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Crispy Rice Cake
Com chay ~ Kuhm Chay

When you cook rice the old-fashioned way in a pot, a nice crust sometimes forms at the bottom if the initial high-heat boiling is prolonged. The toasty, crisp result is called com chay, which literally means burnt rice in Vietnamese, though the grains are not black. Ideally, they're golden brown and have a nutty-sweet flavor. The crust is broken into shard-like pieces and enjoyed with saucy savory dishes that can flavor and soften the grains.

Some folks wax nostalgically about enjoying com chay with fish that's been simmered with caramel sauce and fish sauce. Serving com chay with such preparations (called kho) is a classic Viet pairing. If you've ever enjoyed Persian food, you may have come across delectable crusty rice preparations that are purposefully crafted to be a highlight of the meal.

In the past, before the days of heavy-bottomed pans and electric rice cookers, com chay was a common part of everyday eating. The vagaries of unreliable cooking vessels and heat sources (often times, the source was coal) made it easy for cooks to get com chay from their daily rice pots.

But even when I was growing up here in the States, whenever we didn't mind the rice pot carefully during the cooking process, we got a bit of com chay at the bottom. Mom would scoop out the fluffy cooked rice and then she'd pry out the crust. (She loves com chay but unfortunately chipped a tooth on some years ago and hasn't dared to indulge since then.) Carolyn Jung, my good friend who's a food journalist at the San Jose Mercury News, recalls that when her mom made rice in an electric rice cooker (this was before the days of fuzzy logic rice cookers) and left the cooker on for too long, they got the Chinese equivalent of com chay.

Carolyn and I had this conversation over lunch at a Viet restaurant in San Jose where an interesting version of com chay was served. Translated into English as "crispy rice cake" but presented in Vietnamese as com chay, the disk of toasty, slightly crisp rice was made in a skillet. Of course it couldn't be part of the rice pot. How could it have been? They concocted a la minute. I ordered for it with some scallion oil for an extra touch of richness, and Carolyn and I enjoyed the rice with a mackerel kho.

It had been so long since I'd had com chay that I actually just like the rice cake on its own. Once home, I made a pot of rice and experimented. My reproduction went exceedling well and frankly, was better than the restaurant version. Here's how you do it:

1. Make a batch of rice. I used Golden Phoenix jasmine and cooked it in a heavy-bottomed saucepan to a chewy-firm texture with a ratio of 1 cup rice to 11/4 cups water. You can certainly use a rice cooker and your favorite type/brand of rice.

2. While the rice cooks, make some scallion oil garnish. Set aside.

3. After the rice is cooked (it can be hot or warm), heat an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add some rice and use a spatula (wooden or heatproof rubber kind works) to gently press the rice into a 1/2-inch thick disk. How much rice you use depends on the bottom width of your skillet.

4. Let cook, undisturbed, for 5 minutes, during which the grains will basically dry fry. You'll eventually hear gentle sizzling. Increase the heat to medium-high and let the rice dry fry for 2 minutes, or until the grains at the edge are slightly golden. You should be able to shake the disk of rice around in the skillet by now. Peak underneath to check on the color of the rice. Cook for a little longer, if you like. However, be careful not to burn the grains!

5. With a spatula or a firm and confident jerk of the skillet, flip the rice cake over. Lower the heat to medium and repeat the dry-frying process, remembering to increase the heat to medium-high at the end. You may neaten up the rough edge by pushing it down and inward.

6. Slide the finished rice cake onto a plate, top with scallion oil garnish, and serve. At the table, use chopsticks or a knife to cut wedges of the rice cake. Enjoy with saucy dishes like one of the kho from this LA Times article.

NOTES & TIPS

Leftover rice can be used but reheat it first in a microwave oven to refresh the texture.