Just think of it: With my recipe for Two-Step Boiled Louisiana Crawfish, it’s whole crawfish boiled to perfection and then drenched in a spicy cauldron of Asian flavors. Ginger, orange, garlic, peppers and lemon with a velvety cloak of rich butter sizzling in a wok filled with three pounds of boiled crawfish just sucking up the flavors of another culture. Oh yeah, got your attention, huh?
Spicy, buttery, garlicky, and citrusy–this Two-Step Boiled Louisiana Crawfish has a Vietnamese twist. (All photos credit: George Graham)
I was reluctant. I was skeptical. I was dragged kicking and screaming into an Asian restaurant in Houston to eat boiled Louisiana crawfish in a totally new way. Okay, I admit it: At some point, my insatiable culinary curiosity kicked into overdrive, and I just had to find out what all the fuss was about. How could boiled crawfish, my Louisiana birthright, be improved? Impossible! Perfectly seasoned, boiled to perfection, whole Louisiana crawfish served up steaming hot is as good as it gets. Or so I thought.
As a writer that covers the Cajun food beat, I would be negligent in my job if I didn’t let my readers know about the crawfish frenzy that’s happening just over the border in Texas. While my story is sure to provoke the ire of many diehard Cajuns, I follow the philosophy of “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”
First things first, we’re talking about local Louisiana crawfish here, not the inferior Chinese import. And second of all, I love Asian food—Vietnamese especially. Lemongrass, galangal root, fish sauce, and star anise hang out in my pantry with more familiar Cajun and Creole ingredients. And that co-mingling of cultures is at the heart of why this dish works so well. Yes, my story is about the love affair that the Asian immigrant community has with our Cajun culture of boiled crawfish. It was inevitable: East meets West; crawfish boiling pot meets hot wok; spice meets flavor.
Vietnamese-owned Cajun Kitchen near the corner of Bellaire and Wilcrest is the mecca of spicy boiled crawfish in Houston.
The French connection between Vietnam and Louisiana is entwined in both the history and the culinary culture. The coastal waters of South Asia are similar to South Louisiana, and hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese immigrants escaping the war in the 1970s and 80s found their way to a familiar home along the Gulf coast. Over 300,000 Vietnamese live in Houston alone. And a vibrant ethnic economy has erupted there with hundreds of Asian restaurants lining the blocks along Bellaire in the Southwest part of town.
The “Kitchen Special” is the hottest seller on the menu.
In Houston, our Louisiana crawfish are prized, and it was just a matter of time–the late 1990s or early 2000s, they say– before it made its way into a steaming hot wok. This is a two-step process; Cajuns figured out the hard part–seasoning and boiling the crawfish. But the Vietnamese have taken it a step further–adding a stir-fried, spicy sauce. And this dish called Viet-Cajun crawfish has taken Houston by storm. Restaurant names like Crawfish and Noodles, Wild Cajun, Hank’s Cajun Crawfish, and Cajun Corner are all Vietnamese-owned and feature their unique take on the dish. John Nguyen’s Cajun Kitchen has quickly become my favorite for their version of Viet-Cajun boiled crawfish called the “Kitchen Special”—an addictive combination featuring a buttery, citrus-infused, and garlicky cloak of sauce. It is the inspiration for my Two-Step Boiled Louisiana Crawfish recipe.
A few simple ingredients add enormous flavor to my Two-Step Boiled Louisiana Crawfish.
Not convinced? If you’re a dyed-in-the-wool, down-home Louisiana boy like me and feel this Asian invasion is a culinary assault on Cajun tradition, then think of it in another way. You like our familiar Cajun boiled shrimp, but you also like the Italian-invented, New Orleans barbecue shrimp drenched in garlic butter as well. While those two shrimp dishes are uniquely different on so many levels, they are both delicious. And the same can be said about this Two-Step Boiled Louisiana Crawfish dish.
Step 2: A quick turn in a wok layers on the buttery, garlic-infused sauce of my Two-Step Boiled Louisiana Crawfish.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m still (and forever will be) a traditionalist when it comes to Louisiana boiled crawfish. For me, it doesn’t get any better. But each season, you might catch me breaking out the wok (or my black iron pot) for a Louisiana crawfish two-step of flavor. Give my Two-Step Boiled Louisiana Crawfish a try, and like me, you just might like it, too.
- ¾ cup softened butter spread, such as squeezable Parkay
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons Acadiana Table Cajun Seasoning Blend, see recipe here
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 4 slices orange
- 4 slices lemon
- ½ cup sliced yellow onion
- ½ cup roughly chopped green onion
- 3 pounds seasoned and boiled Louisiana crawfish
- 1 cup reserved crawfish boil cooking liquid or water
- In a large wok or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the butter, garlic, Cajun seasoning, pepper, ginger, orange, lemon, and onions. Stirring constantly, cook the ingredients until the onions begin to wilt and the citrus fruit softens, about 5 minutes.
- Add the whole boiled crawfish along with ½ cup of the cooking liquid. Stir to coat the crawfish with the sauce and heat through. Add more cooking liquid to thin out the sauce and add more spice, if needed.
- To serve, mound the crawfish on a platter or large bowl and pour over the sauce.
Addictive!
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Great way to ruin a nice batch of crawfish…
Hey Daniel- Understood and appreciated: That was my initial reaction as well. While I could never replace my craving for a traditional Louisiana crawfish boil, I look at it just like making étouffée or bisque or crawfish pie; it’s fun to experiment with crawfish in a different way. Just make sure it is Louisiana crawfish. All the best.
Nice to know some of us are not stuck in a rut. I love Cajun food and prepare most of it like my mom n dem did, but if you don’t branch out and try other stuff….well dare you go… thanks for expanding our taste buds bud!
Hey Mel- Music to my ears! Thanks for your words of affirmation as well as your adventurous culinary spirit. As I like to say: Taste knows no boundaries. All the best.
George, I’m past the flat earth, the world and food is round…
Mickey, well said. Our culinary journey continues…
If anything, both Cajun and Creole cuisine are the results of adaptation and cultural exchanges like the ones we seeing here. Anyone gatekeeping too harshly seems to be denying that heritage. That’s lame.
Give it a shot. If it sucks, it sucks, but imagine what you gain if it’s great. All this is to say this crawfish boil veteran will be trying this recipe sometime this spring.
Hey Joe-
Well said. All the best.
Daniel, go away with your close-minded stuck-in-a-rut way of thinking! Because clearly you’ve never tried this version of crawfish!!!
I’m an Irish white guy from Denver who married a Cambodian woman. Every Asian crawfish recipe I have eaten has blown me away with flavor. What closed minded people are going to say is “ you ruined good crawfish.” People if you stay in your bubbles of no change and not open to different things, you will never experience LIFE! This kind of recipe brings new and old crawfish lovers to another level of comfort. Maybe you like it maybe you don’t, but don’t turn your nose down to the idea! K I’m done
Preach it, Michael! Good message. All the best to you.
A chef in Houston introduced me to the phrase “Cajunamese.” Marcus Samuelsson recently did a great show on the history of Vietnamese in Louisiana on No Passport Required (PBS/Eater). Louisiana history is a rich melding of cultures and although this story is not as well known, it is just as relevant. And delicious! https://www.eater.com/2018/7/17/17574218/marcus-samuelsson-no-passport-required-new-orleans-vietnamese-food-pbs
Also, would love to see your take on a Bahn Mi Po Boy.
Christy- Pick up a copy of my cookbook Acadiana Table: Cajun and Creole Cooking from the Heart of Louisiana and on page 116 is my recipe for a Softshell Crab Bánh Mì which blends our po’boy culture with this iconic Vietnamese sandwich. All the best.
Hey Christy- Thanks so much for your comment and you are correct that Louisiana food culture is constantly evolving with new cultural influences. Keep the comments coming.
I love this restaurant! Thank you for posting your recipe, I bought the ingredients today and I can’t wait to make it!
https://youtu.be/efNFAEleGnM
Here is a link to a video where the owner of Cajun kitchen is Interviewed!
He mentions a tamarind sauce as an ingredient for the crawfish sauce, what are your thoughts?
Vanessa-
Thanks for the comment and the link. I really like the taste of tamarind (I use the paste) and have experimented with it before. Will try it again with crawfish, thanks to your tip.
I’m born and raised in bayou country. I will never eat crawfish again unless it’s the garlic butter two-step way. Awesome!
I didn’t know a crawfish could taste so good. So delicious. Thanks for the hook up my friend.
As a native Texan, but with family from Opelousas, Houston is the pinnacle of food. There’s no place I can think of in America that has such a dynamic palate due to the congruence of so many cultures. You think Viet-Cajun is good, wait until you try an East African rendition….my gawd!
Hey Jordan – I haven’t tried East African food, but I agree that Houston is a mecca for dining out with a vast diversity of food cultures. I can’t wait to return. Thanks for the comment.