Vietnamese-inspired barbecue in spotlight
Houston’s popular Khói Barbecue and its focus on Vietnamese-inspired recipes — including dishes like tamarind-spiced ribs to steaming bowls of pho topped with tender brisket — are fueling national attention on how Texas-style barbecue is evolving with a range of global flavors.
Khói, a pop-up started by brothers Don and Theo Nguyen, is part of an emerging trend in less traditional styles of barbecue in the state.
Earlier this year, the New York Times put five Houston spots on its list of the 20 best barbecue joints in Texas, acknowledging how chefs are incorporating flavors and ingredients from other cultures. This month alone, Khói was highlighted in the glossy pages of Condé Nast Traveler magazine’s December issue and on “CBS News Sunday Morning.”
Texas Monthly’s barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn is interviewed in the CBS segment, which followed Khói during the magazine’s recent barbecue festival in Lockhart.
“To be able to represent Vietnamese culture at Texas barbecue’s most important event, honor whole hog cooking & Vietnamese flavors, have mom’s fish sauce be celebrated, and have it all showcased on the national stage is absolutely unreal,” Khói Barbecue posted on its Instagram account.
In the clip, Vaughn taps a whole hog splayed over Khói’s grill to show how crispy it is and tastes the Nguyen’s brothers’ dishes, including shredded pork shoulder served over a bed of cold rice vermicelli noodles doused with fish sauce.
CBS also interviewed two chefs behind Austin businesses KG BBQ and Kemuri Tatsu-Ya, which serve Eygptian- and Japanese-influenced barbecue, respectively.
“I see people who sort of rail against the idea of all these changes in Texas barbecue,” said Vaughn in the CBS story. “But when you sit them down with that plate in front of them, they’re rarely arguing about whether it’s good.”
The global influences popping up in Texas’ barbecue scene is not new in Houston.
Khói Barbecue started in 2017 as the Nguyen brothers began documenting their family recipes, including many of the dishes they ate growing up in Houston.
Blood Bros. BBQ in Bellaire, which was also included in the national magazine article alongside Khói, has been a barbecue destination with its bevy of national accolades and press.
Khói is looking to open a permanent brick-and-mortar space, according to the Condé Nast Traveler article written by Dan Q. Dao, who grew up in the Houston area.
“It’s so indicative of Houston, so indicative of Texas,” Don Nguyen told Dao. “There’s dudes with cowboy hats, but there’s also metalheads. There’s African Americans, Latinos, Asians and the LGBTQIA+ community. It’s a really cool environment where everybody can come and feel safe. America is so polarized, but at least we can find some common ground.”