It Started with a Recipe for Ca Kho To (Vietnamese Caramelized and Braised Catfish)

The union president and I sat down with the Chief Executive Officer of the medical center to work on an MOU for employee parking...

The union president retired from the agency 10 months ago. She paid her dues (no pun intended). She had a brilliant career, and she is biding her time while she waits for her term of office to end. Don't look at me! I sure as heck don't want the job.

We are signing a memorandum of understanding and are working on the final draft. The president is Cantonese. The CEO is Vietnamese. The president lets everyone know that 'Chinese food' is king and that 'Chinese food' is virtually impossible to find in Chinese restaurants in the USA. Yes, I'm sure there are places where the Chinese eat... those restaurants that are often closed to private, catered events or that have menus only written in Chinese. You will see large groups that look like family sitting at a round table with a lazy Susan in the middle. And at some point, the oldest, shortest woman at the table rises and commences the process of doling out hot soup one by one based on age and rank in the hierarchy.

Anyway, the Cantonese president wanted to know if the CEO had a recipe for Vietnamese clay pot catfish. He did. Apparently, he is a weekend chef. And he talked about ways to cut the fish and what to do with the head. And even though I am no stranger to the kitchen, and I have pretty decent slicing and dicing skills with the onion, I felt so totally out of my element. I also wondered why she was so willing to spend our precious and valuable time with this line of questioning.

She said she was tired of Phó and she wanted to branch out, but she didn't even know where to eat. I had suggested she look for a restaurant with a blue 'A' in the window. Not that the Department of Health is all that objective in our county.

Anyway, we got to speak a little longer. I doubt I will ever seek catfish.