Cơm Tấm with Lemongrass Pork

📝 Ingredients

• 600 g pork tenderloin
• 2 stalks fresh lemongrass
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp fish sauce + 2 tbsp honey + 1 tbsp soy sauce (for the marinade)
• 280 g jasmine rice
• 4 eggs
• 1 cucumber (about 300 g)
• 2 spring onions
• 2 tbsp fish sauce + 1 tbsp caster sugar + 6 tbsp warm water (for the sauce)
• 1 lime
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• Black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large frying pan
• Saucepan with lid
• Mixing bowl
• Small bowl
• Chopping board
• Knife

📖 Steps

1. Remove the tough outer leaves and the dry tip of the lemongrass, then very finely chop the bottom 10 cm, the tender part. Peel and chop the garlic. In a mixing bowl, combine the lemongrass, garlic and the fish sauce, honey and soy sauce for the marinade, with a twist of pepper.
2. Cut the tenderloin into 1 cm thick slices and flatten them slightly with the palm of your hand. Coat them in the marinade, cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 20 minutes (up to overnight for more flavour).
3. Meanwhile, rinse the rice until the water runs almost clear. Cook it covered in 420 ml water: bring to the boil, then 12 minutes over a low heat. Leave to rest off the heat for 10 minutes without lifting the lid.
4. Make the sauce in a small bowl: dissolve the sugar in the warm water, then add the fish sauce and the lime juice. Taste: it should be sweet, salty and tangy all at once. Slice the cucumber into rounds and thinly slice the spring onions.
5. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Sear the pork slices in a single layer, in two batches if necessary, for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until caramelised and cooked through. Honey burns quickly: lower the heat if they start to blacken.
6. Set the pork aside on a covered plate. Wipe out the pan with kitchen paper, add the remaining oil over a medium heat and fry the eggs for 3 minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks still runny.
7. Divide the rice between 4 plates, then add the pork slices, a fried egg and cucumber rounds. Scatter over the spring onions and serve with the sauce, to spoon over the rice and meat.