A 40-thousand-dong lunch: broken rice and how to order one plate that keeps you full until evening

If I could recommend only one dish for foreigners trying Vietnamese food for the first time, I would choose com tam (broken rice). The reason is simple: it's easy to eat, nothing unfamiliar, and a full plate costs only about 35,000–55,000 dong.

Tấm" means broken rice—rice grains that crack during the milling process. Years ago, it was the inexpensive portion of rice that poor families kept for themselves to eat, while whole grains were sold. Today it has become a specialty dish, and when cooked, broken rice becomes more tender and absorbs fish sauce far better than regular rice.

How to order as a beginner: just say the name of the cut of meat you want.

• Ribs — grilled pork chop rib, the most popular and safest choice for beginners • Bì — shredded pork skin mixed with roasted rice powder, an unusual taste, slightly chewy • Chả — steamed egg with minced meat and glass noodles, soft and great for kids • Sườn bì chả — orders all three, the fullest plate and also the most expensive

It comes standard with pickled vegetables (carrots, pickled radish), cucumber, scallion oil, and a small bowl of soup. That bowl of soup is free and is usually refilled — many foreign guests don't know this and end up not taking advantage of it.

Most important: the fish sauce base. This isn't pure fish sauce, but rather fish sauce diluted with sugar, garlic, and chili. You pour it directly over your rice, not dip into it. Pour just a little at first and then mix it in to taste, since every restaurant mixes theirs to a different level of sweetness.

A few tips:

• Broken rice (com tam) in the South is a breakfast dish, but in Da Nang it's most popular for lunch and dinner. • A place that's crowded with people in work clothes at lunchtime is almost always a good place to eat. • If you can't handle spicy food, say "no chili" when ordering. • If you want more rice, just ask — many places will give you extra rice for free.

A few com tam (broken rice) and com suon (rice with pork chop) restaurants on VietSpots are pinned below.