Com Tam — Vietnamese broken rice with grilled pork — is the quintessential Saigon street food, a complete platter of nutty, chewy broken rice topped with lemongrass-marinated pork chop, pickled vegetables, fresh herbs, and the all-important scallion oil. What started as a humble meal made from fractured rice grains rejected by millers has become one of Vietnam's most beloved dishes.

Ingredients

Broken Rice

  • 2 cups broken rice (tam)
  • 2.5 cups water
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Grilled Pork Chop Marinade

  • 4 bone-in pork chops (1/2 inch thick, about 1.5 lb total)
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 stalks lemongrass, minced
  • 2 shallots, minced
  • 3 tbsp fish sauce
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Pickled Carrot and Daikon

  • 1 carrot, julienned
  • 1/2 daikon, julienned
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 1/4 cup rice vinegar
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt

Scallion Oil

  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup thinly sliced shallots
  • 1 cup thinly sliced green onions

To Serve

  • Sliced cucumber
  • Sliced ripe tomato
  • Nuoc cham
  • Fresh cilantro

Instructions

1

Cook the broken rice

Rinse the broken rice 2-3 times until the water runs clear. For stovetop: combine the rice, water, and salt in a pot. Bring to a simmer, cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 15-20 minutes. Do not lift the lid. Let it rest for 10 minutes off the heat, then fluff with a fork. For a rice cooker: add the rice and water to the cooker and set to cook. Let it sit for 10 minutes after switching to warm.

2

Marinate the pork

In a bowl, combine the garlic, lemongrass, shallots, fish sauce, sugar, honey, soy sauce, pepper, and oil. Add the pork chops and coat thoroughly. Marinate for at least 1 hour, ideally 4 hours or overnight.

3

Make the pickles

In a jar, dissolve the sugar and salt in warm water. Add the rice vinegar. Add the julienned carrot and daikon. Let it sit for 30 minutes minimum. These keep for weeks in the refrigerator.

4

Make the scallion oil

Heat the oil in a small pan to 300 degrees F. Add the shallots and fry for 5-7 minutes until golden and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon. Add the green onions to the same oil and fry for 2-3 minutes until crispy. Remove. Reserve the infused oil.

5

Cook the pork chops

Heat a grill, grill pan, or skillet over high heat. Cook the pork chops for 4-5 minutes per side until char marks appear and the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F. Let them rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

6

Assemble the platter

In each bowl, mound 1-1.5 cups of broken rice. Slice the pork chop and place it on top of the rice. Add sliced cucumber and tomato on the side. Add a pile of pickled carrot and daikon. Drizzle the scallion oil and sprinkle the crispy shallots over the rice. Serve with nuoc cham on the side.

VNomy Notes

  • The rice is the dish. Com tam literally means "broken rice." The unique texture — small grains that absorb more flavor — is what differentiates it from regular rice. Substitute long-grain white rice in a pinch, but it will not be the same.
  • Broken rice is the original "ugly produce" story. Historically eaten by the poor because broken grains were discarded from premium rice milling, it is now a sought-after specialty. The texture is genuinely different from whole-grain rice.
  • Pork chop is the default protein. Com suon is what 80 percent of people mean when they say "com tam." The lemongrass marinade is what makes it.
  • Scallion oil is the secret weapon. Those green-gold flecks on top of the rice are not just garnish. Without it, the rice is just rice. With it, the rice is dressed. Make it once and use it on everything for a week.
  • Nuoc cham is for drizzling, not dipping. The Vietnamese tradition is to drizzle nuoc cham over the rice and protein. Dipping is for bun cha-style dishes.
  • The platter is meant to be mixed. Do not eat the components separately — the joy is mixing rice, pork, pickles, scallion oil, and nuoc cham into a single bite.
  • Grill marks matter. A grill pan with high heat gives the pork the char that defines com suon. A nonstick pan will not get you there.
  • Make-ahead strategy: The rice keeps for 1 day refrigerated. The pickled vegetables keep for weeks. The pork chop is best fresh. The scallion oil keeps for 2 weeks in the fridge.