Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Cơm Tấm Sườn Nướng
Saigon's plate of fluffy broken rice under a smoky, caramelised lemongrass pork chop, with pickled vegetables, scallion oil and a bowl of nuoc cham to pour over.
Vietnamese · medium · serves 4
prep 25 min · cook 25 min
~982 cal · 59g protein · 101g carbs · 36g fat · 4g fiber · 14g sugars · 10g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Cơm tấm, broken rice, is the everyday plate of Ho Chi Minh City, so woven into the south that locals say Saigon people eat com tam the way Hanoi people eat pho. It began as thrift: the small fractured grains that shattered during milling were once too poor to sell, so Mekong Delta farmers kept them to feed their own families, and cheap rice carts carried the habit into the growing city in the early twentieth century.
The plate that grew up around it is built on sườn nướng, a thin pork chop marinated in , garlic, shallot, and sugar, then grilled hard until the sugar lacquers the surface into a smoky, caramelised crust. It is served over a mound of steamed broken rice with a drizzle of mỡ hành scallion oil, a tangle of pickled carrot and daikon, sliced cucumber, and a small bowl of sweet, sour nuoc cham poured over the whole plate to pull it together.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut- and egg-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
2 cups broken rice (com tam)
1 1/2 lb bone-in pork chops, thinly cut
1/3 cup
2 stalks , tender part minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
3 tbsp sugar
4 , sliced for scallion oil (mỡ hành)
3 tbsp
1 cup carrot and daikon, for the pickle (đồ chua)
1 lime, juiced for the nuoc cham
1 tsp black pepper
Instructions
1
Whisk half the fish sauce with the sugar, lemongrass, garlic, shallot, a little of the oil and the pepper, turn the pork chops in it, and marinate at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.
✎ Chef’s note
Fresh lemongrass is not optional here: pound the bulb to bruise it before mincing so its citrus oils perfume the whole marinade. The sugar is what lets the chop lacquer and char, so do not cut it back.
2
Rinse the broken rice until the water runs almost clear, then steam it with an equal measure of water until fluffy and just sticky, and let it rest covered.
✎ Chef’s note
Broken grains cook a little faster than whole rice and drink up less water, so a roughly one-to-one rice-to-water ratio keeps them soft rather than gummy.
3
Make the scallion oil by pouring the remaining hot oil over the sliced scallions with a pinch of salt, and mix a bowl of nuoc cham from the rest of the fish sauce, the lime juice, a little sugar and warm water, then stir in the pickled carrot and daikon.
✎ Chef’s note
The southern nuoc cham is sweeter and punchier than the northern kind, balance it until it tastes of sweet, salty and sour at once.
4
Grill the marinated chops over charcoal or in a very hot pan, turning, until charred, caramelised and cooked through, about 4 minutes a side, then rest briefly.
5
Mound the rice on each plate, lay a grilled chop alongside, spoon over the scallion oil, add the pickles and cucumber, and pour the nuoc cham over to taste.
Southern Vietnamese broken-rice tradition, Saigon.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City took the French baguette and made it the banh mi, filled with pate, pickled daikon and carrot, chili, and coriander. Southern Vietnamese cooking is sweeter and herb-heavier than the north, rich in coconut, sugar, and fresh greens.
🗺️
Vietnam. Vietnam cooks differently along its length. The north is the most restrained, using less sugar and less chilli; the centre around Hue is the spiciest and the fondest of many small dishes at once; and the south is sweeter and richer, with more coconut and more fruit. Bun bo Hue announces the centre with fermented shrimp paste as much as with lemongrass.
🌍
Asia. Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, and its food spans the delicate seasonality of Japanese washoku, the chili-fired curries of India and Thailand, and the wheat-and-lamb traditions of Central Asia. Rice, noodles, soy, and fermentation recur across its regions, while ancient spice routes and religious traditions shaped distinct grammars of flavor. Whether from a street-cart wok or a monastery kitchen, eating is deeply communal and ritual-rich.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Vietnam
Phở Gà (Hanoi Chicken Pho)A clear, star-anise-scented chicken broth over rice noodles, finished with herbs and lime at the table.
Bánh XèoSizzling turmeric-rice crepes stuffed with shrimp, pork, and sprouts, wrapped in lettuce and dunked in nuoc cham.
Bún Bò HuếThe imperial city’s fierce beef-and-lemongrass noodle soup, spiked with chili oil and shrimp paste, bolder than pho.
Browse all Vietnam recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Grill or barbecue, Steamer, Whisk.
Storing it: Cool leftover rice quickly and refrigerate within an hour. Keep up to 2 days and reheat until piping hot all the way through.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Cơm Tấm Sườn Nướng?
Saigon's plate of fluffy broken rice under a smoky, caramelised lemongrass pork chop, with pickled vegetables, scallion oil and a bowl of nuoc cham to pour over.
Where does Cơm Tấm Sườn Nướng come from?
Cơm Tấm Sườn Nướng is a Vietnamese dish from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Can Cơm Tấm Sườn Nướng be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Cơm Tấm Sườn Nướng recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Cơm Tấm Sườn Nướng safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Cơm Tấm Sườn Nướng take to make?
About 50 minutes total (25 minutes prep, 25 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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