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- Because the whole fish takes around 45 minutes to bake, the cooks at Saigon Block always have catfish in the oven.
- The Saigon Three — an appetizer of pork, shrimp wrapped around sugar cane sticks, and ground beef in Hawaiian seaweed — will tide you over while you wait the 15 minutes for the fish to finish.
- An assortment of accoutrements, including herbs, rice noodles, and rice paper with warm water for dipping hit the table as you await your whole baked fish.
- Fresh out of the oven, the catfish is garnished with a salad of green onions and garlic.
- A shower of crispy dried onions comes next
- The catfish is deboned at the table in one fell swoop.
- Behold, the finished product.
- Once the fish is served, wet a rice paper with the provided warm water, stack high with veggies, and pile on the catfish.
- The finished product, ready for dipping in pineapple-anchovy sauce