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What is Broken Rice?
Broken rice as the name suggests, are rice grains that are damaged during harvesting, milling or transportation.
While there is nothing wrong with the broken gains, they are deemed inferior and considered low grade because they are not perfect grains.
Due to the different shapes and sizes of the rice, broken rice has a softer texture compared to “unbroken” rice and absorbs flavors easily. It also cooks faster making it a popular choice for rice dishes that need long cooking times.
In Vietnam, broken rice or cơm tấm is arguably the most iconic Saigon street food. The word “cơm” refers to cooked rice while “tấm” refers to broken rice grains.
Traditionally, com tam is eaten with pork chops, shredded pork or pork loaf. Restaurants will also serve a small bowl of nuoc cham or dipping fish sauce, the indispensable accompaniment.
Discovering Broken Rice in Saigon
While com tam is available throughout Vietnam, the dish takes on special significance in Saigon. Considered the city’s dish, com tam is also referred to as “Cơm Tấm Sài Gòn”.
While walking around the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, we noticed many street stalls with a “Com Tam” sign. No matter the time of day, morning, noon or night, there were always locals eating com tam.
One of our most enjoyable experiences in Saigon was learning how to make com tam. In a fun cooking class, we not only made com tam from scratch, but also learned about its deep history and cultural significance.
Broken rice or com tam we learned, is only one of several rice varieties in Vietnam. Once considered of lesser quality and a “poor man’s rice”, its status has evolved.
Com tam has become a popular ingredient amongst chefs and used in many Vietnamese dishes.
The secret we learned to successfully cook com tam was to use an equal ratio of water to rice. And, no more!
READ MORE: The 5 Best Cooking Classes In Saigon
History of Vietnamese Broken Rice or Com Tam
“The rice grain is the pearl of heaven”
Vietnamese Proverb
In Vietnam, rice is a symbol of life. It is known as a “the pearl of God” and it forms the basis of all Vietnamese meals.
There are many varieties of rice that exist that vary in taste, texture, color, and aroma. In addition, rice is also the basis for food products like rice paper, rice noodles, rice wine, rice vinegar and more.
The Mekong Delta in the south is the biggest rice-producing region in Vietnam. It is often referred to as Vietnam’s Rice Bowl.
The history of broken rice is said to have begun with poor rice farmers in the Mekong Delta. It is said the farmers started eating the broken rice grains because they could not sell them.
They soon developed a taste for it and with urbanization brought the dish to Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City. Economic reforms in the 1980s and growth in rice production, meant broken rice remained available and accessible.
As the economic situation in Vietnam improved, cơm tấm stalls opened up all over. Eventually, com tam became a much loved local food crossing economic boundaries.
Today, com tam is recognized as the signature dish of Saigon. It is usually served with grilled pork chop or “sườn nướng”, shredded pork skin, or egg.
The rice and pork are typically accompanied by slices of fresh tomato, cucumbers, and radish.
READ MORE: Guide to the Best of the Food in Saigon: 15 Local Foods Not to Miss
Where To Buy Broken Rice
The easiest place to find broken rice is at the Asian grocery stores in your area. When you make it to the rice aisle, don’t be surprised to see it packed in large 5 lbs bags or larger. Keep in mind, rice is the important dish in Asian cooking.
The most widely available broken rice is Jasmine broken rice from Thailand. This is simply because Thailand is one of the world’s largest exporters of Jasmine broken rice.
Alternatively, you can also find broken rice on Amazon. One good and popular brand to get is Three Ladies Jasmine Broken Rice.
Despite being from Thailand, you can still use it to make your Vietnamese broken rice dish.
Broken Rice Price – Cost of Broken Rice
Broken rice is one of the most beloved dishes in the south of Vietnam. Interestingly, what started as a “poor man’s” inexpensive rice is now incredibly popular across all social classes.
With its popularity broken rice prices are in some cases more expensive than regular long grain rice.
You can get a 5 lb bag of broken rice for under $15.00 compared to about $10.00 for long-grain rice.
Carolina Gold Rice – Broken Rice in The American South
Broken rice is not just a Vietnamese phenomenon. We also learned about broken rice while exploring Southern cuisine in South Carolina.
In a conversation with Chef Parker at Revival Restaurant in Charleston, we learned about South Carolina’s rich rice culture. The broken rice, known as Carolina Gold Rice, is popular and eaten as Midland rice grits.
Like in Vietnam, the less expensive broken rice is a favorite amongst top chefs.
READ MORE: How To Define Southern Cuisine With South Carolina Chefs
Broken Rice Recipe – How To Make Broken Rice at Home
Making com tam at home is not difficult. Our suggestion is to have all the essential ingredients ready on the counter before you get started.
For a Saigon experience, we recommend making your broken rice with grilled pork chops or cơm tấm sườn nướng.
How To Cook Broken Rice
There are two main ways of cooking rice. Both methods are quick and easy and they both yield perfectly cooked Vietnamese broken rice.
In Vietnam, rice cookers are an indispensable kitchen item. With rice consumed at almost every meal using a rice cooker to make broken rice is easy.
If you don’t have a rice cooker, you can also make Vietnamese broken rice easily on the stove top.
Please see the broken rice recipe instructions below.
Broken Rice Cooking Instructions For Rice Cooker
If you have a rice cooker, simply follow the steps below to make your Vietnamese broken rice.
- Measure 2 cups of broken rice, 2 cups of water, and a pinch of salt.
- Rinse the broken rice with water until the water is clear.
- Transfer the washed broken rice into the rice cooker
- Add the water and pinch of salt and set your rice cooker to cook.
Cooking Broken Rice on The Stove Top
If you don’t have a rice cooker, the process of making Vietnamese broken rice on the stove top is almost identical.
- Measure 2 cups of broken rice, 2 cups of water, and a pinch of salt.
- Rinse the rice and transfer it into a pot with water and salt
- Bring it to a boil, stir it, and then cover with a tight-fitting lid
- Turn the heat down to the lowest setting and let it cook for about 15 – 20 minutes
- After the rice is cooked. Turn off the heat and let it sit in the pot for an extra 5 minutes
- Fluff with a fork and serve
What Does Broken Rice Taste Like?
Broken rice tastes exactly like regular long-grain rice. With the shorter grains, the texture is soft, and never mushy.
When cooked, broken rice is slightly softer and fluffier. The taste depends on what you serve it with.
Broken rice soaks up whatever sauce you put on it very nicely.
What to Make With Broken Rice – Marinated Grilled Pork Chop or Com Tam Suon Nuong
Com tam, Saigon’s signature dish is most popularly served with marinated grilled pork chops. It is known as com tam suon nuong or cơm tấm sườn nướng.
With this broken rice recipe, we recommend having grilled pork chops for authentic Vietnamese flavors.
Other popular Vietnamese accompaniments include grilled meats, egg meatloaf, shredded pork or an egg cooked sunny-side up.
The broken rice pork chop meal is typically garnished with sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. You can also add lightly fried sliced spring onions, pickled radish, and carrots.
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Vietnamese Dipping Sauce Made From Fish Sauce
One of the secret ingredients to a tasty com tam recipe is the dipping sauce. This is one of the most quintessential elements that adds richness to the dish.
Each restaurant and home cook has their own way of mixing the fish sauce.
The dipping sauce which always includes fish sauce and sugar has wonderful sweet and sour flavors.
This sauce is so important that getting it right determines whether the broken rice dish is delicious or not.
You can make this broken rice recipe with this traditional Vietnamese dipping sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons of sugar
- 3 tablespoons of water
- ½ teaspoon of Sriracha hot chili sauce
Instructions
- Add fish sauce, water, and sugar and stir until everything dissolves completely
- Garnish with sliced or pickled carrots, daikon, or radish
Broken Rice Recipe with Grilled Pork Chop
Equipment
Ingredients
Broken Rice
- 2 cups broken rice
- 2 cups water
- pinch of salt
Grilled Pork Chops & Marinade
- ½ lb pork chops ¼ lb or 100 grams each for a total of ½ lb or 200 grams of pork chops. Choose the one attached with the bone
- 2 teaspoons spring onions chopped
- 2 teaspoon annatto oil
- 2 teaspoon chicken powder
- 1 teaspoon oyster oil
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 ½ Tablespoon soy sauce
- pinch of five spices powder
Dipping Fish Sauce
- 4 tablespoons fish sauce
- 6 tablespoons water
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon Sriracha hot chili sauce
- Pickled or fresh slices of carrot or radish for garnish
Instructions
- How To Cook Broken Rice in a Rice Cooker
- Measure 2 cups of broken rice and wash under cold running water
- Transfer the clean rice into your rice cooker
- Add 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt
- Set your rice cooker to start cooking
How to Cook Broken Rice on the Stovetop- Measure 2 cups of broken rice and wash under cold running water
- Rinse the rice and transfer it into a pot with water and salt
- Bring it to a boil, stir it, and then cover with a tight-fitting lid
- Turn the heat down to the lowest setting and let it cook for about 15 – 20 minutes
- Once the rice has cooked, turn off the heat and let it sit in the pot for an extra 5 minutes
- Fluff with a fork and serve
Grilled Pork Chops- Prepare the marinade for pork chops
- In a large dish mix chopped shallots, spring onions, annatto oil, soy sauce, oyster oil with chicken powder, sugar, and five spices powder.
- Cover the pork chops with the marinade and let it sit for 10 -15 minutes to absorb the flavors.
- Warm up your grill to medium and cook pork chops until they turn to a golden brown color
- Slice tomato, cucumber, and radish julienne-style
Dipping Fish Sauce- In a separate dish, mix 4 tablespoons of fish sauce, with 6 tablespoons of water and 3 tablespoons of sugar
- Stir until everything dissolves completely
- Feel free to taste and adjust any of the ingredients to your liking
Assembling Your Plate of Vietnamese Broken Rice with Grilled Pork Chops- To prepare your plate Vietnamese style, start by serving the rice.
- Fill a cup or small rice bowl with cooked broken rice.
- Press it gently into the bowl
- Turn it upside down onto a plate and it should form a perfect dome
- Next, lay the grilled pork next to the rice
- Pour the dipping sauce into a small dipping bowl
- Garnish the plate with sliced tomato, cucumber, or radish
Notes
Nutrition
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The 14 Most Delightful Vietnamese Desserts To Indulge In
Easy Bun Rieu Recipe: How To Make Vietnamese Crab Noodle Soup
Bun Bo Hue Recipe: How To Make Authentic Hue Spicy Noodle Soup
The 10 Best Vietnamese Cookbooks You Want To Have in Your Kitchen
Rosemary is the editor-in-chief and strategist at Authentic Food Quest.
Traveling slow since 2015 with her partner, Claire, she has explored the cuisine in 45 countries and more than 240+ culinary cities.
Her writing about local food specialties has been featured in Lonely Planet, Business Insider, Honest Cooking, Food Insider, and Huffington Post.
As a food and travel writer, Rosemary has co-authored three books, including one in collaboration with Costa Brava Tourism.
Rosemary is an avid runner when she’s not eating and exploring new destinations. She has run ten marathons and counting.
Before Authentic Food Quest, Rosemary held senior-level strategy positions in advertising.
Find out more about Authentic Food Quest
So much flavor!! I love how you have broken down the steps to make Cơm tấm at home. It all looks so good. Love the photos too!
Thank you so much, Tara. Really appreciate the feedback. Indeed Com Tam is easy to make at home and delicious too. Thanks for stopping by.
Wow, there are so many components to this amazing meal! I can’t wait to give it a try this week!
Wonderful, Jessica. Please do let us know how it turns out. Cheers.
WHat an informative and beautiful post. Learned lot on broken rice. Thanks for sharing.
I just finished having this delicious dish, and my husband and I loved them.
thanks for sharing!
I have never had Vietnamese food! Since we do grocery shopping mainly from Indian and Bangladeshi stores, I’ve noticed broken rice there. I’ll get that and try this recipe someday soon ????
Awesome to hear. And, do let us know what you think about it!! Cheers.
I would love to check it out broken rice. That meal looks delicous. Pork chops are juicy too.
Do try it, Swathi. Tasty and easy to make 🙂 Cheers.
This sounds like a delicious dinner that my family will love for sure! Yummy!
We love rice, I need to try this recipe for my family I am pretty sure they will love it and will love all the flavors
If you already love rice, broken rice will a new texture to your meals. Can’t wait to hear what you think about it! Cheers.
Yum! I am so excited to visit and Vietnam and try this Broken rice recipe. It looks really d elicious.
This looks like a delicious combination of flavors. I haven’t had this dish before, and it sounds delicious. It is nice to have something unique to try.
I so love Vietnamese food! Can’t wait to make my favourite dish at home!
Awesome to hear, Nadalie.
This recipe sure does look amazing. Vietnamese food is very delicious. I’ll have to try this out sometime.
I had no idea that broken rice was a thing. Your article was so informative and I really learned a lot. Can’t wait to try this!
So glad you enjoyed the article, Jess. Next, try the broken rice for yourself, you’ll be pleasantly surprised 🙂
What a great looking recipe! Can’t wait to try it!
Yum! This looks so delicious and tasty! My hubby and I are going to love this recipe!
Awesome, great to hear Beth. Do share your pics. Can’t wait to see how yours turns out. Cheers.
I have to try this its so intriguing and different I have never had this before but it looks fantstic!
This looks delicious! I’ve never tried Vietnamese food before but I would love to try it. Pinning to try!
Great to hear, Rena. Looking forward to hearing what you think about it. Cheers.
Love this broken rice recipe. Such a game changer in our home.
So true, Mirlene. Simple to make and quite tasty. What do you usually serve with your broken rice? Cheers.
For me, rice is life. I grew up having rice in every meal. I have not tried preparing broken rice, though. Would love to give it a try.
Can’t wait for you to try it and compare it to the rice you’ve eaten all your life. Do let us know, Lynndee. Cheers.
Broken rice sounds delicious! Thanks for the recipe, I am going to have to find some to make.
Excited for you to make it, Crystal. Fluffier and tasty. Can’t wait to hear what you think. Cheers.
This dish is making my tummy growl! I can’t wait to try this. And also I am so glad that you shared so wonderful information.
I’ve never had Vietnamese food before. This dish looks beautiful!
The Vietnamese dipping sauce sounds delicious! It is interesting that broken rice can be more expensive than long grain rice. Do they intentionally break it now for higher sales? The Vietnamese dipping sauce sounds delicious!
So glad you enjoyed the article. Yes, due to demand, they have now started breaking long grain rice to meet demand. Crazy right? Thanks, Beth for stopping by.
This looks really savory and flavorful. I would love to give this a try.
This is my first time hearing about broken rice. It would be fun to make at home, but I really hope to visit Vietnam and try it someday.
Glad you enjoyed discovering broken rice. Start with the recipe at home and then later, travel to Vietnam when you can. Cheers.
I’ve never heard of broken rice before but it’s so interesting to learn the history behind this place and the name ‘broken rice!’ I can’t wait until we’re all able to get out to eat again as we’re still in lockdown over here.
Can you believe I have never had broken rice? It looks so soft and fluffy. I want to try it soon!
This looks like a tasty dish. I am sure I will enjoy it. I’ve always been a fan of rice and pork.
I really enjoyed the history and information in this post. I can’t wait to try the recipe!
Great to hear Angela. Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks for the knowledge,here in our area,we also have that kind of rice. But I can’t remember how we called it. Hehe
Thank you for the links for the broken rice. I haven’t seen it here locally and really want to try and make some!
You are most welcome, Beth. We are excited for you to try it and bring a taste of Vietnam home. Cheers.
I hadn’t heard of broken rice before, but now I need to get some! Thanks for all the cooking methods and so much great information.
You are most welcome, Kate. So glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thanks for stopping by.
How interesting about broken rice. This dish looks and sounds amazing! Broken rice and all.
Oh, wow, such a comprehensive post! Thanks so much for teaching me a whole lot of things! Now I see how the name “broken rice” came about.
Looks yummy and delicious! ????
Thank you Kechi. So glad you enjoyed reading about the history of broken rice. Hope you make it soon. Cheers.