Chef Tue Nguyen grew up in South Vietnam, where broken rice plates are a popular street food with a colorful story few Americans know. She set out to change that, educating her followers as TikTok creator TwayDaBae, and Local Kitchens, a multi-brand restaurant concept in California’s Bay Area, took notice.
Now Nguyen is collaborating with Local Kitchens, launching fast-casual Tam Tam Rice at its 12 locations. Vietnamese broken rice plates are the signature dish.
But first the story.
“Broken pieces of rice were always given to the poor people in Vietnam, with the perfect grains going to the upper classes and royalty,” said Nguyen. “The broken pieces of rice were turned into a street food called “broken rice plates” and after the war, it grew in popularity because it was affordable and accessible.
Tue Nguyen demos broken rice plates
@twaydabae BAY AREAAAA! You can now try my new menu Tấm Tấm Rice in partnership with @localkitchens at ALL 13 LOCATIONS!🥳🎊 #eatlocalkitchens♬ original sound - twaydabae
In the U.S., some Asian restaurants were serving what they called “broken rice plates, “but no one used actual broken rice—they used regular grains of rice,” said Nguyen. “The broken grains have a different fragrance and texture and absorb the flavors better.”
Local Kitchens likes to partner with chefs who have a story to tell, added Nguyen, so when she was asked to collaborate, it was natural for her to build a menu around broken rice plates.
Right now, Tam Tam Rice offers two broken rice plate variations on the menu. Broke Chick Tam features char-broiled chicken, broken rice, Vietnamese pork and egg quiche, pickled mustard greens, pickled daikon and carrots, and Persian cucumbers. The Rich Pork Belly Tam subs pork belly for the chicken, but the other ingredients are the same.
Rich Pork Belly Tam. | Photo courtesy of Local Kitchens.
There’s also a Spicy Pork Belly Fried Rice topped with an egg that has a base of broken rice. Vietnamese Egg Rolls and Tamarind Jackfruit Salad round out the menu. Prices run $14-$16 for the entrees and $10-$12 for starters.
Preserving the authenticity of the dishes is a priority for Nguyen.
“You can’t just use regular rice and break it yourself,” she said. “You have to source the broken rice from a supplier.” The zero-waste aspect of broken rice plates is another selling point, she added.
Although Tam Tam’s menu is limited, Nguyen had to spend some time training the cooks at each Local Kitchens location. She developed a training manual with videos to guide team members, some of whom had never used lemon grass before or tasted tamarind.
Local Kitchens is based on a food hall model, but the cooks are not dedicated to one concept. They may be called on to prep broken rice plates at Tam Tam Rice, Nashville hot chicken at Nash & Proper and a sweet onion burger at The SOB on any given day. There are typically 11 or 12 restaurant brands under one roof. All the concepts share the same kitchen, and staple ingredients are cross utilized. When Nguyen came on board, the kitchens added a char-broiler for her chicken dish.
She also operates an upscale Vietnamese full-service restaurant called DiDi, which opened two years ago in Los Angeles. The menu here is pricier, with dinner entrees like Sweet and Sour Duck ($33), Lemongrass Pork Belly ($36) and Roasted Local Sea Bass ($42). Brunch is also served.
“I wanted to showcase the cuisine here in a different way than the Vietnamese mom-and-pops in LA,” said Nguyen. “And I didn’t want to be known only as the girl who cooks online.” She opened DiDi after becoming a social media cooking sensation during the pandemic and testing out ideas at pop-ups.
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