Viet-Cajun crawfish is made by coating freshly-boiled crawfish in garlic butter before tossing it with Cajun seasonings, lemongrass, and ginger. Vietnamese influences on traditional Cajun crawfish originated with the Indochinese Assistance and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975, which resettled 130,000 Vietnamese refugees to the United States, many to the Gulf Coast. Following westward migration in part catalyzed by Hurricane Katrina, Viet-Cajun crawfish restaurants began opening in Houston in the early 2000s.

Learn more about the politics of Viet-Cajun Crawfish Boil from The Politics of Cuisine on Instagram.

Recipe from here.

Prepare the crawfish boil:

Place water, Old Bay, fish sauce, lemongrass, lemons, garlic, and ¼ cup of the salt in a large stockpot.
Cover and bring to a boil over high.
Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 minutes.
Add potatoes, and cook until just tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
Add remaining ½ cup salt.
Increase heat to high, and bring to a rolling boil.
Add crawfish and corn; boil until crawfish are bright red, about 8 minutes.
Remove from heat, and let stand 15 minutes.

Prepare the butter sauce:

Heat ¼ cup butter in a stainless steel saucepan over medium-high heat until foamy.
Add lemongrass; sauté 4 to 5 minutes or until very soft, stirring very frequently.
Add remaining butter, garlic, salt, and cayenne.
Cook until butter is melted and garlic is just softened, 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice.
Cover to keep warm.

Finish:

Drain crawfish mixture.
Discard garlic, lemons, and lemongrass.
Place crawfish, corn, and potatoes in a huge bowl.
Toss with half of the butter sauce and cilantro; serve with remaining sauce.