Cajun Shrimp Etouffee Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is étouffée sauce made of? ›

Etouffee, which means “smothered” in french, is a sort of stew that typically consists of a roux, the Holy Trinity (onion, celery, and bell pepper), some garlic, hot sauce, and either shrimp, crawfish, or chicken. I like to add some diced tomatoes to mine, but many etouffee recipes do not have tomato.

Cajun typically doesn't add tomatoes so you can omit if you prefer but either way, it will be delicious based on your preference.

For an effortless etouffée, toss some crawfish, shrimp or chicken into our sauce blend of onions, bell peppers, celery and spices. Serve over rice and enjoy.

Etouffee can be found in both Creole and Cajun cuisine, with slight but important differences in the seasoning and preparation of each version. Creole etouffee uses a traditional French-style roux made from butter and flour while the roux for Cajun etouffee is made with oil, lard, or other animal fats.

To make my etoufee spicy, I use Louisiana sauce. Louisiana sauce is the best because it has the perfect balance of spicy to acidity, and limited ingredients.

Adjust the soup's thickness and flavor with more shrimp broth or water, hot sauce, and salt. Stir in the green onions and chopped parsley. Serve over hot cooked rice.

"It's definitely Cajun not to use tomatoes," Williams said. "And you have to think, 'Why is that?' It's probably just because tomatoes weren't available in that area.

You want the étouffée to be thick, but not ridiculously thick—-think of it like a thick pasta sauce. Now add your spices! Tony Chachere's Cajun seasoning, cayenne pepper, Worcestershire sauce and Louisiana hot sauce. Bring to a boil and stir.

The best side dishes to serve with etouffee are jasmine rice, cornbread, cauliflower rice, quinoa, polenta, wedge salad, eggplant parmesan, mashed potatoes, green bean almondine, roasted brussel sprouts, southern-style collard greens, sweet potato fries, black-eyed peas salad, grilled asparagus, garlic knots, and apple ...

What is the trinity for étouffée? ›

The "holy trinity" in Cajun cuisine and Louisiana Creole cuisine is the base for several dishes in the regional cuisines of Louisiana and consists of onions, bell peppers and celery. The preparation of Cajun/Creole dishes such as crawfish étouffée, gumbo, and jambalaya all start from this base.

Key Differences

Both etouffee and gumbo are broth-based, using shrimp stock, seafood stock, crawfish tail stock, or chicken stock. But etouffee has a thicker, gravy-like consistency whereas gumbo is a thinner stew.

Étouffée is the French word for "smothered," and what it really describes is a Cajun and Creole cooking method in which a protein like shrimp is cooked on the stovetop in a thick, roux-based sauce.

Étouffée or etouffee ( AY-too-FAY) is a dish found in both Cajun and Creole cuisine typically served with shellfish over rice. The dish employs a technique known as smothering, a popular method of cooking in the Cajun and Creole areas of southwest Louisiana.

On a base level, the flavors of these two dishes are quite similar, but gumbo has a bit more “gusto” and vibrancy to it. Etouffee is meant to be more subtle. Not as much goes into etouffee, which means you'll likely pick up on more nuanced flavors.

What does étouffée taste like? Its a rich, savory and slightly spicy sauce used for cooking seafood (mainly shrimp or crawfish) in southern Louisiana-Cajun country. Étouffée is typically served over rice.

Gumbo and etouffee both start with the vegetable trinity of Cajun seasonings (bay leaf, paprika, and cayenne), but etouffee tends to be lighter and almost sweet in flavor, while gumbo is deep and savory.

And while gumbo is a soup or stew, etouffee is more of a main dish; the word "etouffee" means "smother" in French, which refers to how the seafood is "smothered" in a thick, usually tomato-based sauce. Like gumbo, etouffee is also usually made with a roux and has its roots in Cajun and Creole cuisine (via Chowhound).

Étouffée is a dish of shellfish, simmered in a sauce made from a light or blond roux, served over rice. It is most commonly made with crab, shrimp or crawfish. Depending on who is making it and where it is being made it is flavored with either Creole or Cajun seasonings.