"Saigon's working-class masterpiece: broken rice with grilled lemongrass pork chop, pork skin and steamed egg meatloaf. The defining breakfast-lunch of Ho Chi Minh City."
About Cơm Tấm (Broken Rice)
Saigon's working-class masterpiece — broken rice grains (the small fragments that break during milling, once only eaten by the poor) topped with a grilled pork chop marinated in lemongrass and fish sauce, shredded pork skin (bì), steamed egg meatloaf (chả trứng), pickled daikon and carrot, cucumber and spring onions; served with a fish sauce dipping broth (nước chấm); the defining breakfast-lunch of Ho Chi Minh City.
Broken rice grains (fragments that break during milling, once eaten only by the poor) topped with a grilled pork chop marinated in lemongrass and fish sauce, shredded pork skin (bì), steamed egg meatloaf (chả trứng), pickled daikon and carrot, cucumber and spring onions. The defining breakfast-lunch of Ho Chi Minh City.
Broken rice absorbs sauce better than whole-grain rice — the fractured surface area means the nước chấm soaks in faster and more completely.
What to Expect
The cơm tấm arrives on a flat plate, the pork chop charred from the grill, the broken rice mounded alongside. The nước chấm goes on the rice immediately. The egg meatloaf is eaten last.
Why Try It
Cơm tấm tells you about Ho Chi Minh City's food character — the breakfast dish eaten at 8 a.m. or 2 p.m. with equal legitimacy, at an outdoor stall with plastic stools.
Insider Tips
Cơm Tấm Thuận Kiều and Cơm Tấm Bụi in District 3 are reliable addresses.
Add the nước chấm (fish sauce broth) immediately and let it soak into the rice before eating.
The pork chop should be charred from a charcoal grill — gas-grilled versions are noticeably different.
