You may ask, how can burnt rice be eaten? However, we are not talking about charcoal-black rice. We are talking about the crunchy one with various toppings. Com Chay, or Vietnamese scorched burnt rice, is a rural dish that has become a favorite snack for many locals. The dish, which was unintentionally created, has now been available in many versions and partly describes the culture of Vietnam.
The Origin of Com Chay – Vietnamese Scorched Burnt Rice and The Love Story Behind
In the past, Vietnamese people used to cook rice in steel pots on charcoal stoves or wood stoves. It is tough to modify the volume of fire, so unless you are a skillful cook, your ready-to-eat pot of rice would be burnt a little at the bottom.
Surprisingly, this simple dish is also evidence of a love story between a poor cook and a lady. The story came from Ninh Binh, a province producing 385 tons of burnt rice yearly. At the end of the 19th century, a young man named Dinh Hoang Thang moved from Ninh Binh to Hanoi and worked for a big Chinese food store. He fell in love with the restaurant’s boss’s daughter. After confessing his love and proposing to her, sadly, he was rejected because of the pressure from her family. Disappointed but not discouraged, he returned to his hometown and started his own business specializing in Com Chay with his experience working in Hanoi. He became successful, and his fame spread so widely that his old boss knew about it. Not until then could he marry the love of his life. Thanks to his triumph, many people have tried learning the recipe and opened their stores to sell the particular version of the scorched burnt rice called Com Chay Ninh Binh.
Variations of Com Chay – Vietnamese Scorched Burnt Rice
Nowadays, Com Chay is no longer an unwanted part of the cooker. Only highly competent cooks can serve evenly yellowish-brown, not fire-blackened, and crispy Com Chay. Since it goes well with many types of meat and sauces, Com Chay has many variants, either simple or complex.
The basic version of Com Chay is to eat with sauces only. In the past, families in the countryside enjoyed using the stew pork and dried shrimp dip (Kho Quet), a sauce that enhances the flavor of Rau Lang – a common Vietnamese vegetable. In Ho Chi Minh City and many parts of the South region, people prefer eating Com Chay topped with melted lard, minced peanuts, and chopped scallions. To make it tastier, some stores would serve salt with minced lemongrass to the customers. They can enjoy it with grilled chicken in clay pots. In such a way, Com Chay has evolved from a midday snack to a nutritious meal.
Com Chay Ninh Binh, however, has a more complicated cooking process. It is made from Huong glutinous rice, whose grain is round and translucent. The rice is carefully cooked until it is burnt enough but still has the significant softness of glutinous rice. The locals used to dry it under the sun for better preservation. They already have a particular machine for this step, so they do not have to depend too much on the weather, save time, and produce more effectively. It is then fried before being served with goat meat, beef, pig’s heart and kidney, and some vegetables. They also take the sauces from cooking those meats to put on the dish.
A close version of Com Chay Ninh Binh is seafood burnt rice, primarily available in Hai Phong, a coastal province of Vietnam. The cooking process is similar, but the toppings of this version are local ingredients like shrimp, crab, squid, geoduck, and shellfish.
Places to Buy Com Chay (Vietnamese Scorched Burnt Rice) in Ho Chi Minh City
The simple but delicious Com Chay has become a popular and mass-produced snack in excellent packaging. So, the most convenient and common way to buy Com Chay is online or at takeaway food stores. Here are some addresses of the takeaway stores for your reference.
If you know a reliable hotel staff or tour guide, you can ask them to help you with the online order and pick-up delivery because the sellers may not be fluent in English. If you are going on our private tours, please tell us you want to try out this delicious traditional dish. We are more than happy to support you.
Com Chay Cha Bong Chat
Address: 256B Cach Mang Thang Tam, Ward 10, District 3
Opening hours: 3 PM – 9 PM
Price: 10,000 VND/box
Com Chay of this stall, with plain pork floss and homemade sauce, might not look as eye-catching as other places, but the taste is not inferior.
The Gioi Com Chay Cha Bong
Address: 277B Cach Mang Thang Tam, Ward 12, District 10
Opening hours: 9 AM – 9 PM
Price: 20,000 VND/serving
This store is famous for its special Com Chay made from glutinous rice and its fast, almost 24-hour shipping service.
Com Chay Nam Ky Khoi Nghia
Address: At the corner of the intersection of Nam Ky Khoi Nghia and Le Loi, District 1
Opening hours: 3 PM – 7 PM
Price: 35,000 VND/serving
This is just a small food stall on the sidewalk, but the quality is undeniably good. Unlike other suggested stores above, it does not provide vacuum packaging for international flights.
Summary on Com Chay – The Scorched Burnt Rice
Vietnamese people have utilized the familiar ingredients in the local area to make Com Chay, so even the name shows how modest this dish is. However, the harmony between the scorched burnt rice and the toppings (meats and sauces) would make you unable to stop eating.
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