Cơm tấm

Cơm tấm is a Vietnamese dish made from rice with fractured rice grains. Tấm refers to the broken rice grains, while cơm refers to cooked rice. Although there are varied names like cơm tấm Sài Gòn (Saigonese broken rice), particularly for Saigon, the main ingredients remain the same for most cases. In its early days, Com Tam was a popular dish among poor rice farmers in the Mekong Delta due to their economic circumstances. During bad rice seasons, these people did not have enough good rice to sell, so they used broken rice to cook. Broken rice is fragments of rice grains broken during the handling processes and was regarded as inferior rice at the time. Broken rice was used solely because it was readily available in the farmers' houses and could fill their stomachs for a long time. Since Vietnam's urbanization in the first half of the 20th century, Com Tam became popular across Southern provinces, including Saigon. When Saigon was bustling with many people from many countries around the world, food sellers adapted Com Tam to be more suitable for foreign customers like the French, American, Chinese, and Indian. As a result, grilled pork, chả trứng (Vietnamese-style steamed omelet with pork) was added to Com Tam. Also, the portion started being served on plates with a fork instead of in traditional bowls with chopsticks. Nowadays, Com Tam is popular among everyone, and is a "standardized part of the [Saigon] culture", so much that there is a common metaphorical saying (translated from Vietnamese): "Saigon people eat Com Tam like Ha Noi people eat Pho".

Source: Wikipedia