Jambalaya

[Mayhaw Man]

We have threads in the Louisiana Forum on Tasso, Gumbo, Turducken, Andouille, and many other forms of food that are (or used to be, anyway) fairly unique to the Bayou State. Right now there is a foodblog being penned by Ronnie Suburban

that has some excellent photos of the mise en place involved in cooking Gumbo. One of the pm's that I recieve here at Louisiana Central is "Where do I get great Jambalaya when I am visiting your wonderful and exotic homeland" (in truth, no one has ever phrased it quite like that, but I am still waiting ).

I would like to hear where you think the best is (both here in Louisiana and where you live) and if you would like to share a recipe or two, that would be great.

My favorite is at Coop's Place. A dive of a bar and restaurant on Decatur St. in New Orleans. It is chock full of ham, shrimp, sausage, and comes in a nice but not too wet rice and tomato mix. I really love it. And the best part of this particular dish of Jambalaya is that being bar food, it is really cheap. My kids love this place ("Dad, that guy is wasted!") and it is the center of many of the more eccentric organized events in the French Quarter. Truly a local joint. I highly reccomend it.

So let's hear it. Jambalaya For Everybody!!

[Lucille]

I'm a coonass and I can pass up jambalya anyday. I prefer rice and gravy.

And if I am gonna eat it, it's gonna be brown, not red. Go figger.

[FistFullaRoux]

Best one I ever had was at Louviere's. A little lunch spot near the ULL campus in Lafayette. 4 bucks for a big 3 compartment styrofoam go plate, filled with chicken and sausage jambalaya, a hunk of french bread, some green beans, and slice of home made cake in a little wax paper bag.

Oh, I miss that. Cajun plate lunches are the greatest thing ever, anywhere.

[fifi]

Ah... The "tomato or not" issue raises its head. I can go either way. I made a jambalaya last night because Ronnie Suburban's pictures said that I had to. After I dumped in the andouille, I made my decision... no tomatoes tonight. Another day and it might have gone a different way.

I do have a confession to make. The andouille came from... shh... California. Aidell's. Actually, it was pretty good.

[Mayhaw Man]

I fall heavily into the tomato camp.

No Okra though. That would be wrong

[Lucille]

Mais, yeah,

Fraternal grandmere was a Louviere...never had to type that before, had to think.

Last time I was down there, I got a great plate lunch south of the airport. Can't remember which convenient store, but the one next to the Burger King on Hwy 90.

Only in cajun country, I swear, can you get good cooking at a gas station.

The red/brown jambaly and wet vs. dry issue, oh yeah. The closer you get to Acadiana, the less red you see/eat.

Next time I get down that way, I am heading to the Boiling Point, now that's lunch!

Where I live now, they think crabs are born red.

[Jason Perlow]

Somehow I had a big disconnect this last time in New Orleans with Jambalaya. I had it at Tujagues for lunch and it was pretty mediocre -- I didnt have it any other time that week. On my previous visits to the city I've had great Jambalaya at Mother's, but I've heard the place has gone downhill in the last 5 years.

I definitely think tomato is essential.

[FistFullaRoux]

I do have a confession to make. The andouille came from... shh... California. Aidell's. Actually, it was pretty good.

Sausages, meat products, and pretty much anything that does not have to grow in the water or soil of south Louisiana can be made elsewhere. I make gumbo in Birmingham all the time. Just because the mailing address of the company isn't in Louisiana, does not mean there isn't a Cajun making it.

We don't ALL live in the swamps now, cher...

[Lucille]

Don't say that around LaPlace....lJason, lol...

Speaking of red and rice...has anyone every heard of jambalaya referred to as red rice?

I was buying some boudin at Maynard's in New Iberia last time I was there, and had a disussion with a woman buying dried shrimp. I asked her what she was going to do with this. She told me, I put it in my red rice.

Uh, I think this must be a cultural slang, but not sure for what.

[Lucille]

Fist is right fifi, you don't have to have andouille. I certainly don't go out of my way looking for it either. It's over priced anyway....

[Lucille]

Fist, for some reason, I though you were in Baton Rouge....you are in bama? Mais, you way over dere.

[fifi]

Yeah... My late gumbo goddess in La Place referred to her jambalaya as "red rice" but there was no tomato in it. She considered tomato in jambalaya as an assault upon the saints of the church. Go figure.

Is there still a dried shrimp industry? In the late 60s at FDA we tried to get something on them. They were drying shrimp on platforms in the middle of the swamp for chrissakes. We are thinking bird shit and other potential contaminants. We never found a thing wrong with it. Must have been the salt content.

[Lucille]

I remember reading about that, but I think it was the shrimp processing plants themselves.

I bought some dried shrimp and did a little test, they flunked....no punch at all. I know some people put it in their gumbos in New Orleans....I don't like it, has an off taste.

p.s. Easy on the bird poop, I have an African Grey.

[fifi]

Yeah... I think of dried shrimp as nothing more than a salty bar snack. I recall that at that time, most of the product went to Japan. They used these big tumblers to get the shells off and sold the shells to zoos for flamingo food. The crustacean shells helped to keep their feathers pink.

Does your African Grey talk? I stayed in a B&B in Victoria, BC a few years ago and they had this amazing African Grey. I am straightening some magazines on the coffee table and this bird says... "Is that really necessary?" One of the cats saunters by and the thing screeches... "Look out! I'm an eagle".

Do folks really use dried shrimp in their jambalaya? (Lame attempt to stay on topic.)

[Lucille]

lol fifi...

These shrimp were from Chauvin, LA, so I was curious. NOt anymore.

Yes my grey talks. His name is Meaux-zez.

"Want thome beer?"

"Want thome coke?"

He is just 3 3/4 years old, and he is a blabber beak.

By the way, he loves shrimp and crabs.

[Dana]

To me, red rice and jambalya are two totally different things, with dirty rice even different than those. Red rice doesn't have any meat in it and lots of tomato sauce, jambalya has any meat you might have on hand, including but not limited to: chicken, smoked sausage, pan sausage, pork and most always ground beef, with a FEW tomatoes, while dirty rice has no tomatoes and no chicken, but any other kind of meat is ok, and liver is expected.

The only thing I put dried shrimp in is seafood gumbo.

Red rice and dirty rice are ubiquitous for 'plate lunches', especially ones sold for church fund raisers, along with potato salad and cornbread. Can we ever have too much starch?

[Mayhaw Man]

As for this "dried shrimp thing", I have never seen anyone cook with them. OTOH I eat them all of the time. They are delicious little snack food and I highly reccomend them. THey are sold all over South Louisiana at the checkout stand of better Zippy Marts and gas stations.

Incidentally, they are not a cheap snack. A 3 oz, bag will run you a couple of bucks.

[Lucille]

Hi Dana,

Can you expound on the red rice recipe? To my knowledge I have not eaten this in my home stomping grounds, but I am awfully curious.

Lucille

[Dana]

Lucille - sorry it's taken me so long to get back. My computer seems to have a mind of it's own

For red rice: Saute onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic and green onion (amounts are up to you, I like more onion and less bell pepper) in veg oil. Add rice, season with salt, black and red pepper, and stir till all grains are coated. Add tomato sauce and water (substitute sauce for part of the water called for to cook the rice as per package directions) and cook till rice is done.- again per directions on the package.

Sorry about the vague amounts. It all depends on how much you are making. I usually make 1 1/2 cups rice for 1 can tomato sauce and 2 and 1/2 cups water. This make a moist product.

I'm not from Lousiana, but have lived in SE TX for 20 years. This dish is common here.

Edited December 20, 2003 by Dana (log)

[Lucille]

Hi Dana,

That's okay, I have been gone a while myself. I see where you are heading with this red rice...sorta like a pilaf. I will give this some thought.

Thanks

[Suzanne F]

A question for any of you who cares to answer: how do the dried shrimp down there compare to the ones available in Asian groceries (esp. Chinese) here in the Northeast? I can get various sizes, although most range from tiny to small (although bigger than "salad shrimp"), maybe 3/4-inch long at most. I generally need to de-salt them before use. What are yours like? And do you think I could use the Asian kind for your recipes?

TIA.

[Mayhaw Man]

I am not sure how to reply to this and was hoping someone would do it for me.

The dried shrimp that we see here are on the counters in grocery stores and zippy marts. They are meant for immediate consumption as a salty snack. Usually with Beer.Here is some information on the industry in Louisiana and here is a site that vends them (although this is not the brand you usually see).

I suppose that they could be rehydrated and might actually be interesting in something like Jamabalaya, but there is no shortage of the fresh kind (most of the time anyway, it is seasonal, but more or less year round) and with the influx of shrimp for the pacific rim, the pressure is off of the shrimp population (and that is good for the whole food chain but not so good for the economy-but that is a whole nuther ball of wax and I will not start preaching here).

Let me know if you use them to cook with. I would be interested to see what you come up with.

[hwilson41]

This is mostly directed to Mayhaw Man, but open to anyone who knows more than I do (which is a very large group ). Fifi mentioned earlier about using Aidells andouille in jambalaya. I've never tried it, suspecting that they have muted the fire to appeal to more "sensitive" palates. I grew up in Texas, and made numerous trips to Louisiana from time to time. The andouille I remember was almost as hot (from cayenne, I think) as the Texas Hot Links some of us chili heads loved so dearly. Is this memory incorrect? TIA.

THW

[Lucille]

Hi hwilson41,

I learned to live without andouille, so I have forgotten how hot is too hot, but dang those texas hot links are too hot for me!

[hwilson41]

Hi hwilson41,

I learned to live without andouille, so I have forgotten how hot is too hot, but dang those texas hot links are too hot for me!

Lucille;

It's an acquired taste, I'm sure, like getting used to eating four alarm chili. I loved the hot links, but am told by friends who still live in Texas (I don't any more, alas) that they're getting harder and harder to find. The ones we used to get when I was growing up in Fort Worth spurted (fat, I'm sure) on the first bite, but damn they were good. I started making my own sausage a while back, and am experimenting with a recipe for all beef hot links now. I'm not quite totally pleased with the results yet, but will keep fiddling with the recipe until I get the taste I remember. And if I die of a heart attack, so be it. At least I'll go with a smile on my face .

THW