Baby Shark Feast
Our local newspaper, the Seattle Times, has published a series of articles on the 50 year history of Vietnamese culture, cuisine and restaurants in WA state since our Governor Evans in 1975 welcomed Vietnamese refugees to settle here. To make sure they understood how genuine he was he told them we had good climate for farming and already have on our grocery shelves “rice paper, dry shrimp, fish sauce, rice noodles…” In addition to the history of the immigration, many restaurants and the generations of family who own them, have been featured in this series. One of my favorite articles is by our food critic, Tan Vinh, who I follow closely for his reporting on food, beverage, trends and venues. He’s a serious cocktail guy too and has alerted me to many places I might not have found on my own.
I loved this story about a Vietnamese dish popular for family reunions and Thanksgiving, Baby Shark—a big catfish. The American version of this dish is done best by Rainier Restaurant and BBQ who have the space to store the fish and several deep fryers big enough to hold the gallons of oil required to fry the fish for 30 minutes to achieve the color and crunch of the skin. Lesser cooking time will not yield the best results. Here’s a link to the article but the paywall is unpredictable. The cat fish may weigh up to 10 lbs and be 2.5 feet long! I loved it and will go back.
Click on the photos to zoom in and advance like a slideshow with the arrow.
The whole family shares and makes rice paper rolls filled with fish and fresh herbs. Dipping sauce? You bet! It was awesomely delicious and more than enough to eat for four people. Rice paper sheets come with a clever rack to hold the firm rice paper with a parallel slot filled with warm water to soften the sheets. The platter of accompaniments was generous with vegetables, greens, herbs, noodles, fried shallots, and bean sprouts. The skin was very crunchy. Loved it! The meat was moist with soft texture and no muddy flavor whatsoever. We ate it all but the bones and some of the greens. A creamy brown dipping sauce is served with it that is loosely labeled fish sauce. I have no clue about the ingredients, but also on the table all the time are the house chile oil and sweet chile sauce. My favorite was the house chile oil. At first it seems expensive at $120, but for a holiday and four or more people, that’s not bad!
Seattle’s vibrant Vietnamese food scene from the Seattle Times Series
The paywall of the Seattle Times is unpredictable. If you’re a subscriber, it shouldn’t be any problem to get in. If not, sometimes they allow a few free views. You could get lucky. Because of the review below for Anchovies and Salt I made a trip a new commercial/residential development on the south shore of Lake Washington in Renton, next to a Boeing facility with two Ryan Air jets out front. I seldom go to that neighborhood but now that I know the restaurant, I will be a more frequent visitor.
· How Seattle became a hot spot for Vietnamese cuisine
· Our food team picks the top 10 Vietnamese dishes around Seattle
· The Seattle coffee scene’s hot new trend: Vietnamese cafes
· 14 new Vietnamese cafes to try in and around Seattle
· Restaurant review: Anchovies & Salt is good. But it aspires to be great
· Where to find this secret menu item at Seattle Vietnamese restaurants
· This restaurant put Seattle Vietnamese food on the map 25 years ago
· Food critic Tan Vinh ate at 100 banh mi spots in the Seattle area. Here are his 12 favorites
· West Seattle banh mi battle: Where to get 2 great sandwiches