By Mon Ngon Viet Nam-Prey NokorThe Mekong Delta village of Dong Hoa Hiep has become famous for producing a fragrant type of sweet rice cake, known as com, which is also offered to the gods at ethnic festivals.
The village, just 130 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City, makes two brands of com – Ngoc Loi and Cai Be.
There are two types of com. One is made with young green rice flakes. The flakes themselves are made from young rice grains roasted and then flattened with a mortar and pestle to remove the husk.
The second type of com made in the village in Cai Be District of Tien Giang Province is popped young rice grains, sweetened and formed into small round balls.
The product can be stored in an airtight container for six months or more.
To enjoy com, it is advisable to chew it slowly to feel the stickiness of the young rice and ejoy the sweet, fragrant taste.
Com is actually a traditional variety of rice served around Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, where the rice cakes are manually produced with different flavors and tastes, depending on the manufacturer.
Rice for com is harvested as a young grain so it has a pleasant floral fragrance. The rice is then parboiled, rolled, flattened and dried to produce flakes. The flakes come in different thicknesses, depending on the pressure used in the flattening process.
The flakes are able to absorb a large volume of liquid – as well as flavors – when cooked.
Green rice flakes have a delightful scent and, when combined with batter, coconut and banana, make a substantial dessert.
The flakes are very popular in Asian cooking but in Western countries they are most often used to make commercial cereals and rice snacks.
In Hanoi, a different type of com, sold on Hang Than Street, is popular.
Com is sometimes stuffed with banana, green rice and syrup, held together with an outer coating of batter.
Festival food
Com is an indispensable food for the Khmer ethnic people when celebrating their traditional Ok Om Bok festival, which falls on the full-moon day of the tenth month of the lunar calendar every year.
The festival is held to thank the moon for its “support” for good weather, good crops and plenty of food.
On the night of the festival, family members gather in front of the communal pagoda or their houses. They prepare a special feast with com, ripe bananas, fresh peeled coconuts and mangoes to offer to the moon.
The offering ceremony begins with all family members sitting on the ground and clasping their hands while waiting for the moon to rise. An elderly man expresses everyone’s gratitude to the moon and prays for continued good crops and good health.
After the ceremony, they continue looking up at the moon, while receiving green rice flakes from the elderly man and making their wishes.
They then launch paper lanterns into the sky and banana-tree rafts into rivers. The rafts are decorated with colorful lights and loaded with offerings.
A jubilant atmosphere prevails at the celebration sites, where many people gather to enjoy folk art performances, dancing around a bonfire, flying balloons and the Khmer stage arts of Du Ke and Ro Bam.Ok Om Bok is a popular festival celebrated not only in Soc Trang but also in the Mekong Delta provinces of Vinh Long, Tra Vinh, Can Tho, Kien Giang and An Giang.
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