Vietnamese Grilled Lemongrass Chicken Rice Plate

This is a twist on the classic Vietnamese dish cơm tấm, which is usually served with grilled pork chops, shredded pork skin, and steamed egg cake. It’s unbelievably good, but with so many components. It’s one of those dishes most people order out instead of making at home. I wanted a simplified version that still delivers all the flavor without all the extra time and prep.

ingredients

*If you want to feed 4-5 people, recommend doubling the chicken recipe below.

Lemongrass Chicken

• 1.5 lb of chicken thigh

• 2 tbsp lemongrass, finely chopped (most Asian grocery stores have it precut and frozen)

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 tbsp fish sauce

• 2 tbsp brown sugar

• 1 tbsp soy sauce

• 1 tbsp oyster sauce

• 1 tbsp olive oil

Nuoc Cham

• 1 garlic

• 1 Thai chili

• 2 tbsp sugar

• 1/2 cup water

• 1 lime, juiced

• 1/4 cup fish sauce

• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

Quick Pickled Daikon and Carrots

• 1 medium carrot, julienned

• 1 medium daikon, julienned

• 1 cup boiling water

• 1/4 cup sugar

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

Scallion Oil

• 2 green onion stalks, sliced

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• Pinch of kosher salt

Raw Vegetables

• Salad mix of your choice

• Cucumbers, sliced

• Tomatoes, sliced

• Mint

Jasmine rice (my favorite) or grains of your choice

Eggs

instructions

Lemongrass Chicken

1. In a shallow container, add your marinade ingredients and chicken. Allow chicken to marinate for at least 15 mins, up to 24 hours.

2. Grill chicken for 6-8 minutes on each side until nice and charred. Chop into cubes for easy eating. Alternatively, you can broil in the oven until cooked for a similar effect.

Nuoc Cham

1. Add garlic, Thai chili, and sugar to a shatterproof bowl and mix the ingredients into a paste. Alternatively, you can mince garlic and Thai chili, and then add sugar.

2. Add water, lime juice, fish sauce, and rice wine vinegar. Taste and adjust as needed.

Quick Pickled Daikon and Carrots

1. Cut carrots and daikons into matchsticks.

2. In a medium container, add boiling water, sugar, kosher salt, and rice wine vinegar.

3. Add the carrots and daikon matchsticks to the pickle liquid mixture. Close the lid and shake until submerged.

4. Put in refrigerator or room temp for at least 15 mins up to 2 hours until slightly floppy.

5. If you have leftovers and wish to use them in the future, drain the liquid and keep them in the fridge.

Scallion Oil

1. Put sliced green onions into a small microwave container and add olive oil and salt.

2. Microwave for 30 seconds to a minute until tender.

*This is my cheat way! Traditionally, you would heat oil in a saucepan and pour it over the green onion.

How to Assemble

1. Add vegetables (raw and pickled), cooked rice, chicken and fried egg on a large plate.

2. Add a spoonful of green onion oil on top of the rice and chicken.

3. Serve with nuoc cham and pour over your plate depending on how much you like sauceness! IMO, the more sauce the better. Enjoy!