broken rice

Here it is. My favourite dish in the world and what my blog is named after - Vietnamese broken rice (cơm tấm). Mom surprised me with it for Saturday night dinner because she rocks. She made the best steamed egg custard (chả trứng hấp) of my life. That brown eyeball thing is an egg braised in coconut juice, which is found in Vietnamese braised pork and eggs (thịt heo kho trứng - i.e. the taste of my childhood). The puck is caramelized “chicken”. Over the rice you’ll find scallions and garlic sautéed in oil, a simple sauce I believe makes everything taste better especially grilled corn. Top everything off with spicy, sour, sweet, salty, pungent nước mắm pha and that’s when my mind and taste buds are blown. Did I mention my Mom rocks?