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Com Tam (Broken Rice with Grilled Pork)

Name: Com Tam (Broken Rice with Grilled Pork)
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 2 h
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 2 cups broken jasmine rice; 1.5 lbs pork chops; 3 tbsp fish sauce; 1 stalk lemongrass, minced; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 2 shallots, minced; 2 tbsp sugar; 1/2 tsp black pepper; 1 cup pickled daikon and carrot; 1 cucumber, sliced; 4 fried eggs; 2 tbsp scallion oil; 4 oz pork skin; 4 oz meatloaf; nuoc cham for dipping

Com Tam (Broken Rice with Grilled Pork) reads umami 7.6, funk & ferment 5.8 and richness 5.6 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Vietnamese main, about 2 hr. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 9.1 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 4.4 / 10
Sour & Bright — 4.1 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 0.8 / 10
Rich & Fat — 5.7 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 4.3 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 7.6 · Funk & Ferment 5.8 · Richness 5.6 · Salinity 5.3 · Marine & Briny 4.6 · Sweetness 4.3 · Allium 3.9 · Sourness 3.3 · Citrus 2.9 · Herbaceous 2.4 · Warm Spice 1.5 · Floral 1.3 · Heat 0.7 · Bitterness 0.7 · Earthy 0.6

What's in it (15)

2 cups broken jasmine rice
1.5 lbs pork chops
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 stalk lemongrass, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup pickled daikon and carrot
1 cucumber, sliced
4 fried eggs
2 tbsp scallion oil
4 oz pork skin
4 oz meatloaf
nuoc cham for dipping

Time & effort: about 2 hr (25 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 163.8 kcal, 9.4 g protein, 8.6 g fat, 10.9 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (3 steps)

Marinate pork in fish sauce, lemongrass, garlic, sugar, and pepper, then grill over charcoal until caramelized and cooked through.
Cook broken rice and serve on a plate topped with grilled pork, a fried egg, pork skin, and scallion oil.
Accompany with pickled vegetables and nuoc cham.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Thai Basil Shrimp Fried Rice — Thai
Bo Luc Lac (Shaking Beef) — Vietnamese
Vietnamese Shaking Beef (Bo Luc Lac) — Vietnamese
Thai Fried Rice with Chicken (Khao Pad Gai) — Thai
Khao Soi — Thai

Keep reading: what umami, funk & ferment, richness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.