Cơm Tấm Sườn Recipe

Cơm Tấm Sườn

Broken Rice with Grilled Pork Chop

A beloved Saigon street food featuring grilled pork chops served over broken rice with pickled vegetables, fresh cucumber, and fish sauce dressing.

Other variations:

Cơm tấm sườn nướng, Cơm tấm bì chả, Cơm tấm sườn bì chả trứng, Cơm tấm chay

Region

Southern Vietnam

Preparation Time

3h15

Servings

4

Difficulty

Medium

About this recipe

Cơm Tấm was originally a humble dish eaten by farmers using fractured rice grains. Over time, it evolved into a signature Southern Vietnamese meal, often paired with grilled meats, chả trứng (steamed egg meatloaf), and a sweet-salty dipping sauce.

Ingredients List

For the pork 4 pork chops (about 600 g) 2 stalks lemongrass (minced) 3 cloves garlic (minced) 2 shallots (minced) 3 tbsp fish sauce 2 tbsp sugar 1 tbsp honey 2 tbsp oil For the scallion oil 2 scallions (thinly sliced) 2 tbsp oil For the dipping sauce 3 tbsp fish sauce 3 tbsp sugar 6 tbsp water 1 lime (juiced) 1 chili (sliced) To serve 500 g broken rice 150 g pickled carrots and daikon 1 cucumber (sliced)

Materials & Tools

Grill or stovetop grill pan Meat mallet Mixing bowls Knife and chopping board Rice cooker Small saucepan Pastry brush

Preparation steps

Total Time

3h15

Cooking Time

1h05

Active Time

2h10

Tenderize Pork

Pound both sides of each pork chop with a meat mallet to tenderize.

5 min

Marinate Pork

Mix pork chops with lemongrass, garlic, shallots, fish sauce, sugar, honey and oil. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or overnight for best flavor.

2h00

Cook Rice

Cook broken rice.

30 min

Make Sauce

Simmer fish sauce, sugar and water in saucepan until sugar dissolves. Let cool, then stir in lime juice and chili.

10 min

Make Scallion Oil

Heat oil until hot and pour over scallions.

5 min

Grill Pork

Grill chops over medium-high heat for 3 - 5 minutes per side, until cooked and caramelized.