Com (young sticky rice flakes), is the quintessence of Hanoi cuisine. The locals can cook special dishes with a distinct flavor, the most well known being cha com (com sausage).

Ingredients for the dish include com, lean pork and pork paste.

Com (young sticky rice flakes), is the quintessence of Hanoi cuisine. The locals can cook special dishes with a distinct flavor, the most well known being cha com (com sausage).

Ingredients for the dish include com, lean pork and pork paste. Com must be from the village of Vong in the northwest outskirts of Hanoi. 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 shrinking when being fried.

The mixture will be added with salt, seasonings and fish sauce. After that, the mixture is kneaded into small pieces and steamed for about 20 minutes. Finally, cha com is fried until it becomes light brown on both sides. The dish is best when the skin is crisp, the com inside soft and blended with pork. 

 

It is served hot with cooked rice or rice noodles. A hot piece of cha com dipped into chili or fish sauce will have a special taste. 

Tasty cha com.

By Thanh Giang -  Translated by Nguyen Tuoi