Cơm Tấm Sườn Nướng (Broken Rice with Grilled Pork Chop)

Method

1. Make the marinade: finely mince the garlic, shallots and the tender lower third of the lemongrass (peel off the tough outer layers first). Mix them in a bowl with the fish sauce, sugar, honey, pepper and the oil. With the tip of a knife, cut small notches every 2 cm through the fat and sinew around the edge of each chop so it doesn't curl in the pan, then pound the meat lightly to an even 1 cm. Coat the chops all over, cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 h, ideally overnight.

   Add in this stepBone-in pork chops (about 1 cm thick, ~180 g each) 2Garlic cloves (for the marinade) 3Shallots (for the marinade) 1Lemongrass stalks 1Fish sauce (for the marinade) 1½ tbspSugar (for the marinade) 2 tspHoney 2 tspGround black pepper ½ tspNeutral oil ¾ tbsp

2. Rinse the rice in a bowl of cold water 2–3 times, swirling with your hand, until the water is only slightly cloudy, then drain well. Put the rice and water in a 16 cm pot with a tight lid. Bring to the boil on high heat, then turn down to low heat, cover and cook for 15 min without lifting the lid. Turn off the heat and leave it covered for 10 minutes so the grains finish steaming and turn fluffy. A rice cooker works too: use the same amount of water.

   Add in this stepBroken rice (or jasmine rice) 180 gWater (for the rice) 220 ml

   high heat→low heat

3. Make the đồ chua (quick pickles): cut the carrot and daikon into thin matchsticks about 5 cm long. Toss them with the salt and leave for 10 min, until they soften and release water. Squeeze them firmly, rinse briefly and squeeze again, then mix with the vinegar and sugar. They are ready as soon as the sugar dissolves and taste even better after an hour.

   Add in this stepCarrot 50 gDaikon radish 50 gSalt 1 pinchRice vinegar (for the pickles) 1½ tbspSugar (for the pickles) 1½ tsp

4. Make the nước chấm: stir the sugar into the warm water until fully dissolved, then add the fish sauce and lime juice. Taste: sweet, sour and salty should be in balance, pleasant enough to sip from a spoon. Finely mince the garlic, thinly slice the chillies and float them on top.

   Add in this stepWarm water (for the dipping sauce) 90 mlSugar (for the dipping sauce) 2 tbspFish sauce (for the dipping sauce) 2 tbspFresh lime juice 2 tbspGarlic cloves (for the dipping sauce) 1Bird's eye chillies 1

5. Make the mỡ hành (scallion oil): thinly slice the spring onions and put them in a heatproof bowl with the salt. Heat the oil in a 14 cm pan on medium heat for about 1 min, until a slice of spring onion dropped in sizzles immediately (about 160 °C). Carefully pour the hot oil over the spring onions; they will sizzle and turn bright green. Stir and set aside. Keep children away and never leave hot oil unattended.

   Add in this stepSpring onions (scallions) 3Neutral oil (for the scallion oil) 3 tbspSalt 1 pinch

   medium heat

6. Lift the chops out of the marinade and scrape off the bits of garlic and lemongrass, which burn easily. Heat a 28 cm frying pan or grill pan on medium heat, add the oil and lay in the chops without overlapping (number of rounds: 1). Cook for 3 min 30 sec on each side without moving them, until deeply browned with darker caramelised edges. The sugar makes them colour fast: if they darken too quickly, lower the heat. They are done when the juices near the bone run clear with no pink (63 °C inside). Rest them on a plate for 2 min.

   Add in this stepNeutral oil 1 tbsp

   medium heat

7. Wipe the pan, add the oil and crack in the eggs. Fry on medium-low heat for 3 min, until the whites are set with lacy, crisp edges while the yolks stay soft. If the tops of the whites set slowly, baste them with a little of the hot oil.

   Add in this stepEggs 2Neutral oil ¾ tbsp

   medium-low heat

8. Pack the rice into a small bowl and turn it out onto each plate. Add a chop, a fried egg and a spoonful of đồ chua, then spoon the scallion oil over the rice. Slice the cucumber and tomatoes and arrange them on the side. Serve the nước chấm in small bowls and pour it over the rice and meat as you eat. Cut the meat off the bone with a knife and fork, or use a spoon and chopsticks as they do in Saigon.

   Add in this stepCucumber ½Tomatoes 1