Lemongrass pork belly on rice

Adam loves Vietnamese broken rice (cơm tấm) dishes, but having all the elements from the pork skin to mung bean noodle omelette can be a little daunting. This version simplifies things for a simple dinner.

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 500 g pork belly, rind removed, cut into 1 cm wide strips
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 3 garlic cloves
• ½ small brown onion, finely diced
• 1 stalk lemongrass, trimmed and finely chopped
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp neutral oil (canola, sunflower, peanut etc.)

 

Nuoc cham

• 1 bird's-eye chilli, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 2 tsp caster sugar, or to taste
• 1-2 tbsp fish sauce, or to taste

 

To serve

• 6 cups cooked white rice
• 4 eggs fried
• 1 cucumber, sliced
• 1 tomato, sliced
• coriander sprigs, picked
• mint leaves, picked

Marinating time: 1 hour

Instructions

1. Combine the pork belly with the listed ingredients in a zip lock bag or bowl and marinate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight.
2. Heat a barbecue grill over high heat and grill the pork belly for about 2 minutes on each side until just cooked through. You can brush with a little oil if needed, but the fat from the pork belly should render to oil the meat.
3. For the nuoc cham, place the chilli and garlic in a mortar and pound to create a coarse paste. Add the lemon, vinegar, sugar and fish sauce and mix with the pestle to combine.
4. Serve the grilled pork on rice with a fried egg, sliced cucumber and tomato, sprigs of herbs and nuoc cham to dress.

 

Photography by Danielle Abou Karam.

Want more from The Cook Up?

• Stream free here at SBS On Demand.

• Get the show recipes, articles and more here.

• Cook more Adam Liaw recipes here

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.