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Meat, South and Southeast Asian

Cơm tấm with grilled pork and fried egg

Cơm tấm is a Vietnamese dish of broken rice served with a lemongrass marinated grilled pork chop, a fried egg and fresh vegetables. This version serves 4 in 40 minutes, at an easy skill level, for about €3.00 per person. The key is a marinade sweet enough to caramelize nicely on the pork while it grills.

Tonight it's Saigon style cơm tấm, a lemongrass marinated pork chop grilled over broken rice with a fried egg and cucumber.

Cơm tấm with grilled pork and fried egg
Total time
40 min
Difficulty
Easy
Cost per person
€3.00
Calories per person
560 kcalcalculated by Kiloach, your weight coach
Season
Summer, Spring, Fall, Winter
The kids
They generally like it

Cơm tấm is the dish you find on every street corner in Saigon, soft broken rice, lemongrass scented grilled pork, a fried egg with a yolk that runs a little into the warm rice. The nuoc-mam and garlic marinade gives the pork chop that signature sweet and salty edge, with caramelized bits from the hot pan. Raw cucumber and tomato bring the freshness that balances the whole plate.

It's the kind of dinner that breaks up the weekly routine without requiring any special equipment, perfect for a weeknight when you want something flavorful without spending hours in the kitchen. Kids usually love the fried egg and the grilled pork, just go lighter on the pepper for them. Mon Chou offers this simplified version, true to the Vietnamese street food original, built for everyday cooking.

The ingredients

4 people

Butcher

  • Thin pork chops 4

Fruits and vegetables

  • Lemongrass 2 stalks
  • Garlic 3 cloves
  • Cucumber 1
  • Tomatoes 2

Pantry

  • Fish sauceoften in the pantry 3 tbsp
  • Sugaroften in the pantry 2 tbsp
  • Soy sauceoften in the pantry 1 tbsp
  • Broken rice or long grain riceoften in the pantry 300 g
  • Neutral oiloften in the pantry 2 tbsp

Dairy

  • Eggs 4

Allergens Eggs, Fish, Soy, Gluten

The step by step recipe

  1. Mix minced lemongrass, garlic, fish sauce, sugar, soy sauce and pepper, coat the pork chops and let marinate. 20 min

    The sweeter the marinade, the more the meat caramelizes, keep an eye on it.

  2. Cook the rice. 12 min

    Broken rice cooks faster, check it at 10 minutes.

  3. Grill the pork chops in a very hot pan, 4 minutes per side. 8 min

    Brushing a bit of marinade on at the end glazes the meat.

  4. Fry the eggs in the oil. 4 min

    Spoon hot oil over the eggs so the whites set nicely.

  5. Plate the rice with a pork chop, a fried egg, cucumber and sliced tomatoes.

    Serve with a bit of sweet diluted fish sauce to pour over the rice.

Our tips to get it right

  • Mince the lemongrass as finely as you can, it releases more flavor and sticks better to the meat.
  • Get the pan really hot before adding the pork chops, that's what gives you good caramelization without drying out the meat.
  • Mix the diluted nuoc-mam sauce while the rice cooks, it ties all the elements of the dish together once poured over the top.

The variations

  • Swap the pork chops for boneless chicken thighs, marinated and grilled the same way.
  • For a vegetarian version, replace the meat with firm marinated and grilled tofu, and use soy sauce instead of nuoc-mam.
  • For a quicker kid friendly version, serve the meat already sliced over the rice, skipping the pepper in the marinade.

What to serve it with

  • Diluted sweet nuoc-mam to pour over rice
  • Hot or iced green tea
  • Pickled carrot and daikon

Storage

The cooked marinated pork keeps 2 to 3 days in the fridge in a sealed container. Cooked rice also keeps for 2 days, reheat it with a splash of water so it doesn't dry out. Avoid freezing the fried egg, cook it fresh right before serving.

Questions about this dish

Can I use regular rice instead of broken rice?

Yes, plain long grain rice works perfectly well if you don't have broken rice. The texture will just be a bit less authentic, since broken rice turns out slightly stickier.

Can I marinate the pork ahead of time?

Yes, you can marinate the pork chops the night before and keep them in the fridge. The meat will only taste better once grilled.

How do I make this dish kid friendly?

Just cut back on the pepper in the marinade and slice the meat into small pieces before serving. The fried egg and rice are always a hit with kids.

What if I don't have fresh lemongrass?

Frozen minced lemongrass works just as well in the marinade. As a last resort, lime zest gives a somewhat similar fresh note, though the flavor isn't quite the same.

How long does it take to make a cơm tấm with grilled pork and a fried egg?

Count 40 min in total, prep and cooking included. The recipe is rated “easy”.

How many calories are in a cơm tấm with grilled pork and a fried egg?

About 560 kcal per serving, for a recipe meant for 4 people. Calories are calculated by Kiloach, your weight coach, the app that partners with Mon Chou.

How much does a cơm tấm with grilled pork and a fried egg cost?

About €3.00 per serving, or €12.00 for 4 people, based on average supermarket prices.

What allergens does this recipe contain?

This recipe contains eggs, fish, soy, gluten. Always check the labels of the products you buy.

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