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MONSOON
615 19th Ave. East
Seattle, WA 98112

206.325.2111

 
Cash, Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express accepted

Hours
Dinner served each evening from 5 – 10 pm
 
Brunch served on Saturday & Sunday from
10 am – 2:30 pm
 

March 2008

by A.V. Crofts

© Copyright ColorsNW Magazine

Tet - à - Tet with Eric Banh

Monsoon's Lunar New Year

ON FEBRUARY 6, MILLIONS OF REVELERS across the world celebrated Lunar New Year to the sound of firecrackers, the taste of traditional sweets, and the sight of a squeaky clean house to usher in good fortune. The highest concentration of celebrants was in China and Vietnam, where the Lunar New Year is the most anticipated holiday of the year.

Here in Seattle, Monsoon co-owner and chef Eric Banh decided to mark the Lunar New Year by offering a special à-la-carte menu of traditional Vietnamese dishes he associates with his childhood memories of Tet, the Vietnamese term for the holiday. For Banh, who grew up celebrating Tet in Ho Chi Minh City, the decision to mark the occasion with a special menu at Monsoon was his way of preserving tradition. “When you come to a new country you embrace your community – you’re tighter,” says Banh, “Now, as a parent and an elder, you have to maintain these traditions so your kids will see this part of their culture. It allows the older generation to tell a story.”

Banh’s story starts and Vietnam and now continues in the United States – by way of Indonesia and Canada. Banh and his family fled Vietnam in 1978 and then spent a year living in a refugee camp on an Indonesian island. “I can’t describe it in words,” says Banh, “You live in a camp and you survive on sardines.” Banh and his family eventually settled permanently in Edmonton, Alberta, nearly overnight moving from the tropics to a city where temperatures stayed below freezing for weeks at a time. “It’s amazing how resilient people are.”

Banh now enjoys a reputation for being one of the most creative and accessible chefs in Seattle, with his ventures like Monsoon and Baguette Box tempting the tongues of the city’s dining community.

The Lunar New Year menu at Monsoon that ran from January 23 through February 9 was no exception, and the festivities even included a traditional “Lion Dance.” (This traditional dance is performed to usher in the new year as the lion is thought to rid the house of evil spirits and invites in an auspicious year.) The menu start date coincided intentionally with the day that each celebrating Vietnamese family traditionally dispatch their “Kitchen God” to the heavens, filled with sweet sticky rice treats that are thought to not only please the kitchen god, but also keep his mouth glued shut so as not to speak ill of the family and bring misfortune to the household.

Sticky rice featured prominently on the Monsoon Tet menu. “We have a skillful woman who works at Monsoon whose family made a living back in Vietnam working with sticky rice,” says Banh, “I wouldn’t even attempt to try it!” The holiday menu also included “longevity eggs” (eggs symbolize fertility and longevity in Vietnam) and pork braised in coconut milk, a traditional preparation that dates to pre-refrigeration times when the coconut milk would act as a short term preservative. Ginger made appearances in sweet soup and as a key ingredient to the steamed chicken. “I truly believe in quality ingredients,” says Banh.

Banh’s voice speeds up with enthusiasm when he talks about Tet and the accompanying rituals around food and gifts. “I can still smell the incense, the firecrackers, and the food,” he said, “You always go back to your roots.”

Chuc mung nam moi!
 

www.monsoonseattle.com

Monsoon’s
Lunar New Year Menu

• Vietnamese charcuterie with Tet sticky rice cake

• Temple braised vegetables and tofu sheet

• Steamed free range chicken with ginger fish sauce

• Braised Berkshire pork belly with longevity eggs

• Roasted Berkshire side belly with Tet sticky rice cake

• Sticky rice dumplings with mung bean in sweet ginger soup

MONSOON

615 19th Avenue East - Seattle, WA 98112

206.325.2111

www.monsoonseattle.com

Cash, Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express accepted

Hours Dinner served each evening from 5 – 10 pm
Brunch served on Saturday & Sunday from 10 am – 2:30 pm