A Resourceful
Necessity

The word Com means cooked rice, and Tam refers to the fractured grains produced during the milling process. These grains deliver a less aesthetically pleasing appearance since Com Tam was considered an imperfect product of lower quality compared to whole, unbroken grains. However things started to shift during the economic difficulty in the Mekong Delta region around the late 18th and early 20th centuries, when the only purpose of high-grade whole rice was to export overseas. Therefore, Southern farmers came up with a solution of using fragmented grain swept off the floors.

It was like discovering a hidden treasure...

Soft and aromatic, it became the go-to meal for long days working the land. Out of pure necessity, a simple meal was born; a creation that could eventually grow to feed the very heart and soul of the place it derives.