Com Tam – Best Saigon street food

What is Com Tam?

Com Tam, or broken rice, is an everyday meal made from broken rice grains. In the past, the fractured grains were difficult to sell because most people preferred to eat the long, whole grain rice. With their broken rice unsold, farmers traditionally would use it as animal feed. However, food is rarely wasted in Vietnam and, at some point, farmers and poor families (who could afford the broken grain) began to cook it for their own consumption. They would eat this cheaper rice with egg and bits of meat. Nowadays, broken rice is often favored over long grain rice for its texture and is no longer considered “lower-class’ rice,”. But over the years, the Saigonese became rather fond of the broken rice grains and today, it’s eaten all around Ho Chi Minh City.

broken rice

Fun fact: many Com Tam restaurants are forced to break their own rice grains to be able to meet the growing demand for this dish.

Broken rice is a combination of grilled pork chop, meatloaf, pork skin and egg cake. In addition, the most important aspect of this plate is fish sauce poured over the broken rice. This creates a dish of flavorful rice that has a little bit of everything – sweet, salty, and even spicy if you want to add chili too. The finishing touch includes a drizzle of scallion with oil.

Broken rice: As broken rice is white rice, the taste is the same as white rice. Because of the shorter grains, the rice can have varying textures depending on how you cook it. If cooked with minimal amounts of water, broken rice has a nutty, risotto-like texture. If cooked with moderate amounts of water, the rice is fluffy and sticky, similar to glutinous rice.

Grilled pork chop: This is the centerpiece of a broken rice plate. The pork chop is dipped in the savory and sweet sauce. You will definitely be attracted by the meaty smoke snaking from the grill. That’s what makes the broken rice vendor standing out in the morning or at night. In Saigon, you will usually see the whole big piece of pork chop served on the dish, but in the Mekong Delta, you may see this pork chop cut into thin strings after grilled

“Cha”: You can have an omelet egg accompanied your broken rice if you like. Otherwise, you will have “Cha”, a side dish made of egg with meat and several other ingredients like the wood ear. This is specially made to eat with broken rice, creating a soft texture contrasting to the juicy but a bit chewy grilled meat.

Shredded pork skin: The pork skin is cooked and shredded then mix with a fermented rice power. This topping does not add much taste to the dish but the crunch feeling after bite will be a perfect balance.

Pickles and vegetables: This is an indispensable part of the dish. Pickles are usually made from daikon and carrot, and the vegetables are cucumber, letture and slices of tomato. Pickles and vegetables bring the taste of freshness, a little sour and spicy to the dish.

Dipping sauce: If grilled pork chop is the centerpiece, the dipping sauce made from fish sauce is the spirit of broken rice. It is what decides the deliciousness of the dish. The sauce is slightly sugared, a little bit spicy and salty to add more flavor to the rice.

Fat topping: To keep the dish moist and add extra flavor. the scallion with oil and crunchy pieces of fat are added. Some may not appreciate these little details, but some would feel broken rice incomplete without these ingredients.

Where to Find Com Tam (Broken Rice) in Saigon

Com Tam can be found on almost every street corner in Ho Chi Minh City, and all around the country in fact. Most Com Tam joints are street stalls but more and more, Com Tam has been cropping up on the menus of high-end restaurants. You’ll usually find Com Tam shops situated close to office buildings and schools, as it is typical for students and office workers alike to eat this dish during their lunch break and at the day’s end.

Some Famous Com Tam restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City

Com Tam Kieu Giang

This restaurant was established a long time ago and has been well-known locally from generation to generation. Besides broken rice, it has a wide range of other Vietnamese dishes as wall.

Address: 192 Tran Quang Khai street, District 1

Price: VND 45.000 – 75.000

Com Tam Thuan Kieu 

Talking about Com Tam restaurant, we can’t miss Com Tam Thuan Kieu. This brand is highly Famous among high-class citizens and foreigners. It is famous for the unparalleled dipping sauce, an important element of any dishes in Vietnam determining the skills of a chef.

Address: 54 Thuan Kieu street, District 11

Price: VND 55.000 – 100.000

Com Tam Ba Ghien 

This is among the most crowded Com Tam restaurant. This restaurant has its own special recipe for grilled pork chop. Consumers come there often order a broken rice dish with the combo of pork chop, shredded pork skin and cha. This is the traditional combo of a broken rice dish, also the signature dish of the restaurant. Some may not appreciate these little details, but some would feel broken rice incomplete without these ingredients.

Address: 54 Dang Van Ngu street, Phu Nhuan District

Price: VND 35.000 – 140.000

How to Eat Com Tam (Broken Rice) 

Com Tam is eaten using a fork and spoon, the preference of most Southeast Asian countries when it comes to utensil combos. It might feel strange eating a slab of pork without a knife but trust me when I say that pork is so soft, your spoon will be able to easily slice through the meat. Spear the chunk of meat with your fork and then shovel the broken rice with your spoon. Com tam is usually drenched in fish sauce, the quintessential fish sauce condiment in Vietnam, but in my opinion, the pork chop is salty as is, so just pour the fish sauce in little amounts so you don’t overdose on Sodium.

Our Advice for Eating Com Tam (Broken Rice)

Broken rice is eaten as a normal lunch and dinner entree but it’s a very hefty meal so don’t expect to do some marathons after this. The best time to eat com tam is during a jam-packed day when you’ll only have time for one meal. It will hold you over and give you the energy you need to take on a long day. Just make sure to keep hydrated while you’re eating com tam because especially on a hot day in Saigon, the heavy intake of sodium will heighten the risk of dehydration.

Souce: cmego.com