While ‘cha com’ is a popular choice for the main course made from ‘com’ (young sticky rice flakes), ‘com xao’ is a fantastic idea for dessert or for tea break.
For a more sophisticated version, the dish can be supplemented with thinned copra, which will enhance the buttery taste and crunchy feeling.
To cook ‘com xao’, the young sticky rice flakes must be made in early autumn, when they are soft and malleable. Its colour should not be too green but turns a little bit yellow and especially, it must have the scent of the new sticky rice.
Though the process of choosing com as its main ingredient is a bit strict, cooking the dish is not too difficult.
Just need to add sugar, thinned copra and coconut milk, then cook can get ready to make 'com xao’.
Similar to ‘cha com’, as soon as it is finished, ‘com xao’ needs to be wrapped in lotus leaves to absorb the subtle scent of lotus.
Like fresh young sticky rice flakes, the dish can also be enjoyed like a snack. The eater cuts the dish into pieces and downs it with a hot cup of lotus tea.
Nhan Dan/VNS