Jambalaya?

[bcla]

I've always enjoyed it, but I wasn't quite sure how to make it. I've had a few styles. There's one New Orleans style food truck that makes the rounds around here. I remember this one that was shrimp, chicken, and sausage in a wet tomato sauce with rice on the side. Plus some garlic bread.

I was kind of odd that I ordered some at a Popeye's (my kid likes theirs) where the only protein is chicken pieces. I was waiting for it when I was told I could either get 5 pieces of chicken or wait an hour since it was frozen.

But I never really tried making it myself. I probably won't make it from scratch, but maybe using a mix. The only kind I see around here is Zatarain's. Not sure what to put in it. I don't think it really requires anything added other than meat and water. I saw a recipe to make some with a Knorr red beans and rice packet, but with celery, bell pepper, onion powder, and meat added.

Anyone have any ideas? I figure maybe shrimp and maybe chicken. I was thinking of just buying a Costco chicken and then saving some of the meat to chop up.

 

[sonnyjane]

I've always enjoyed it, but I wasn't quite sure how to make it. I've had a few styles. There's one New Orleans style food truck that makes the rounds around here. I remember this one that was shrimp, chicken, and sausage in a wet tomato sauce with rice on the side. Plus some garlic bread.

I was kind of odd that I ordered some at a Popeye's (my kid likes theirs) where the only protein is chicken pieces. I was waiting for it when I was told I could either get 5 pieces of chicken or wait an hour since it was frozen.

But I never really tried making it myself. I probably won't make it from scratch, but maybe using a mix. The only kind I see around here is Zatarain's. Not sure what to put in it. I don't think it really requires anything added other than meat and water. I saw a recipe to make some with a Knorr red beans and rice packet, but with celery, bell pepper, onion powder, and meat added.

Anyone have any ideas? I figure maybe shrimp and maybe chicken. I was thinking of just buying a Costco chicken and then saving some of the meat to chop up.

To be traditional, it needs at least a little more. Just chicken isn’t right. At least need shrimp, and I’d say shrimp, chicken, and andouille to be authentic.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Jambalaya usually has chicken and sausage in it. I live in the “jambalaya capital of the world” so you can trust me on this.

 

[Planogirl]

As for mixes, I love Tony Chachere's if you can find it. I like my jambalaya with chicken and sausage too.

 

[disykat]

I'm not authentic at all, but I make a quick jambalaya style stir fry that we like. We don't use tomatoes, but keep it "dry." It's really fried rice, I guess. The only liquid is some chicken broth for flavoring when I cook the rice. I use kielbasa style sausage,shrimp, and chicken. I buy one of the sausages, slice it and freeze half of it. I also use frozen shrimp. I always have raw chicken in the freezer, so sometimes I have some of it already cut in bite sized pieces. The meat part of this is so easy that way! I used lots of onions and peppers (and whatever other veggies I have handy) and lots of Tony Chachere's seasoning. Sometimes I toss in some beans, which makes it even less like jambalaya, but that's what we call it.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

Zatarain's is decent, for quick and easy. Punch it up with chicken and andoille, peppers, onions and celery, and some Louisiana hot sauce. I haven't tried the Tony Chachere's; I'll have to keep an eye out for the brand.

 

[okeydokey]

I make it from scratch. The rice is mixed in, along with chicken and chorizo. No seafood. I also use some diced tomatoes and Sazon Goya seasoning.

 

[bcla]

Zatarain's is decent, for quick and easy. Punch it up with chicken and andoille, peppers, onions and celery, and some Louisiana hot sauce. I haven't tried the Tony Chachere's; I'll have to keep an eye out for the brand.

I went to Target and it was what they had.

I didn't go for sausage. It's also for my kid who can't really handle anything too spicy like Andouille. We had some large frozen shrimp (21-25 per lb) which I cut into 3-4 pieces each, and then pulled some Costco rotisserie chicken without any skin.

It wasn't bad or anything, but I added a few more things like two diced, fresh tomatoes and chopped up cilantro. I have onions, but didn't toss them in. I think celery would have been nice, but for some reason they're about $3 a stalk around here. Also added the suggested tablespoon of oil.

I noticed that McCormick (Zatarain's parent company) has recipes where they suggest more than just the directions on the box, like this one:

https://www.mccormick.com/zatarains/recipes/main-dishes/crescent-city-jambalaya

 

[kleph]

here is the master explaining what it is, where it comes from and how to make it.

 

[HeatherC]

For quick and easy we do like Zatarains. I usually add turkey kielbasa, chicken and shrimp.

 

[DLgal]

I went to Target and it was what they had.

I didn't go for sausage. It's also for my kid who can't really handle anything too spicy like Andouille. We had some large frozen shrimp (21-25 per lb) which I cut into 3-4 pieces each, and then pulled some Costco rotisserie chicken without any skin.

It wasn't bad or anything, but I added a few more things like two diced, fresh tomatoes and chopped up cilantro. I have onions, but didn't toss them in. I think celery would have been nice, but for some reason they're about $3 a stalk around here. Also added the suggested tablespoon of oil.

I noticed that McCormick (Zatarain's parent company) has recipes where they suggest more than just the directions on the box, like this one:

https://www.mccormick.com/zatarains/recipes/main-dishes/crescent-city-jambalaya

Will your child eat smoked sausage? It's not usually spicy but I find that jambalaya really needs the flavor from the sausage.

I use Zatarains. Here is what I do:

Cube up about half a pound of smoked sausage (whatever brand you find at the store is fine). Add it to a pot with some oil and brown it up good. Remove the sausage and set aside. Add 1/3 cup diced green pepper, 1/3 cup diced onion, 1/3 cup diced celery. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add a can of diced tomatoes but drain out the juice. Use BEEF OR CHICKEN STOCK instead of water when you add the rice and seasoning packet. Cook according to the directions. At the very end,add the sausage back in along with half a pound or so of cooked chicken. This way, the sausage retains its flavor and the chicken doesn't end up tough and rubbery. Sprinkle with some chopped parsley (not cilantro).

 

[leebee]

here is the master explaining what it is, where it comes from and how to make it.

Ah, Chef Paul. We met him at Kay-Paul's one Thanksgiving eve. He was pleased to see we were enjoying his turducken!

 

[samandryanmom]

I live in the Northern part of Louisiana and there's a local company called Bayou Magic that makes gumbo and jambalaya mixes. They sell them locally at Walmart and Kroger. For the jambalaya, you mix in soups, seasonings and your meats. It makes a ton but it's yummy!!

 

[emmybee]

I have an autographed cook book by Chef Paul. My former employers were big fans and they know I have a thing for chefs like Julia Child and Jaques Pepin. I've never cooked from it, but now I'm inspired!

 

[RangerPooh]

When I make it I make the Zatarran's boxed mix. I'll usually add in smoked sausage, if I want extra heat I'll add hotlinks or an andoulle sausage. More often then not I'll have to add extra rice to tone down the spiciness for some members of our family.

 

[AndreaDM]

I make it a lot, but only with sausage, usually cajun or andoulle, I know it traditionally has shrimp, but I'm allergic so sausage it is!

eta: This is the recipe I loosely follow, I use lots of peppers and onions.
https://www.hillshirefarm.com/recipes/dinner/quick-jambalaya

 

[RangerPooh]

I make it a lot, but only with sausage, usually cajun or andoulle, I know it traditionally has shrimp, but I'm allergic so sausage it is!

eta: This is the recipe I loosely follow, I use lots of peppers and onions.
https://www.hillshirefarm.com/recipes/dinner/quick-jambalaya

Thank you for posting the recipe. I think I'll be making it this week.

 

[NotUrsula]

Jambalaya, like Gumbo, is not specific in terms of what kind of protein you put into it. Louisianians have been putting whatever kinds of meat they can get their hands on into both dishes for centuries.

The key difference is that Jambalaya is meant to be eaten as a dry food, with a fork, while Gumbo should always be at least 50% liquid when you eat it, and you have to use a spoon. You can make Jambalaya out of Gumbo; people do it all the time. You cannot make Gumbo out of Jambalaya, however. (To make Jambalaya out of leftover Gumbo, add a cup of water and a cup of raw rice to a half gallon of thawed gumbo; cover it and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the liquid has all been absorbed by the rice.) In Jambalaya, the rice is ALWAYS cooked with the sauce mixture, while with Gumbo the opposite applies (and yes, Zatarains does sell a Gumbo Mix that has rice in it already. That's for Yankees and people who think that cooking rice separately is too much work. In Louisiana, the preferred packaged option is gumbo base, which assumes that you want to make gumbo quickly with a mix shortcut, but will still be cooking your rice separately, as you should be.)

The only requirement for protein and veggies for either of these dishes is that they not turn to mush when cooked (especially for gumbo, which many cooks simmer for hours). So, no potatoes, no carrots or peas, no boneless chicken breast, no fin-fish .. . you get the picture. Adding tomatoes is a New Orleans area habit; in most of Louisiana tomato isn't used. (My personal preference is to add tomato if the protein is a seafood, but otherwise not.) Celery is pretty much required, but a lot of people, myself included, use dried celery seed for that flavor, rather than pay for fresh celery off-season.

FWIW, the dish in that photo at the top of the thread is NOT jambalaya. (You don't serve rice on the side of jambalaya, because jambalaya already contains it.) It's not gumbo, either. That is a photo of a dish that in Louisiana is known as court-bouillon; which is a tomato-based stew. Court-bouillon usually contains seafood of some kind, and is always served over cooked rice.

 

[LSUmiss]

Jambalaya usually has chicken and sausage in it. I live in the “jambalaya capital of the world” so you can trust me on this.

So I guess you live in Gonzales . And the one pictured above is way too wet! Now I do prefer New Orleans red jambalaya vs Gonzales/BR area brown jambalaya personally. I like shrimp in it so, IMO, shrimp & sausage are good in red but not brown. I don’t get into the white beans & jambalaya thing that happens up there though. Didn’t know anything about that until I went to LSU. DH prefers the brown, but that’s hard to find down here.

 

[bcla]

The only requirement for protein and veggies for either of these dishes is that they not turn to mush when cooked (especially for gumbo, which many cooks simmer for hours). So, no potatoes, no carrots or peas, no boneless chicken breast, no fin-fish .. . you get the picture. Adding tomatoes is a New Orleans area habit; in most of Louisiana tomato isn't used. (My personal preference is to add tomato if the protein is a seafood, but otherwise not.) Celery is pretty much required, but a lot of people, myself included, use dried celery seed for that flavor, rather than pay for fresh celery off-season.

FWIW, the dish in that photo at the top of the thread is NOT jambalaya. (You don't serve rice on the side of jambalaya, because jambalaya already contains it.) It's not gumbo, either. That is a photo of a dish that in Louisiana is known as court-bouillon; which is a tomato-based stew. Court-bouillon usually contains seafood of some kind, and is always served over cooked rice.

I think tomatoes inherently turn to mush when cooked. Depending on how it's cooked, they sort of disappear except for the skin. I would have added fresh celery except that it's $3 a stalk now.

I get that it was just something that the restaurant gave a common name. And whatever it was used to be a staple of the chain before they started closing locations and tinkering with the menu.

Maybe I'm not being "authentic" but I've always thought authenticity is overrated if you like it. And for about $8 in ingredients I'm making a pot with 5 times as much as buying it from Popeye's or a food truck for the same price or more.