Whenever I ask my non-local friends about their view on Vietnamese food, most of the time, the majority of their feedback includes famous Vietnamese dishes that have been globalised such as Pho (the rice-noodle and broth soup) or the Banh Mi (the Vietnamese baguette sandwich). Rarely, if ever, have I seen anybody mention the dish called “Com Tam”. Com Tam is in my opinion, one of Vietnam’s most underrated dishes. As far as publicity goes, it is one of the lesser known gems of the Vietnamese cuisine when it comes to global recognition. Packed with flavour, its history is equally rich as it is delicious. The name Com Tam are literal translations of the words “Com” which means cooked-rice and “Tam” which refers to their fragmented broken grains. Com Tam dates back to the older days where most of the Vietnamese population were poor and couldn’t afford full, long-grain rice and hence, the idea of consuming broken grains of rice was implemented as a substitute. Over time however, the fragmented properties of the rice allowed it to form its own identity and in modern day Vietnamese cuisine, broken rice is no longer considered a “poor man’s food” but rather an integral ingredient with a unique taste and texture.