Cơm Tấm Sườn Nướng (Lemongrass Pork Chops & Rice)

Photo: Christopher Crouzet · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Saigon's favorite plate: sweet, caramelized lemongrass pork chops over rice with a fried egg, scallion oil, quick-pickled carrots, cucumber and tomato, plus a little bowl of nước chấm to pour over everything.

Ingredients

• 1½ lb thin boneless pork chops
• 2 tbsp lemongrass paste
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 tbsp fish sauce, divided
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced
• 4 eggs
• 2 carrots, in matchsticks
• 1 cucumber, sliced
• 2 Roma tomatoes, sliced
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 jalapeño or Thai chile, minced
• 1½ cups jasmine rice

From your pantry: ¼ cup oil, 4 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp brown sugar, ¼ cup rice vinegar, ½ tsp black pepper, salt.

Instructions

1. Mix the lemongrass, half the garlic, 2 tbsp fish sauce, the soy sauce, oyster sauce, honey, brown sugar, pepper and 1 tbsp oil. Coat the chops and marinate 30 minutes, or overnight in the fridge.
2. Toss the carrots with the vinegar, 1 tbsp sugar and a pinch of salt to quick-pickle. For nước chấm, stir 4 tbsp fish sauce, 3 tbsp sugar, the lime juice, ½ cup warm water, the chile and the remaining garlic.
3. Start the rice. Heat 2 tbsp oil until shimmering and pour it over the green onions with a pinch of salt for scallion oil.
4. Cook the chops on a hot grill or in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high, 3 to 4 minutes per side, until charred at the edges and 145°F inside. Rest 5 minutes, then slice.
5. Fry the eggs in the remaining oil. Serve the pork over rice with an egg, scallion oil, pickles, cucumber and tomato, and nước chấm on the side.

Tip: Real cơm tấm uses broken rice, which you can find cheaply at Asian markets and cook like jasmine rice. Bone-in thin chops are traditional and stay juicier.

Nutrition per serving

Adapted from Cooking Therapy.

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