Viet-Cajun crawfish

In the 1970s, many refugees from the Vietnam War moved along the Gulf Coast in the United States and adopted the customary crawfish boil (via Vice). Numerous Vietnamese immigrants sought employment in Houston during the 1970s and 1980s. Vietnamese families started dipping their boiling crawfish in a sauce made with traditional Asian flavors like garlic, ginger, and lemongrass at some point before or after this migration. Vietnamese families moved to Houston in greater numbers after Hurricane Katrina, and somewhere in the mid-2000s, Viet-Cajun crawfish became popular, eventually making their way back to Louisiana and beyond.

Viet-Cajun crawfish may now be found all around the city. Cajun Crawfish #1 is the place to go if you want a cheap, straightforward experience. The crawfish at Cajun Kitchen has been highlighted in publications like The Washington Post and the renowned PBS series "Mind of a Chef" if you want a more high-profile experience (via Houstonia). There is an effective way to crack and peel crawfish if you've never done it. Grab the body with one hand and the tail with the other to start. Pull back the exoskeleton rings retaining the tail meat after twisting off the tail. Take off the tail meat, then coat it with your Vietnamese Cajun sauce. The next professional technique is to extract the juice from the head portion.