Cơm tấm

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Cơm tấm
Cơm tấm with grilled pork, shredded pork, pork skin, fried egg, pork meatloaf, pickled carrot, and sliced cucumber
Alternative names broken rice
Place of origin Vietnam
Main ingredients rice
Cookbook: Cơm tấm  Media: Cơm tấm

Cơm tấm, or broken rice, is a Vietnamese dish made from rice with fractured rice grains. Tấm refers to the broken rice grains, while cơm refers to cooked rice.[1][2] Also known as Cơm tấm Sài Gòn (Saigon-style broken rice), particularly served in southern Vietnam, in Saigon.[1]

It is usually served with grilled pork (either ribs or shredded) plus the Vietnamese dish (thinly shredded pork mixed with cooked and thinly shredded pork skin) over broken rice. The rice and meat are served with various greens and pickled vegetables, along with a prawn paste cake, trứng hấp (steamed egg), and grilled prawns. Typically, restaurants will serve this popular combination rice plate with a small bowl of nước mắm, as well as a small bowl of soup broth (canh) with garlic chives (to cleanse the throat). The dish cơm tấm bì comes with a chả trứng egg meatloaf.[3]

The main ingredient, broken rice, is a traditionally cheaper grade of rice produced by damage in milling. It is mainly used as a food industry ingredient in America and Europe, but in West Africa and South East Asia is used for human consumption. Broken rice is fragmented, not defective; there is nothing wrong with it.[4] It is as nutritious as the equivalent unbroken rice (i.e. if all the germ and bran remains, it is as nutritious as brown rice; if none remains, it is only as nutritious as white rice).


  1. ^ a b Thanh Nien Hot Spots 5 Jan 2012 "With your craftsmanship in hand, return to Saigon for a master class in clay-pot cooking, crafting cơm tấm (broken rice), caramelized pork belly,"
  2. ^ Meera Freeman The Flavours of Vietnam 2004 - Page 42 "Cơm tấm - broken rice.. 3 cups broken rice water vegetable oil (optional) Rinse the rice in plenty of cold running water until the water is clear and the rice is free of impurities. Put the washed rice in a large saucepan ..."
  3. ^ Nancie McDermott Quick and Easy Vietnamese 2012 "OMELET WITH BEAN THREAD NOODLES AND PORK - chatrung - Order com tam bi in a Vietnamese café serving rice dishes, and you'll get a fabulous feast of rice along with shredded pork, peppery pork chops, and a chunk of this tasty omelet, which is called cha trung when it is served by itself..."
  4. ^ ars.usda.gov Agriculture Research, May 2002