Chef Kevin Tien's rainbow trout is a modern take on cá kho, traditionally a braised caramelized catfish served bubbling in a clay pot — "traditional flavors, new visual presentation." The dish is built on a fish sauce caramel, made by cooking sugar to amber, frying aromatics in it, then adding fresh young coconut water and fish sauce for salty umami balance. The brined, air-dried trout is cooked skin-side down the whole way for crisp skin, basted in a mushroom umami butter, and plated with lotus seed puree, green chickpeas in Vietnamese chimichurri, braised lotus root, and a circle of ramp oil.
Washington DC
Moon Rabbit
Rainbow Trout
sugar / Saigon cinnamon / dried bird's eye chilies / star anise / black peppercorn / fresh coconut water / fish sauce / rainbow trout / oil / butter / mushrooms / lotus seed puree / green chickpeas / Vietnamese chimichurri / lotus root / herbs / ramp oil
Signature Dish
From Prep to Plate
Chef Kevin Tien turns a Vietnamese clay pot classic into a plated showstopper at Moon Rabbit in Washington, D.C. On this episode of Signature Dish, host Seth Tillman heads into the Penn Quarter kitchen to watch Tien build his rainbow trout — a modern riff on cá kho, the caramelized braised catfish he grew up with, filtered through his Louisiana upbringing.
Could a single restaurant make Penn Quarter's food scene cool again? Kicking back with a pho martini in Kevin Tien's buzzy, cozy-chic Vietnamese restaurant might have you thinking yes... perilla leaves stuffed with Wagyu are among the best things we ate in 2024.
The Washingtonian
