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Vegetarian broken rice plate
Cơm tấm chay: Saigon broken rice with lemongrass tofu, fried egg, spring onion oil and pickles
Cơm tấm, 'broken rice', is the breakfast and lunch plate of Saigon. Broken grains, once sold cheaply to the poor, cook up soft and slightly sticky, and street stalls serve them with grilled meat, a crisp-edged fried egg, spring onion oil, pickles and cucumber. This vegetarian plate has caramelised lemongrass tofu in place of pork. Every part goes with the sweet-sour nước chấm spooned over the top. Chef's tip: fry the egg in hot oil and spoon the oil over the white, so the edges go lacy and crisp and the yolk stays runny, Saigon-style; break it over the rice and it becomes part of the sauce.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 2
Ingredients
For the rice
For the lemongrass tofu
For the spring onion oil
To serve
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Rinse 9 oz broken rice (cơm tấm) in several changes of cold water, rubbing it between your hands, until the water runs nearly clear; broken rice has a lot of loose starch and turns gluey otherwise. Drain well.
Step 2: Put the rice and 1 ¼ cups water in a pan, bring to the boil, then cover and cook on the lowest heat for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave it covered for 10 minutes more; it should be soft and separate, slightly sticky. (Or use a rice cooker with the same amount of water.)
25 minStep 3: Meanwhile mix 2 stalks lemongrass, 2 cloves garlic, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp brown sugar and ½ tsp black pepper in a dish, add 10 ½ oz firm tofu, turn to coat and leave for 10 minutes.
Step 4: Put 3 spring onions and 1 pinch salt in a heatproof bowl. Heat 3 tbsp vegetable oil until it shimmers and pour it over; it will sizzle and the spring onions turn bright green.
Step 5: Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry the tofu for 3 minutes a side until deep golden, then pour in the rest of the marinade and turn the slices until sticky and caramelised. Keep warm.
7 minStep 6: Heat 3 tbsp vegetable oil in a small frying pan over a high heat until very hot. Crack in 2 eggs one at a time and fry for 2 minutes, tilting the pan and spooning the hot oil over the whites, until the edges are brown, crisp and lacy and the yolks still runny.
3 minStep 7: Press the rice into a bowl and turn it out onto each plate. Add the tofu, an egg, ½ cucumber, 1 tomato and 3 ½ oz pickled carrot and daikon (đồ chua), and spoon the spring onion oil over the rice. Serve with ½ cup vegan nước chấm to spoon over everything.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 820 kcal
- Protein
- 32 g
- Carbs
- 108 g
- Fat
- 30 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does vegetarian broken rice plate take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 2 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of broken rice (cơm tấm)?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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