Étouffée facts for kids
Crawfish étouffée, served at a restaurant in New Orleans
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| Type | Stew |
|---|---|
| Course | Main |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Region or state | Louisiana |
| Main ingredients | Shellfish, rice |
Étouffée (say it: AY-too-FAY) is a delicious dish from Louisiana, United States. It's a type of stew often made with tasty shellfish like crawfish or shrimp. This yummy meal is usually served hot over a bed of fluffy rice.
Étouffée uses a special cooking method called "smothering." This means cooking ingredients slowly in a covered pot with just a little liquid. This helps all the flavors mix together perfectly. It's a very popular way to cook in the Cajun and Creole areas of Louisiana. You can find étouffée all over New Orleans and the southern parts of Louisiana. It's also popular in nearby coastal areas of Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Texas.
Contents
What Does "Étouffée" Mean?
The word "étouffée" comes from the French word "étouffer." This word literally means "to smother" or "to suffocate." So, the name of the dish tells you a lot about how it's cooked!
What's in Étouffée?
Étouffée is a stew where shellfish is cooked slowly in a thick, flavorful sauce. This sauce is usually made from a special base called a "roux." A roux is a mix of flour and fat, like butter or oil, cooked together. It helps to thicken the sauce and gives it a rich, nutty flavor.
The most common types of shellfish used are crawfish, shrimp, or crab. Crawfish étouffée is probably the most famous kind! The dish is seasoned with either Cajun or Creole spices. While Cajun and Creole cooking styles are different, they share many tasty ingredients.
Blond vs. Brown Roux
There are different kinds of roux used in étouffée:
- A blond roux is cooked for only about five minutes. This removes the raw flour taste and adds a light, nutty flavor.
- A brown roux is cooked much longer, sometimes for 30 to 35 minutes. This makes it darker and gives it a deeper, more intense flavor.
Sometimes, in the Creole version of crawfish étouffée, tomatoes are added to the sauce. This gives it a slightly different taste and color.
History of Étouffée
Étouffée has been enjoyed by people in Louisiana for a long time. It was a favorite dish among the Cajuns living in the bayous and rural areas.
Around the 1950s, crawfish étouffée started appearing on menus in restaurants. One of the first places was in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. Some people even think the dish might have been invented as early as the late 1920s.
In 1983, a waiter at a famous restaurant called Galatoire's in New Orleans brought the dish to his boss. At that time, most restaurants in New Orleans served French Creole food. But this Cajun dish was a big hit! It helped étouffée become well-known and loved by many more people.
See also
In Spanish: Étouffée para niños
