One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Whole Fish

My mom is just as much of a Southeast Asian food enthusiast as AC and myself. I recall one of my first exotic food experiences when she was visiting me in New York. She suggested we try Le Colonial, a posh French-Vietnamese restaurant in midtown. I was largely clueless about Southeast Asian cuisine in general at the time (yeah, I knew what pad thai was and that was about it) and Vietnamese food in particular, so I let her do all the ordering. Her natural inclination at restaurants is toward fish, and in this instance, the whole fish. It’s such a dramatic experience, as the fish is presented, mouth agape, tail perfectly intact, just lying prostrate on a platter, and ready to be eviscerated with fork and knife. It was my indoctrination to the whole fish concept, and I ate a good portion of it. But I felt that it was just an unnecessary extravagance, not something that I would actually order to sate my hunger.

During her visits to Virginia, my mom insists on having Thai at Po Siam in Arlandria. The past couple times we’ve been there, she’s gone for the whole red snapper, which always made AC and I chuckle a bit that she would insist on the seafood options time after time. But once we tried it, this time cooked with red curry paste and coconut milk, we were blown away. The delicious crispy skin gave way to a tender, but meaty fish that was the perfect conduit for the sweet and savory Thai flavors. Since my mom routinely orders giant meals knowing she’ll only eat about one-tenth of her order, AC and I were invited to finish it, and we plowed through that thing as if it were about to swim away.

Since then, we’ve been intrigued by the whole fish but afraid to order it on our own. It just seemed like such a daunting thing to order. It’s a whole fish, for cryin’ out loud. But on a recent visit to Rabieng, we saw a few of the other patrons lovingly grubbing on various whole fish platters. There and then we vowed to try it the next time we went. And that took place last Thursday night.

DC, AC, and myself went back to Rabieng (after scoring some more halvah at Aphrodite Greek Imports, of course), and decided it was time for the fish. We went for the rockfish cooked in a chili-lime sauce and liberally garnished with slices of red onion and cilantro. The skin was sufficiently crispy, the fish fleshy and mild in flavor. The only trouble with the whole fish is negotiating the tiny bones that are hidden by the fried skin; it can be rather alarming when you accidentally crunch down on one. But overall, the fish was delicious and paired nicely with the powerful flavor of red onion and cilantro.

Enjoy a whole fish at the following great Thai restaurants:

Po Siam
3807 Mount Vernon Ave.
Alexandria, VA
(703) 548-3925

Rabieng
5892 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, VA
(703) 671-4222

—AK