Jambalaya is an American Creole and Cajun dish that is essentially a one pot rice dish typically with andouille sausage which adds an incredibly smoky flavour to the dish, chicken and shrimp. Creole version or a New Orleans style which is typically red because it includes tomatoes. It is often called “Red Jambalaya”. Its counterpart, “Brown Jambalaya” is more common in Louisiana. Jambalaya is said to have French, Spanish and African Influence. New Orleans itself is an amalgamation of cultural influences (African, Caribbean, Native American, French to name a few) so it follows that its cuisine wil reflect this. It is undeniable that a pot of Jambalaya may remind you of Spanish Paella or perhaps West African Jollof rice and both are frequently sourced as potential origins of inspiration for this dish.
Jambalaya
Ingredients
Jambalaya
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 5 andouille sausage smoked sausage, chorizo or kielbasa are a good substitute, sliced
- 1 large onion or two small onions chopped
- 1 large green bell peppers chopped
- 3 celery stalks chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/3 cups of diced whole tomatoes I used canned which are peeled
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon black pepper fresh cracked
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
- ½ teaspoon dried onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dried garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 ½ cups white long grain rice
- 1 ½ – 2 cups chicken stock
- Optional 1 teaspoon fresh chilli finely chopped
Chicken
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
- ½ teaspoon dried onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dried garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
Shrimp
- 600 grams shrimp peeled and deveined (1 pound will also do)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- ½ teaspoon dried onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dried garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
To Top Rice
- 1 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ⅓ of total shrimp
- 1 andouille sausage sliced
- 1 large tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 3 green onions thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a medium to heavy bottom pot like a crock pot, add 1 tablespoon of oil. Add 5 of your sliced andouille sausage (or substitute) and sear until brown on both sides. Remove your browned sausage from the pot and set aside.
- In a bowl add your chopped chicken thighs and season well tossing to make sure it is fully coated
- In the same heavy bottom pot as you seared your sausage, sear your chicken thighs until brown on all sides and cooked.
- Set your seared chicken aside with your sausage.
- In the same pot add about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil only if necessary (not enough drippings) and add your diced onions and saute until translucent.
- Follow with your green peppers and celery and saute until they are wilting and coated with the seasoning from your sauteed sausage and chicken left in the pot.
- If using, you can add your fresh chilis here, mix well.
- Add your tomato paste and mix well and saute for about 1 minute.
- Add your diced tomatoes and mix well, turning the heat on low.
- Add your washed white rice mix well until the white rice is coated and add your sausage.
- Add your chicken back into the pot, mix your sausage and chicken into your rice and top with chicken stock cover and simmer on low for about 20 minutes, check on the doneness of the rice at 20 minutes and simmer for up to 15 more minutes until your rice is cooked. In the first 20 minutes, make sure you are cooking on low and do not be tempted to peek at your rice. Just let it cook.
- You want your rice to be wet, but the grains to be properly cooked. Avoid mixing too much of you could end up with mushy rice.
- While your rice is cooking, season your shrimp with creole spices, mix well to coat and set aside.
- Mix 2/3 of your raw shrimp into cooked wet rice. Make sure you cover all the raw shrimp with some of the hot rice. Cover your rice back with your lid and let the steam from the rice cook the shrimp. This should take about 5-10 minutes and I promise you the shrimp will cook. Doing this ensures your shrimp is not over cooked. If you really want to, you can cook the shrimp in a pan and mix it into your rice.
- In the meantime add a tablespoon of oil into a pan and sear the remaining 1/3 of your shrimp and 1 sliced sausage, add a tablespoon of butter into the pan and a teaspoon of minced garlic. Remove from the pan and set aside your garlicky, buttery shrimp and sliced sausage.
- Remove the lid from your rice, the shrimp should be pink, firm, opaque and cooked. Top with your tice with the seared shrimp and sausage.
- Top your rice with sliced green onions and serve hot.
Notes
There are long lists of spices used to season the base for the jambalaya. You can substitute this list of spices with store bought Creole or Cajun seasoning.
