Com can be eaten directly or enjoyed
with bananas like a snack. It can also be mixed with other food ingredients to
create a variety of tasty dishes, including cha
com (Vietnamese com sausage) and com xao (browned green sticky rice).
Young, sticky: As soon as autumn comes, com (young sticky rice flakes) is sold abundantly in every corner of Ha Noi. — Photo vietnammoi.vn
Cha com
Unlike
other kinds of cha like cha ruoi (nereididae sandworm omelette),
cha ca (charcoal grilled fish) and cha muc (fried patties with squid eggs)
which are mainly composed of seafood ingredients and little fish, cha com is mainly made of com and has the subtle scent of new
rice. Other ingredients for the dish include lean pork and pork paste.
According
to Bui Thi Van, a housewife in Ha Noi who has made cha com for years, selecting the appropriate kind of com is important to the quality of the
dish. If the cook chooses the wrong kind of com,
the dish will become either too crushed or tough.
“Com is divided into two kinds: com in
early autumn and com in the middle of autumn. The grain of the first kind is
thin and soft, suitable for vegetarian dishes or being eaten with bananas. The
second is a bit thicker and a little hard, suitable for cooking pudding and cha com,” Van said.
“Com is sold abundantly on the streets
when autumn comes, but the best comes from Vong Village on the northwestern
outskirts of Ha Noi.
“The
meat to mix with com should be lean
shoulder pork, which contains fat, so the taste will not become too dry or the
dish downsized on being fried. The mixture will then be added with salt,
seasoning and delicious fish sauce. It will be left to absorb all the spices
for less than ten minutes.
Autumn sausage: Cha com (Vietnamese com sausage), a specialty of Ha Noi’s autumn. — Photo giochathanhhai.vn
“To
preserve the original scent of com,
no onion or garlic is added,” she said.
After
that, the mixture is kneaded into small pieces and steamed from 15 to 20
minutes. Finally, cha com is fried
until it becomes light brown on both sides. According to experienced cooks,
instead of being placed on the plates, pieces of cha com should be arranged on lotus leaves to absorb the subtle
scent of the lotus, the symbolic flower of Ha Noi’s autumn.
The
dish is best when the skin is crisp, com inside soft and the fragrance of the
grain mixed with lotus. It can be dipped into chilli or fish sauce to be eaten
with cooked rice or rice noodle.
As
the com season lasts only three
months. The dish can be freezed in the refrigerator in large quantities for
long-term use so cha com is available
all year round. Especially, the sausage, together with bun dau mam tom (fermented shrimp paste with fried tofu and rice
vermicelli), has become one of Ha Noi’s most popular street foods.
The
dish can be found abundantly in corners and alleys of the capital, but the most
renowned stalls can be found in Phat Loc Lane, Ma May or Ngo Gach Street.
“Bun dau mam tom is my favourite dish for
lunch,” said Nguyen Phuong Thao, a regular visitor to a stall in Ngo Gach
Street. “To me, the dish cannot be complete without cha com. The sausage served in Ngo Gach Street is thick, delicious
and not too greasy.”
Health kick: Com xao (browned green sticky rice), a fantastic sweet dish made from com. — Photo healthplus.vn
Com Xao
While
cha com is a great choice for the
main course, com xao is a fantastic
idea for dessert or for tea break.
While
not as popular as other dishes made from the grain, com xao enchants with the first bite.
For
a more sophisticated version, the dish can be supplemented with thinned copra,
which will enhance the buttery taste and crunchy feeling.
According
to Van, com to cook com xao must be
made in early autumn, soft and plastic. Its colour is not too green but turns a
little bit yellow and especially, it must have the scent of the new sticky
rice. Though the process of choosing com
as its main ingredient is a bit strict, cooking the dish is not too difficult.
Just needing to add sugar, thinned copra and coconut milk, the cook can get
ready to make com xao.
“Similar
to cha com, as soon as it is
finished, com xao needs to be wrapped
in lotus leaves to absorb the subtle scent of lotus,” Van said.
Like
fresh young sticky rice flakes, the dish can also be enjoyed like a snack. The
eater cuts the dish into pieces and downs it with a hot cup of lotus tea.
“In
the bit cold of early autumn, what is more pleasant than nibbling pieces of com xao in the lotus fragrance
evaporated from hot tea mixed with the fragrance of sticky rice. That’s truly
the taste of Ha Noi’s autumn,” Van added.
By Thien Thu/ VNS