chron.com | tubular tv | comics | games | horoscopes | iPhone | Quick Search
Deep-fried crispy rabbit sautéed with sesame, butter and garlic at Tranh Phuong in Pearland. Photo by Alison Cook
Tranh Phuong Vietnamese restaurant in Pearland. Photo by Alison Cook
My runaway favorite dish from the past week was the Deep-Fried Crispy Rabbit from Thanh Phuong, an attractive and surprisingly ambitious Vietnamese spot in Pearland.
This may be the perfect entry-level rabbit dish: boneless pieces of meat cushioned in a puffy, slightly sweet batter that has been crisped and bronzed and spangled with sesame seeds during a final turn through a wok, so that the pieces pick up butter and toasted shards of garlic.
The play of textures, savor and sweetness is dazzling. A faint tinge of sweet spice (is it cinnamon?) skims the surface of the fried rabbit chunks, which really do taste like an earthier version of chicken. The toasted sesame seeds add pop — along with the sweetly glazed garlic slivers that function as a sort of rubbly garlic candy.
For cool contrast, there's a leafy pile of fresh vegetables and herbs on the side; for warmth, flaps of sautéed onion and green pepper. For an invigorating peppery tartness you add to taste, just squeeze the wedge of lime provided into the cup holding salt and black pepper, then dip at will.
Pan-fried sticky rice cakes with scallion, peanut and fried shallot at Thanh Phuong. Photo by Alison Cook
Just when you think things can't get any better, or more interesting, comes the capper: a side dish of pan-fried sticky rice cakes that go with the rabbit. These little half moons are crisp without and stretchy within, suffused with a haunting note of coconut milk.
So fetching are the rice cakes, with their counterpoints of crushed peanut, scallion and fried shallot, that I would happily eat them for dessert. (They'd be splendid with Vietnamese coffee.) In fact, I plan to order them at every opportunity when I dine here again.
The dining room at Thanh Phuong Vietnamese restaurant in Pearland. Photo by Alison Cook
That will happen sooner rather than later, because the best dishes here are destination-quality stuff. Not just the rabbit and the sticky rice cakes, but the electrifying venison carpaccio served salad style, with herbal twinges of rau ram and a crunchy nest of thinly slivered water-spinach stems underneath. It costs all of $12.95.
Like that magnificent fried rabbit, which goes for $14.95, it's one of the finest Vietnamese dishes in Greater Houston.
(Thanh Phuong, 3236 E. Broadway (FM 581), Pearland. 281-412-7868. Open daily 11 a.m. — 10 p.m.)
Alison, I've never tried rabbit before. My first thought was to ask if it "tasted like chicken?" Seems like everyone asks if things taste like chicken. I would like to know if it tastes "gamey"? Thanks.
Rabbit isn't at all gamy, IMO. It really does taste like chicken--the dark meat. It's a little bit fuller and earthier is all. Very mild, really. And this really is the perfect entry level dish for someone who's never tried rabbit before.
The rabbit I've had (elsewhere) wasn't gamey at all, and did remind me of "full flavored" dark meat chicken. If you've ever had non-chicken ranch chicken, but actual yard bird in some country like Belize or Ecuador, it's very similar, IMHO. Just make sure not to eat the "delicacy" bites - the kidneys - yack, gross, hack, cough.... I'll make that mistake only once.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldMiOhNFh7U
I would love to try rabbit. Is that the only dish they have? It doesn't sound like you would taste much of the meat, just breading and sauce. Who am I kidding? I'll try it anyway!
Rabbit and Hare are an extremely versatile protein, which stand up to a variety of techniques and is wonderfully adaptable to a range of cuisines. It is leaner than pork, beef and chicken with a mild flavor, which offers up a high-quality protein with its use is usually related, similar to chicken by its age and size with both fryers and roasters and as the names suggest, its applications. Terrines, to frying, roasting, braising, barbecue, fricassee, sausages, stewed with sauces from creole, mustard to cream and beyond.
Alison,
It's well past time that you gave Thanh Phuong a try, and I'm pleased you have enjoyed it so far. The food is absolutely spectacular. I would suggest that you try some of the vegetarian dishes as well as the traditional Vietnamese pho or vermicelli. And do not pass up the shaking diced tofu dish--you can get it in several meat varieties, but the bold flavors in the tofu variety are wonderful. They have many game and unusual seafood varieties for you to sample as well. And don't pass up the creme brulee--it's great as well. Hands down, I think it's one of the absolute best Vietnamese places in the greater Houston area.
Great review, Alison. My Mom, who grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania, used to make rabbit quite often. I loved it and remember it being, as you said, an "earthier" chicken, kind of the way frog's legs are the same. I would relish the chance to try the dishes at Thanh Phuong, but driving all the way to Pearland is such a downer. Do you know of any Asian restaurants in the Katy Fwy/ Beltway-8 area, that have a similar dish? Maybe one of the many west side Vietnamese establishments? Thanks!
Que Huong on the west side, which I love, has some really good frogs' leg dishes. And I've heard that An Ly has game dishes like alligator, etcetera, but I can't vouch for the food as I've never been.
Growing up we had rabbit all the time. The flavor difference between farm raised and wild hare is huge. Farm raised rabbits do truly taste like chicken while wild rabbits have much more flavor IMHO.
I wish this place could've stayed a secret, but the rabbit & venison are too good to stay hidden.
I think they can really use some more customers. It was nearly empty when I was there; same deal for a friend of mine who lunched there last week. They deserve fuller houses.
This restaurant is not just the best Vietnamese restaurant around, but I think the best restaurant of ANY type in the Houston area. Dont pass up the creme brulee either!
Kill da' wabbit, kill da' wabbit.....heh.heh.heh.heh.heh
I grew up with Rabbit since my mother is Northern Italian and had some recently in New Orleans! So lean and delicious as this dish looks to be. Just wish this place wasn't in Pearland.
Been there a couple of times and was just not impressed. Food was overly salty and quality of the meats was low. When chicken is served full of gristle it is just not appetizing. Pho Anh down 518 is so much better quality-wise.
Thank you, Alison, for putting the spotlight on this restaurant! Even their "average" dishes blow the competition away. For those of you who live in Katy or other far-away locals (or even in Houston), trust: this place is worth trekking every mile. Make it a date night! And you know what's a bonus? They have SERVICE. Unlike so many other Houston restaurants of note, the waitstaff don't act offended once you enter their establishment and dare order something. In fact, they are happy to help you with questions, are very prompt, and appear to genuinely enjoy their profession.
P.S. Matt, I disagree with you completely on the 518 comparison. I've been there five or six times, extending my personal culinary olive branch in hope that things might get better; 518's serivce is consistently "meh" and their pho meat is rubbery as squid, and also fully cooked by the time it reaches the table - a big no-no as any pho-natic knows.
Phuon Thanh is the best somewhat-kept secret in town and I hope they soon explode with business, as they have elevated Vietnamese cuisine in to a true art form.
I have no idea where 518 is located. I specifically mentioned Pho Anh. Sounds like 518 is bad which is why I wouldn't have recommended it.
Rabbit and frog legs. Yum. Yum. Yum.