Vietnamese Com Tam Grilled Pork Rice

Ingredients

• 12 oz thin pork chops or shoulder steaks
• 1 1/2 cups broken or jasmine rice
• 2 stalks lemongrass, very finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tbsp fish sauce, divided
• 2 tbsp sugar, divided
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• 1 red chili, minced
• 1 cucumber and 1 tomato, sliced
• 1/4 cup pickled carrot
• 2 scallions, sliced
• Black pepper

Steps

1. Chop the lemongrass as finely as you can, almost to a powder. Its fibres never soften, and coarse pieces are unpleasant in the finished marinade.
2. Mix the lemongrass with the garlic, 2 tablespoons of the fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, the soy sauce, oil, and plenty of pepper, and marinate the pork for at least 1 hour.
3. Rinse the rice and simmer it in 2 cups salted water, covered, over the lowest heat for 15 minutes, then leave it covered for 10 minutes more.
4. Whisk the remaining fish sauce and sugar with the lime juice, chili, and 1/3 cup water into nuoc cham, and taste it; it should be sharp, salty, and lightly sweet.
5. Wipe the excess marinade off the pork and pat it dry. The sugar in the marinade burns black long before the meat cooks if left thick on the surface.
6. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat until it is almost smoking.
7. Grill the chops for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until well charred at the edges and cooked through to 145F (63C).
8. Rest the pork for 5 minutes, then slice it and serve over the rice with the nuoc cham, cucumber, tomato, pickled carrot, and scallions.

Allergen note: Contains gluten, soy and fish.

Use the listed quantities as a guide, adjust seasoning to taste, and cook proteins to a safe internal temperature.