Vietnamese Grilled Pork Rice Bowl (Com Tam Style)

About This Recipe

Com tam, or broken rice, is one of Southern Vietnam's most iconic dishes — originally a resourceful way to use rice grains that broke during milling, now embraced as a beloved format in its own right, especially topped with grilled lemongrass pork chops. This bowl builds on that tradition with regular rice as a practical substitute, topped with the same deeply savory grilled pork. The pork marinates in lemongrass, garlic, fish sauce, and a touch of sugar, which caramelizes beautifully over high heat to create the charred, slightly sweet crust that defines com tam suon nuong. A scatter of toasted sesame seeds over the finished dish, while not strictly traditional, echoes the toasted rice powder often used in Vietnamese cooking for texture and nutty flavor. Served with pickled carrot and daikon (do chua), a fried egg, and nuoc cham drizzled over everything, this bowl brings together the full balance of sweet, salty, sour, and fresh that defines good Vietnamese cooking.

Ingredients

Serves 5

• 4boneless pork chops(pounded to even thickness)
• 2 stalkslemongrass(finely minced)
• 4 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 3 tbspfish sauce
• 2 tbspsugar
• 1 tbspvegetable oil(plus more for cooking)
• 3 cupscooked jasmine rice
• 1 cuppickled carrot and daikon (do chua)
• 4large eggs
• 2 tbsptoasted sesame seeds
• 2scallions(sliced)
• 0.5 cupnuoc cham dipping sauce
• 1cucumber(sliced)

Instructions

1. 1

   Marinate the pork

   Combine lemongrass, garlic, fish sauce, sugar, and oil in a bowl. Add pork chops and marinate at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight in the fridge.

2. 2

   Grill the pork

   Heat a grill pan or outdoor grill to medium-high. Cook pork 4-5 minutes per side until charred at the edges and cooked through to 145°F (63°C) internal temperature. Let rest 5 minutes, then slice.

3. 3

   Fry the eggs

   In a separate skillet, fry eggs sunny-side up in a little oil until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny, about 3 minutes.

4. 4

   Assemble the rice base

   Divide rice among bowls.

5. 5

   Build the bowls

   Top each bowl with sliced grilled pork, a fried egg, pickled carrot and daikon, and cucumber slices.

6. 6

   Finish

   Scatter toasted sesame seeds and scallions over the top. Drizzle generously with nuoc cham just before serving.

Variations

• •

  Use pork ribs instead of chops for a more traditional com tam suon nuong presentation.

• •

  Add grilled shrimp or a small piece of steamed egg meatloaf (cha trung) for a fuller com tam plate.

• •

  Skip the sesame seeds for a more traditional version, or substitute toasted rice powder if available.

Storage

Refrigerate cooked pork separately from rice up to 3 days. Reheat pork in a skillet or under the broiler to re-crisp the edges; fry eggs fresh each time rather than storing them.

Frequently Asked Questions