A Plate Away From Home

How cóm tâm connects a student to his culture.

BY LIANA PROGAR

School has just ended in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. On his way home, Thai Hua hears the usual hustle and bustle of the city. A moped zooms off in the distance, and people chatter loudly over their meals. He sees people going about their daily lives as smoke fills the air from nearby food stall grills. He smells various foods from the food stalls lining the street, but to him, the most alluring smell of all is cóm tâm.

Cóm tâm is a common street food in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, that was developed after bad rice seasons. Grains of rice broken by harvesting and rice mills were used by farmers to create cóm tâm. Hua, a freshman mechanical engineering major, moved from Vietnam to the U.S. four years ago. For him, cóm tâm isn’t just a meal: It’s a reminder of home; it’s joy, happiness and comfort.

Hua began cooking cóm tâm and has been experimenting with his own version of the dish for six months. Hua doesn't cook too often, but when he does, his go-to meal is cóm tâm.

“The pork, the sweet part of the sauce, the pickled carrot and daikon — also the freshness of the vegetables and the steamy rice — it’s something that represents all aspects of the city.” Hua said.

Cóm tâm is a simple yet “humble” dish, and it’s a great way to try something new without spending too much. The ingredients are easy to find, and the dish is easy to modify, as Ho Chi Minh City and Hua have shown. In the city, cooks may add fried egg or sausage to the dish to appeal to foreign travelers.

“Every time I go out to the street, I would smell the smoke from the grilled pork that street vendors were making, and it would make me hungry every time,” Hua said.

Hua was introduced to cóm tâm through his family one day in Ho Chi Minh City. Hua loved the dish and knew he had to cook it himself. Sometimes, Hua cooks cóm tâm with his mother. Dividing the tasks, the mother and son pair would enjoy each other’s company, bringing them closer.

Cóm tâm not only strengthens the mother-son bond, but it also unites his whole family as well. When he was little, Hua’s family would get up early to drive to his grandparents' house in Vietnam’s countryside, often skipping breakfast. After the car ride, his family would stop at a restaurant in the Tien Giang Province to get cóm tâm, one of the family’s favorite foods.

“Overall, it is a great dish that holds a special place in my heart,” Hua said. “There is nothing like a humble but tasty plate of cóm tâm.”

INGREDIENTS

RICE

• 3 cups of jasmine rice • Tomatoes • Cucumber • Lettuce • 3/4 cup water

PORK

• 2lb bone-in pork chops (about ½ inch thick) • 2 tbsp. vegetable oil • 2 tbsp. soy sauce • 2 tbsp. fish sauce • 2 tbsp. condensed milk • 2 tbsp. oyster sauce • 2 tbsp. minced garlic • 2 tbsp. sugar • 2 tbsp. chicken bouillon • 2 tbsp. salt • 2 tbsp. black pepper • 1 ½ cup orange juice

PICKLED VEGETABLES

• 1 tsp. salt • ¼ cup sugar • ½ cup white vinegar • 1 tsp. white vinegar (separated) • ½ cup water • 1 tsp. water (separated) • 1 carrot • 1 daikon radish

SAUCE

• 3 tbsp. fish sauce • 1 tbsp. water • 1 tbsp. sugar • ½ of a lime (optional) • Thai chili peppers (optional)

SCALLION OIL

• 2 medium scallion stalks (sliced) • ½ cup vegetable oil

INSTRUCTIONS

PREPARING RICE

1. Fill a rice cooker with rice, then wash thoroughly with water, swirling the rice around. 2. Pour out starchy water and repeat the washing process three times. 3. Add water to the pot 4. Cook according to rice cooker’s instructions.

COOKING PORK

1. Mix the soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, condensed milk, sugar, minced garlic and vegetable oil in a big bowl. Add salt, pepper and chicken bouillon. Add pork chops to the mixture. Pour in the orange juice, mix again, cover with plastic wrap and marinate overnight. 2. Grill pork over medium-high heat, turning frequently until a nice, brown color is achieved. Use marinade to baste in the process.

PICKLING VEGETABLES

1. Soak and wash daikon and carrots in salt, vinegar and water for 5-10 minutes, and drain. 2. Prepare a pickling solution of sugar, ½ cup vinegar and 1 ½ cup water. Put carrots and daikon in a jar, and add in the pickling solution. Place in the fridge for at least 2 hours, the longer the better.

MIXING SAUCE

1. In a small bowl, mix fish sauce, water, sugar and optionally the juice of half a lime and

Thai chilli peppers. Adjust to your liking.

MAKING SCALLION OIL

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a small saucepan. Cut the scallions, then add to hot oil. Mix continuously until the scallions are softened.

Take off heat and pour into a small bowl.

SERVING

1. Place rice, grilled pork, pickled carrots and daikon and sliced vegetables on different sections of the plate. Spoon scallion oil over the rice and pork to your liking. Put the sauce in a small bowl and add the desired amount.