Chinese Jambalaya Recipes

CHICKEN, SAUSAGE & PRAWN JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• Jambalaya is a French word that means 'jumbled' or 'mixed up', and I have no doubt that the philosophy and heart of this recipe come from a similar place to paella, kedgeree and risotto.
• Originally, any Louisiana 'critter' unlucky enough to get caught would have gone into this: rabbit, duck, squirrel, frog, alligator. . . you name it! And similarly, you can adapt it to whatever your local butcher or fishmonger happens to have. Go cheaper by using things like frozen prawns and chicken livers, or more expensive by including lobster or crab. I used an incredible local smoked sausage called andouille, but fresh chorizo or any other smoked sausage would work just as well.
• This dish makes me happy every time I eat it. And if more people than expected turn up for dinner just add a bit of extra rice.
• Season the chicken with sea salt, black pepper and a pinch of cayenne. Pour a couple of lugs of oil into a large casserole type pan and brown the chicken pieces and sliced sausage over a medium heat. After 5 minutes, once nicely browned on all sides, add your onion, peppers and celery as well as your bay, thyme and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir, then fry on a medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes stirring every now and again. It's important to control the heat of the pan: you don't want it to be so slow nothing's happening, or so fast that things are catching and burning. You want a steady, solid heat.
• Once the veg have softened, add your garlic and chillies, stir around for a minute, then stir in the tinned tomatoes and chicken stock.
• Bring everything to the boil, then turn the heat down, pop the lid on the pan and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes. When you can pull the meat off the bone and shred it easily the chicken's ready. Feel free to remove the chicken bones at this point if you like, then add your rice. Give it all a good stir, then put the lid on. Give it a stir every few minutes, scraping the goodness off the bottom of the pan as you go. Let it cook for about 15 to 20 minutes until the rice is perfectly cooked. Stir in the prawns and if it needs it, add enough water to make it a kind of porridgey consistency (look at the picture). Pop the lid back on and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes while you chop your parsley. Stir the parsley through and serve on a lovely big platter. I absolutely love this with a lemony green salad.

JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon of peanut oil in a large heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. Season the sausage and chicken pieces with Cajun seasoning. Saute sausage until browned. Remove with slotted spoon, and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil, and saute chicken pieces until lightly browned on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon, and set aside.
• In the same pot, saute onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic until tender. Stir in crushed tomatoes, and season with red pepper, black pepper, salt, hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce and file powder. Stir in chicken and sausage. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Stir in the rice and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.

JAMBALAYA RECIPE (CREOLE)

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Season the sausage and chicken pieces with half of the Cajun seasoning.
• Brown sausage in the hot oil; remove with slotted spoon and set aside. Add remaining oil to the pot and sauté chicken until lightly browned. Remove with slotted spoon; set aside.
• Sauté the onion, bell pepper and celery until onion is soft and transparent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant (30 seconds).
• Stir in the tomatoes; season with salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, red pepper flakes (or Cayenne powder), hot pepper sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and the remaining Cajun seasoning. Stir in the okra slices (or file powder), chicken and sausage. Cook for 5 minutes, while stirring occasionally.
• Add in the rice and chicken broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low-medium. Cover and let simmer for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked, while stirring occasionally.
• Place the shrimp on top of the Jambalaya mixture, stir through gently and cover with lid. Allow to simmer while stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are cooked through and pink (about 5-6 minutes, depending on the size/thickness of the shrimp being used).
• Season with a little extra salt and pepper if needed and remove from heat. Adjust heat with extra hot sauce, Cayenne pepper or Cajun seasoning. Serve immediately with sliced green onions and parsley.

EVERYTHING JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• Cook rice to package directions.
• Place a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and butter to the pan. Cube chicken and place in hot oil and butter. Brown chicken 3 minutes, add sausage, and cook 2 minutes more. Add onion, celery, pepper, bay, and cayenne.
• Saute vegetables 5 minutes, sprinkle flour over the pan and cook 1 or 2 minutes more. Stir in tomatoes and broth and season with cumin, chili, poultry seasoning, and Worcestershire. Bring liquids to a boil and add shrimp.
• Simmer shrimp 5 minutes until pink and firm. Remove the pot from the heat and place on a trivet. Ladle jambalaya into shallow bowls. Using an ice cream scoop, place a scoop of rice on to the center of the bowlfuls of jambalaya. Sprinkle dishes with salt, pepper, chopped scallions, and thyme leaves.

CHINESE JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• Cook Zatarain's Jambalaya Mix according to package instructions, omitting the meat.
• Reserve.
• Heat oil in a wok.
• Add crab and cook until done.
• Add all the vegetables and lightly stir fry leaving vegetables crisp.
• Add the tomatoes.
• Do not overcook.
• Add soy sauce, pepper, and pecans and mix well.
• Add cooked Jambalaya, stir to mix well and cook until rice is hot.
• Can be served as an entree or side dish.

SHEET-PAN SHRIMP AND SAUSAGE JAMBALAYA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 °F.
• On a large rimmed baking sheet, place 6 ounces sliced andouille sausage and 1 ½ cups sliced yellow onion. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and ½ teaspoon Creole seasoning. Toss to coat well. Bake in the preheated oven until the sausage blisters and the onions are softened for about 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a bowl, toss 12 ounces large peeled, deveined raw shrimp with 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning and the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Remove the baking sheet from the oven and arrange the seasoned shrimp in an even layer over the sausage mixture. Return to the oven, and bake until pink for about 4 minutes.
• Stir together 2 packages rice, 1 ½ cups chunky salsa, and the remaining ½ teaspoon Creole seasoning.
• Remove the baking sheet from the oven and spoon the rice over and around shrimp and sausage, and return to the oven. Bake until the rice is heated through and tender for about 6 minutes.
• Garnish with thinly sliced scallions, and serve hot.