My comfort food

Acerbic food critic, Anton Ego from Ratatouille, and another imperious food connoisseur, Tomoya from Midnight Diner, have one thing in common. It's their love for a surprisingly simple, peasant dish. The way stewed vegetables and butter rice resurrected memories of even the most pompous of men had me thinking - so good food can go without sophistication and fancy indeed.

Anton Ego flashbacked his childhood after the first taste of Remi's ratatouille,

while Tomoya recalled his difficult days over a bowl of butter rice.

There is one flavour that outshines expensive ingredients and all kinds of culinary arts, and it's called nostalgia. Since comfort food has such deep sentimental value, every person keeps their favourite dish close to their heart.

I wonder what your comfort food is. For me, the choice is always CƠM TẤM.

1. Cơm tấm as what it is and how I like it

Cơm tấm, or broken rice dish with grilled pork chop, is a quintessential part of the whole experience in Saigon. The food is so iconic because it embodies the essence of street food culture in the South. Let's just say, cơm tấm is best-loved as a breakfast choice or a late-night eat. In my case, I'd like a good serving of cơm tấm at a random al-fresco eatery for my late dinner.

Cơm tấm - a drawing from lerin_illustration

My usual order would probably be the traditional one with no extra toppings, or the one with chả trứng - a steamed egg cake with a concoction of eggs, wood-ear mushrooms, and glass noodles as the filling. Most of the time, I wouldn't order sunny-side ups for a side dish, it's a bit too easy to cook at home. But if I'm in the mood that day, I prefer a runny yolk, not overbasted or overcooked.

Just like me, cơm tấm is so much more attractive in the flesh :)))

Anyway, the centerpiece of cơm tấm still lies in its grilled pork chop, which is marinated with fish sauce and spices. Charred meat, if seasoned just right, will be full of umami and sweetness. Just one bite of that juicy, caramelized pork is enough to give you a real sensation in the mouth.

Shredded pork skin is also a nice option when I'm over-ordering chả

And how can I forget about the broken rice, the REAL heart and soul of the cuisine? This pure gastronomic pleasure will not be the same if the "tấm" rice is replaced by normal grains, because they will not be as firm, separated, and may become mushy. With the combination of pickled carrot and daikon, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, or a bowl of broth soup, it cleanses the palate and neutralizes the greasiness of the plate. I really miss my nearly-midnight trips to cơm tấm vendors :(((

2. A return to childhood

Personally, I don't really like the idea of sitting down in a cơm tấm restaurant. Somewhere between the "hygienic and commercial" line, it loses the charm and rustic beauty of a working-class dish. Don't get me wrong, the menu is still decent and reasonably priced, but perhaps, I'm more familiar with the stalls of cơm tấm hidden in obscure alleyways since I grew up with them.

The making and selling of cơm tấm

My first memory of cơm tấm was in elementary school. Dad used to drop us two siblings off at a nearby food stand to have breakfast. I was the 'slow eater' type, who always zoned out contemplating the surroundings, so he would leave me there and take my brother to school first.

The hustle and bustle of those mornings still imprinted on my mind, students and parents came and went while the food vendor handed out different plates. Every time she opened the lid of the steamer, the subtle and pleasant aroma of pandan steamed rice reached my nose. This aroma, along with the smell of meaty smoke snaking from the grill must have driven passers-by crazy. I love watching Ms. Sương grilling her pork chops, cutting the meat, and pouring out dipping sauce so much that whenever I played make-belief with friends or cousins, I would always choose the role of a "cơm tấm" vendor serving out food.

Soy milk next to the cơm tấm stall

Next to the cơm tấm stall, there was a woman with a beverage cart. Her signature and most-ordered drink was possibly hot soy milk, so guys, I was hooked! I'm not that big of a fan of soy milk and only ONCE dared to ask my father for a drink afterward, but every time I ate my breakfast, the fragrance of her soy milk drink was such a phenomenal addition to the experience.

Just a demonstration, this is not the place

Another back story of mine is about the once-famous Cơm Tấm Ma in Đinh Tiên Hoàng street. I used to dine there for a while on my way home in third or fourth grade (if memory serves right). The temptation was too great for commuters at that time of night, since this place was one of the first to barbecue big chunks of ribs over charcoal right on the sidewalk. The eatery was originally named 'Cơm Tấm Mai', but their regular patrons came mostly in the wee hours, hence the mispronunciation 'Cơm Tấm Ma'.

But the most special thing about this vendor was the good quality of the rice. Their "tấm" rice grains were inexplicably more fragrant and sweet, it was hard to resist. Sometimes my dad would tease me by choosing another route going home, so I couldn't wheedle him into stopping at the place. But there were times when my family (mostly me) would get a craving for cơm tấm in the middle of the night, and dad would drive me there to dive into a dish. At the ungodly hour after a night out in Saigon, this place really hit the spot for many night owls. The business was booming so rapidly that they expanded to a second house next door. But something happened (a relocation I heard) and now their popularity is not the same.

3. A final word

Cơm tấm - an illustration by Diep Quynh

Maybe I love cơm tấm this much because I had so many great memories with it. But it's not just about the memories, it's also about who I was enjoying the dish with. As I got older, more and more people came and went from my life, just like the passengers in the morning at Ms. Sương's eatery. So at the same food stalls, the same plates of cơm tấm no longer taste as good. Yet I still remember the flavour of the rice, the aromatic grilled pork, the chewy texture of shredded pork skin, and the scent of hot soy milk of old. It was something I wanted to lean on to stay optimistic and comforted.

Many people who are close to me know that I love cơm tấm, because I keep stating my preference OVER AND OVER AGAIN. But nobody has ever asked me why. In fact, I've never asked myself why. Until recently, when I came across mayuko's Onigiri and Me // An ode to my favorite food.

I figured that at some point in my life, I will say a thing or two about this comfort food, assuming I was asked in English: 'What is your favourite food?'. There you have it.

- No, it's not bánh chưng, nor bitter melon soup. Nor is it thịt kho tàu aka caramelized pork and eggs. It's cơm tấm. It's cơm tấm.

IT IS. CƠM. TẤM!

JANE VIẾT.

With so much passion and love and reminiscence :)))