Okay, so I’ve been wanting to try my hand at Vietnamese cooking for a while now. I finally got around to it, and let me tell you, it was a journey. I figured I’d start with some rice dishes, ’cause how can you go wrong with rice, right?
First off, I did a bit of digging online. Just browsed through a bunch of websites, and looked at some pictures of yummy-looking Vietnamese food. I wanted something that seemed doable for a beginner like me. I stumbled upon this dish called “Cơm tấm,” which is basically broken rice with grilled pork, and “Cơm gà,” which is like chicken rice. Sounded good enough to me!
Next up, the grocery run. I needed to get some broken rice, which was surprisingly hard to find in my regular supermarket. Ended up going to this Asian grocery store a bit further out. Man, that place was an experience! So many interesting ingredients I’d never even heard of before. Anyway, I grabbed the rice, some pork chops, chicken, and a ton of other stuff I probably didn’t even need, like fish sauce, lemongrass, and a bunch of different herbs.
Now, the actual cooking part. This is where things got real. For the Cơm tấm, I marinated the pork chops in this mixture of fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, and a bit of that lemongrass I chopped up. Let that sit for a couple of hours in the fridge. While that was marinating, I prepped the broken rice. You gotta rinse it like a million times to get all that starch out. It has a distinctive fragrance compared to ordinary long-grain rice.
Then I grilled the pork chops on my little indoor grill. You know the kind! Smoked up the whole kitchen, but it was worth it. They turned out pretty decent, if I do say so myself. A bit charred, just how I like ’em. Served that with the cooked broken rice, some pickled veggies, and a fried egg on top. It was a feast!
- Marinate the pork: Mixed fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, and chopped lemongrass.
- Prep the rice: Rinsed the broken rice thoroughly.
- Grill the pork: Grilled the marinated pork chops until they were cooked through and slightly charred.
The Cơm gà was a different story. I poached a whole chicken with some ginger and spring onions, then shredded the meat. Used the chicken broth to cook the rice, which gave it a super rich flavor. Served that with some sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, and a dipping sauce I made from, you guessed it, more fish sauce, lime juice, and chili. That was pretty darn good too, and a bit easier than the Cơm tấm, honestly.
- Poach the chicken: Poached a whole chicken with ginger and spring onions.
- Shred the chicken: Shredded the cooked chicken meat.
- Cook the rice: Used the chicken broth to cook the rice for added flavor.
- Make the dipping sauce: Combined fish sauce, lime juice, and chili.
The End Result?
Overall, I’d say my Vietnamese rice dish adventure was a success! Definitely some trial and error, and my kitchen was a total mess afterward. But hey, I learned a lot, and the food was actually pretty tasty! I’m no expert, but I think I did alright for a first-timer. Might even try some other Vietnamese dishes soon. Any suggestions?
