Brother’s Crawfish in Dorchester Massachusetts is the restaurant where crawfish is really the hot ticket.
This crawfish boil could easily be mistaken for some Cajun pot of goodness , but then you see the spring rolls, fried rice, and you suddenly realize you are in a Viet-Cajun restaurant in Boston Massachusetts.
The cuisine definitely has the influence of the Cajuns from Louisiana, where Vietnamese immigrants who were fishermen lived.
“The delta of south Louisiana is very much like the Mekong Delta geographically and natural history-wise,’’ says Jerald Horst, a fisheries expert and coauthor of “The Louisiana Seafood Bible: Crawfish.’’
“The delta of south Louisiana is very much like the Mekong Delta geographically and natural history-wise,’’ says Jerald Horst, a fisheries expert and coauthor of “The Louisiana Seafood Bible: Crawfish.’’
Dozens more Viet-Cajun crawfish restaurants have since started up, and lately have gained popularity along the entire West Coast,.
You'll find them in Las Vegas, Washington, Atlanta, and Boston.
Louisiana Crawfish Co., a supplier, has had inquiries from restaurants in Denver, Chicago, St. Louis, and New York. “It’s spreading to the East Coast and the center of the country now,’’ says David McGraw, company president.
Long Le and his brother Tuan opened Brother's Crawfish
Owners Long and Tuan Le opened Brother’s Crawfish say, “We started buying our own crawfish and doing boils at home,’’ says Long Le, who developed a taste for crawfish while visiting New Orleans. “Everybody loved them so much, we thought we might as well open a restaurant.’’
“Anywhere there is a large Asian-Vietnamese community, that’s where they pop up,’’ says Dada Ngo, who owns the Boiling Crab, a nine-restaurant Viet-Cajun chain in Texas and Southern California. “Big groups like to gather around food, and crawfish is casual enough that it can be fun. I think that really resonated with younger crowds. I mean, we have a cult following now.’’
The draw is fresh Louisiana crawfish which are farmed year round, but are bigger and juicier from January to June.
The draw is fresh Louisiana crawfish which are farmed year round, but are bigger and juicier from January to June.
The Les have the crawfish shipped overnight air because anyone who understands crawfish knows these shellfish perish quickly.
The brothers won't buy crawfish from China because they say, “It’s not as good.’’
The brothers won't buy crawfish from China because they say, “It’s not as good.’’
Just like the Cajun, Viet-Cajun chefs boil live crawfish with their special seasonings.
People in the south use ingredients like: mustard seed, coriander, bay leaf, dill, allspice, and a lot of cayenne. They also use onion, garlic, celery, lemon, sausage, corn, and potatoes.
The Viet-Cajun method offers ingredients like: ginger, lime, lemongrass, or the salty fish sauce nuoc mam.
The brothers begin with Cajun boil spices, and then with celery, onion, sugar, pineapple and orange juices, and halved oranges with their rind, “to get that whole citrus taste,’’ they say.
The brothers begin with Cajun boil spices, and then with celery, onion, sugar, pineapple and orange juices, and halved oranges with their rind, “to get that whole citrus taste,’’ they say.
As of now crawfish is the signature dish, but don't be surprised if you eventually see the menu with seafood and Louisiana delicacies like gumbo, cornbread with a side of red beans and rice.
The popularity Viet-Cajun continues to grow. “We’ve been bombarded with requests to franchise. We’ve even had offers to open Boiling Crabs in Saudi Arabia, India, and Indonesia,’’ says Ngo.
The Le brothers may not be Cajuns, but when people taste their food they might as well be.
“...when they taste the crawfish, they know we get it right.’’
