Simple seafood recipe: Shrimp Etouffee 

What else can you make with shrimps? Are you tired of the usual buttered-garlic or tempura? Try the shrimp etouffee. It’s a Cajun dish that is a simple seafood recipe. We can easily make it here in the Philippines among our seafood dishes because the ingredients used are just common in the supermarket.

Favorite Seafood Dishes

Husband and I love seafood dishes. It can be seashells, crabs, shrimps, oysters, or fish. We love all of them!

I first heard about the shrimp etouffee (French: [e.tu.fe], English: /ˌeɪtuːˈfeɪ/ AY-too-FAY) in the Junior Master Chef show that our family loves to watch. One of the contestants made it and it impressed Chef Gordon Ramsay. Since my husband loves shrimps, we had to make it. And we loved how it tastes. This is now one of our favorite seafood dishes.

If it wasn’t a bit spicy, Dindin would have eaten more. Try this simple recipe at home.

Shrimp Etouffee 

Ingredients:

1/2 kg. shrimps, washed
2 Tbsps. oil
1/2 cup butter
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small bell pepper, sliced into strips
1/4 cup parsley stems, sliced thinly
2 Tbsps. flour dissolved in 1.5 cups hot chicken broth
1/4 cup parsley leaves, chopped
1/4 cup green onion leaves, sliced thinly
Thyme – 7 dashes
Oregano – 7 dashes
Spanish Paprika – 7 dahes
Black Pepper – 2 dashes
Cayenne Pepper – 5 dashes (gives you just enough kick. Add some more, if you desire.)
2 tbsps. Cajun seasoning
Steamed okra (optional)

Procedure:

1. Peel off shrimps and devein, leaving the heads and tails intact. I preferred to peel it so that the flavors of the sauce will seep and coat the shrimp–not the peel. Also, it will take a shorter time to cook and not risk your shrimp getting rubbery from overcooking. I retained the head so that the flavors of the shrimp fat in the head will mix in the sauce.

2. Heat the oil and melt the butter. Don’t wait for the butter to brown.

3. Add the onions, garlic, bell pepper, and parsley stems altogether and saute. Allow to cook in butter for about 3 minutes, stirring once in a while.

4. Place the shrimps on the sauteed herbs and cook until they are opaque. Don’t wait for it to be completely cooked. You will need to turn the shrimps around once to allow the other side to cook.

5. Immediately pour in the thickened chicken broth. Add the seasonings and mix.

6. Taste the shrimp etouffee sauce and adjust the seasonings accordingly. I indicated “dashes” because honestly, I hardly measure the spices. I cook to taste. This recipe doesn’t need salt, as the broth is already flavored, but it still depends upon you. Do not omit the Cajun seasoning — it’s what gives this dish character. At first, I only added 1 tsp. and although it’s already tasty, it wasn’t the flavor I was looking for. Another teaspon did the trick.

7. Bring to a boil, covered. Cook for only about a minute more and turn off heat. Let it stay for at least 10 minutes before serving for the flavors to meld.

8. Put some steamed white rice onto a bowl. Make sure that it’s hot. Arrange some shrimps on top and spoon sauce all over the shrimps and rice. Serve with steamed okra on the side.

How to Enjoy Shrimp Etouffee

Consume the shrimp etouffee with steamed rice while it’s hot.

The sauce of this shrimp etouffee is so good and flavorful that we loved it coating the rice as we take each spoonful. Even all the herbs are flavorful that we ate everything, including the red bell pepper, which we usually don’t.

The steamed okra is a nice side dish because of its health benefits. Some Cajun dishes also include okra so we are not far off here. And of course, I also want the hubby to eat okra.

New Seafood Recipe to Love

Papa eats, who is an avid seafood eater, thoroughly loved this dish. I am also happy that our eldest daughter, who is usually squeamish with crustaceans, has taken a liking to shrimp etouffee. She just found the sauce too spicy. hehe But she managed to eat a couple of shrimps, so I am thrilled. Shane is still not that open to new flavors, so she begged off.

Enjoy! 😀

Teaching Kids to Cook

Cooking is one of the basic life skills that I hope to impart to my kids. So I am big on teaching kids to cook. I am also teaching them how to bake.

These are all part of the life lessons that we try to teach them as we are homeschooling in Bacolod.