Cơm Tấm (Vietnamese Broken Rice with Grilled Pork)

About This Recipe

Cơm tấm ('broken rice') is the iconic breakfast and all-day street food of Ho Chi Minh City, eaten from sidewalk stalls in small plastic chairs by millions of Saigonese daily. The dish is built around tấm — the fragmented rice grains that fall through sieves during milling, historically the cheapest grade of rice. Saigon cooks turned this 'inferior' ingredient into something extraordinary by pairing it with richly flavoured toppings and a signature sweet-savoury nước chấm dressing. A classic cơm tấm plate includes: sườn nướng (caramelised grilled pork chop), bì (shredded pork and pork skin with toasted rice powder), chả trứng (steamed egg and pork cake), and mỡ hành (spring onion oil). Pickled daikon and carrot add crunch and acidity. This recipe focuses on the essential components most achievable at home. Rooted in the everyday cooking of Vietnamese kitchens, Cơm Tấm (Vietnamese Broken Rice with Grilled Pork) balances technique and tradition: the broken jasmine rice (or regular jasmine rice) is treated with care, drawing on time-honoured ratios that locals have refined across generations. The dish carries an unmistakable sensory signature — aromas that fill the kitchen as it cooks, layered textures that reveal themselves bite by bite, and a depth of flavour that comes from patient seasoning rather than shortcuts. Whether served as a weeknight breakfast or as the centrepiece of a celebratory table, it reflects a regional pantry where local produce, seasoning habits and cooking vessels shape the final result. Home cooks who make this dish often note how forgiving it is once the core method is understood, and how a few small choices — the freshness of the broken jasmine rice (or regular jasmine rice), the order of additions, the resting time at the end — separate a good version from a memorable one. This recipe walks through those choices so the dish arrives with the character it has on its home turf.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 400 gbroken jasmine rice (or regular jasmine rice)
• Sườn Nướng (Grilled Pork Chop)
• 4thin-cut pork chops (about 150g each), bone-in
• 3 tbspfish sauce
• 2 tbspcaster sugar
• 2 tbspvegetable oil
• 4 clovesgarlic, minced
• 2shallots, minced
• 1 tbspdark soy sauce(for colour)
• Mỡ Hành (Spring Onion Oil)
• 4 tbspspring onion, finely sliced
• 3 tbspvegetable oil
• Nước Chấm (Dipping Sauce)
• 4 tbspfish sauce
• 4 tbspcaster sugar
• 4 tbspfresh lime juice
• 100 mlwarm water
• 2 clovesgarlic, minced
• 2red chillies, minced
• Quick Pickled Vegetables
• 1carrot, julienned
• 100 gdaikon, julienned
• 2 tbsprice vinegar
• 1 tbspsugar
• 1 tspsalt
• 2eggs, fried or steamed, to serve

Instructions

1. 1

   Marinate the pork

   Combine fish sauce, sugar, oil, garlic, shallots and dark soy. Pour over pork chops and marinate for at least 1 hour (overnight is better).

2. 2

   Make quick pickles

   Toss julienned carrot and daikon with rice vinegar, sugar and salt. Leave for 30 minutes until softened and tangy.

3. 3

   Make nước chấm

   Dissolve sugar in warm water. Add fish sauce, lime juice, garlic and chilli. Taste — it should be balanced: salty, sweet, sour and spicy in equal measure.

4. 4

   Cook the rice

   Rinse broken rice twice. Cook with slightly less water than normal rice (broken rice absorbs more). A standard rice cooker works perfectly.

5. 5

   Make spring onion oil

   Heat oil in a small pan until very hot (just starting to smoke). Pour immediately over sliced spring onion in a heatproof bowl — it will sizzle and turn bright green. Season with a pinch of salt.

6. 6

   Grill the pork

   Grill pork chops on a very hot charcoal grill or griddle pan for 3–4 minutes per side until caramelised and slightly charred — the sugar in the marinade should form a lacquered crust.

7. 7

   Assemble

   Plate rice, topped with grilled pork chop, pickled vegetables, spring onion oil, and a fried egg. Serve with nước chấm dressing on the side.

Variations

• •

  Cơm tấm chay (vegetarian): replace pork with grilled king oyster mushrooms marinated in the same sauce. Omit egg for vegan.

• •

  Bì pork skin: add thinly sliced boiled pork skin tossed with toasted rice powder for the classic bì element.

• •

  Chả trứng (egg cake): blend 200g minced pork with 3 eggs, glass noodles and black fungus mushrooms; steam in a bowl for 20 minutes for the full street food experience.

• •

  Vegetarian: replace the main protein with mushrooms, paneer, tofu or hearty beans for a meat-free version.

• •

  Spicier: add fresh chilli, a chilli paste or a pinch of cayenne with the aromatics for a warmer profile.

Storage

Grilled pork keeps refrigerated for 3 days. Nước chấm keeps 1 week refrigerated. Pickled vegetables keep 5 days. Rice is best cooked fresh.

Frequently Asked Questions