Shrimp étouffée
Shrimp smothered in a rich, buttery Cajun gravy made from a golden roux and the holy trinity, spooned over fluffy white rice.
- 60 min total
- 45 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 4
- About $4.97 a serving
- 580 calories
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1½ cups long-grain white rice
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup butter
- 2 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 chicken bouillon cube, check the box: most cubes make 2 cups each
- 1½ lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 3 green onions, sliced
- 1 tsp hot sauce (optional)
From your pantry
- 5 cups water, divided
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
Each serving has about 580 calories, 42 g protein, 72 g carbs and 13 g fat, and costs about $4.97 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No long-grain white rice? Jasmine rice or basmati rice works.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No green bell peppers? Red bell peppers or yellow bell peppers work.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No raw shrimp? Frozen raw shrimp works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No green onions? Chives work.
- No hot sauce? Sriracha works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onion, bell pepper and celery and the garlic. Keep them next to the stove.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
the rice and bring it, 3 cups of the water and the salt in a over high heat.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
High heat
Cover, turn the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes, then leave it covered off the heat.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
While the rice cooks, the butter in a large or pot over medium heat and in the flour. Stir constantly for 8 to 10 minutes, until it’s the color of peanut butter.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Medium heatTimer: 9 min
Dolly’s tip: Butter roux burns faster than oil roux. If it starts to smell scorched or looks dark brown, turn the heat down.Add the onion, bell pepper and celery and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, until soft. Stir in the garlic, Cajun seasoning and tomato paste for 1 minute.
Medium heatTimer: 6 min
Slowly whisk in the remaining 2 cups water and in the bouillon cube. over low heat for 10 minutes, until it’s a thick, smooth gravy.
Crumble. Crumbling means breaking food into small, rough bits with your fingers or a spoon, like feta or ground meat in the pan. Small bits spread through the dish, so there’s some in every bite.
How you’ll know: The pieces are small and uneven, about pea-size, with no big clumps left.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 10 min
Add the shrimp and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until pink and curled.
Low heatTimer: 4 min 30 sec
Food safety: Shrimp are done when they turn pink and opaque all the way through and curl into a loose C. A tight O means overcooked, not unsafe.
Stir in the lemon juice and most of the green onions, then taste for salt and add hot sauce if you want more heat.
Fluff the rice with a fork, spoon it into bowls, and ladle the étouffée over the top with the rest of the green onions.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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