From paella to bibimbap to nam khao, the world loves a crispy rice dish. I thought I’d had them all. That is, until Viet Fire Kitchen in Ashburn proved me wrong. Recently, I headed to the new restaurant to try Vietnam’s contribution to the genre.
Com tay cam, or clay pot rice, isn’t as prolific as pho or bun (the latter of which, Viet Fire does a version that is, well, fire), but I give myself no excuses for not having tried it until now. My search for soccarat should have brought me its way long ago. At Viet Fire, there’s a clear emphasis on the dish that results in six different versions. Chicken (com tay cam ga) is the classic, but I’m a sucker for sweet Asian sausage, so I tried the com tay cam lap xuong. There are also iterations with everything from baby clams to a seafood combo of shrimp, squid, and scallops.
The clay pot arrived at my table sizzling as promised. The rice was piled with snow peas, bamboo, shredded carrots, and quail eggs whose soft centers singed my tongue as I bit in. The thin slices of sausage curled up as they seared against the sides of the hot pot, the Vietnamese equivalent of cupping pepperoni. But the rice itself was conspicuously plain. I mentioned this when our server visited to see how everything was going. She said that the dish is served without sauce by default, but was happy to bring me some fish sauce.
That was the ticket. The nuoc mam was liberally swirled with Sriracha, resulting in a rice dish that was funky, tangy, sweet, and a little bit spicy. The pot kept every ingredient hot until I consumed my last bite, an intensely browned clump of rice mixed with sausage and scallion. And I now have a new crispy rice in my crunchy repertoire. 44650 Waxpool Rd., #125, Ashburn
Feature image by Alice Levitt
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