Susan Spicer, who has been cooking in New Orleans for more than thirty years, had a father with a sense of humor. He was from Waycross, Georgia, and Spicer was his last daughter. He wanted to name her Sugar Ann.
Good sense intervened, but Spicer, who owns Bayona in the French Quarter, jokes that if he had prevailed, her career would have blossomed a block away on Bourbon Street. Even without a built-in stripper name, she still has one she thinks would be perfect for a chef. “If I didn’t go on out on Bourbon Street as Sugar Ann Spicer, I would go as Cha Ca La Vong,” she says.
Photo: Johnny Autry
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Photo: Johnny Autry
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Photo: Johnny Autry
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Cha Ca La Vong is actually a fried fish dish as well as the name of the century-old Hanoi restaurant where it originated. It’s a Vietnamese classic that has made a home in the United States, and like a lot of chefs in New Orleans, Spicer takes inspiration from the area’s robust Vietnamese population. The similarities in the two food cultures run deep. Both are influenced by the French, and both make the most out of shrimp and other seafood. Spicer discovered that the recipe was a terrific way to play with the abundance of Gulf frying fish such as red drum, flounder, and speckled trout, as well as less popular varieties like sheepshead. “Every fish is different,” she says, “but I find that most Gulf fish fry pretty well.”
In place of a traditional batter, she uses rice flour with a touch of turmeric. She had already been using rice flour to fry quail—a trick she picked up from Wolfgang Puck—and found that it produces a crisp, thin, nearly clear coating that matches the delicate nature of the fish. The turmeric blends in easily, offering a subtle bite of mustard and a lovely deep yellow color. Top it off with a quick sweet-and-sour sauce, fresh herbs and cucumber, and a hit of salty peanuts, and you have a stunning and delicious interpretation of a fried-and-true Gulf staple.
