamin
- 1.68 mg
- Riboflavin
- 1.01 mg
- Niacin
- 19.1 mg
- Folate
- 304 mcg
- Water
- 545 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
In a mixing bowl, stir the warm water, sugar, and salt until completely dissolved. Mix in the white vinegar, then add the matchstick daikon and carrots. Let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
In a food processor or mortar, combine the lemongrass, garlic, and shallots. Process or pound until a fine paste forms.
Whisk the aromatic paste together with the fish sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, honey, 30ml neutral oil, toasted sesame oil, and black pepper to form the marinade.
Place the pork chops in a large bowl or sealable bag. Pour the marinade over the pork, massaging it into the meat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or ideally overnight.
In a small bowl, whisk the warm water and sugar until the sugar is fully dissolved. Stir in the fish sauce, lime juice, minced garlic, and sliced chili to complete the dipping sauce. Set aside.
Place the broken rice in a sieve or bowl and rinse under cold water, swishing gently, until the water runs mostly clear. Drain well.
Transfer the rinsed broken rice to a rice cooker, add the 480ml of water, and start the normal cooking cycle. Cook until tender but with a slight chew.
While the rice cooks, place the sliced scallions and 1g of kosher salt in a heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, heat 60ml of neutral oil until it shimmers and reaches about 150C/300F.
Carefully pour the hot oil over the scallions. They will sizzle immediately. Stir briefly and set the scallion oil aside.
Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Remove the pork from the marinade, letting excess drip off. Grill the pork chops until nicely caramelized, flipping once, until the internal temperature reaches 74C/165F. Rest for 5 minutes.
In a non-stick skillet, heat 15ml of neutral oil over medium heat. Crack the eggs into the pan and fry sunny-side up until the whites are fully set but the yolks are still runny, about 3 minutes.
Mound a portion of the cooked broken rice onto each serving plate. Spoon a generous amount of the scallion oil directly over the hot rice.
Place a grilled pork chop and a fried egg next to or on top of the rice. Arrange a portion of drained pickled vegetables, cucumber slices, and tomato slices on the side. Serve immediately with a small bowl of the dipping sauce.
Chef's Notes
- Broken rice (gao tam) cooks faster than whole grains and releases more starch. Do not skip the rinsing step, or you will end up with congee instead of individual grains.
- For the most authentic flavor and texture in the pork, look for a cut with some fat marbling, such as shoulder steaks or thinly sliced pork butt, if bone-in chops are too lean.
- The acid in the dipping sauce (Nuoc Cham) will diminish as it sits. If preparing ahead, mix the water, sugar, and fish sauce, but wait to add the fresh lime juice, garlic, and chili until just before serving.
- Mincing lemongrass can be tedious due to its fibrous nature. Ensure you only use the tender, pale bottom three inches, peel away the woody outer layers, and mince extremely fine to avoid tough splinters in the meat.
- Sizzling the scallions with hot oil instantly cooks out their raw bite while locking in their vibrant green color. Do not heat the scallions in the pan, or they will turn brown and bitter.
Storage
Refrigerator: 3 days — Store components separately. Do not store the fried eggs; make them fresh.
Freezer: 1 month — Only the raw marinated pork can be frozen. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before grilling.
Reheating: Microwave rice with a damp paper towel until steaming. Reheat pork in a skillet or oven at 175C/350F until warm.
Troubleshooting
Broken rice is mushy and clumped together
Cause: Too much water or insufficient rinsing of the surface starches
Fix: Spread the cooked rice out on a baking sheet to let steam escape and dry out slightly; cannot be fully reversed
Prevention: Rinse the broken rice thoroughly until the water runs clear, and adhere strictly to the water ratio as broken rice needs slightly less water than standard jasmine
Pork chops are tough and dry
Cause: Overcooking or using chops that are sliced too thickly without adjusting cooking time
Fix: Slice the meat very thinly against the grain and pour extra dipping sauce over it to add moisture
Prevention: Pound chops to an even thickness of 1.5cm before marinating and use a meat thermometer to pull them exactly at 74C/165F
Pork burns heavily on the grill before cooking through
Cause: The sugar and honey in the marinade caramelized and burnt due to excessively high grill heat
Fix: Move to a cooler zone of the grill or finish cooking in a 175C/350F oven
Prevention: Grill over medium heat rather than ripping hot, and wipe off heavy excess clumps of marinade before placing on the grates
Cultural Context
Com Tam translates directly to broken rice. Originally, these fractured grains were considered an inferior byproduct of the milling process, consumed primarily by poor rice farmers in the Mekong Delta because it was hard to sell. Today, Com Tam is a deeply beloved culinary icon of Southern Vietnam, especially Saigon, where the nutty, texture-rich grains are celebrated. The dish perfectly demonstrates the Vietnamese culinary philosophy of balancing contrasting flavors and textures: hot and cold, sweet and salty, rich and acidic.
