Authentic Cơm Tấm: A Delicious and Traditional Vietnamese Broken Rice Dish
Authentic Cơm Tấm: A Delicious and Traditional Vietnamese Broken Rice Dish
Once considered “poor man’s rice,” this humble dish has evolved into a popular Vietnamese dish.
In Vietnamese, tấm translates to broken rice grains and cơm translates to cooked rice.
Cơm Tấm is a dish that consists of, you guessed it, broken rice grains. The broken rice grain produces a somewhat sticky texture once cooked. This stickiness absorbs flavors nicely. Because broken rice is smaller, it also cooks up much faster.
Like many Vietnamese dishes, you can enjoy Cơm Tấm any time of day. In Vietnam, Cơm Tấm is considered the most iconic southern food, particularly in Saigon, while Phở reigns in the north.
What Comes with Com Tam
Cơm Tấm comes with many different items. These typically include:
Grilled meats — The most common of which is grilled lemongrass pork chops (sườn nướng sả). But you can also add other types of grilled meat such as thinly sliced beef, chicken, pork, and/or shrimp.
Pickled daikon and carrots or other pickled vegetables
Fresh vegetables — This typically includes cucumbers, tomatoes, and lettuce.
Chả Trứng — A Vietnamese steamed egg and pork meatloaf.
Fried sunny side egg — Because eggs in the egg and pork meatloaf aren’t enough.
Scallion oil — A garnish of chopped scallion lightly fried in oil. This garnish is brushed over grilled meat and rice.
Bì Heo — Cooked thinly sliced pork and pork skin tossed in a mixture of roasted rice powder and garlic.
Nước Chấm — The mother sauce of Vietnam, a sweet, sour, and savory sauce served on the side. Pour the sauce all over the rice plate to bring everything together.
Light clear soup — Typically made out of pork bones, this light soup is served on the side just in case the rice plate doesn’t already come with enough food and to help wash it all down.
History of Com Tam
Com Tam is a dish derived from poverty. Rice was a precious commodity in Vietnam. Rice farmers would save the rice that broke during the milling process. Broken rice grains were regarded as inferior and therefore harder to sell so farmers would use up the broken rice for themselves and their families instead of letting it go to waste. Over time, this humble dish has become a staple in Vietnamese cuisine.
How to Make Com Tam
I like to cook Cơm Tấm in the rice cooker just like my regular rice. Give it a good rinse with water a few times until water runs clear. It’s best to do this in a colander so that there’s no excess water that would throw off the final water amount needed. Cơm Tấm typically requires a 1:1 ratio. I typically cook 2 cups rice with 2 cups water to make about 4 servings. Put it in the rice cooker and press start. When the rice is ready, fluff it up gently with the rice paddle and serve.
