I keep promising myself I'll document my jambalaya process. And so I have!
The first photo documents pretty much all my ingredients. The mirepoix, front and left, is half a medium onion, a quarter of a green onion, and a stalk of celery, chopped together. In the middle is two chopped chicken breasts and some shrimp, mixed with about two tablespoons of Cajun seasoning.
As in the second photo, I start with a roux, of oil and flour. No, I don't care if it's not traditional. My boyfriend likes it better this way. In the third photo, the roux has turned nutty brown, and it's during this time that I remember to use a wooden spoon and not a plastic one. I kept melting the ends of my plastic spoons, so wood is the way to go here. Keep the roux moving so it doesn't burn! By the time I add the mirepoix, the pot is very hot, and then I have to keep the veg moving so it doesn't stick to the bottom.
After about five minutes, I add the tin of tomato, juice and all, the garlic, the Worchestershire sauce (as much as I feel like), and the two hot sauces. I like to use (sorry, it doesn't look like Italics wants to stop) Tabasco Chipotle for the smoky flavour it gives, and Frank's Red Hot because honestly, it's my favourite hot sauce ever. Again, I started with a certain amount and now I add until it feels right, and it's never let me wrong. The bay leaves go in, all three of them, and I let that simmer for about five minutes. Then I add the three cups of chicken stock, bring it to a boil, add the cup of rice and turn it to 'low', cover and cook until the rice is done. I lift the lid to stir a few times because the rice likes to get stuck to the bottom here, and it's easier this way. The rice doesn't actually burn at this point, so there's no charred flavour. The difference between photos 6 and 7 show how much the rice expands in the 10-15 minutes of cooking! And there's still the meat to add! By the time the rice is nearly done, I add in the meats so they can cook in. It doesn't take long for shrimp to cook, but the chicken does take a bit, and I like to stir it in so the cooking is even. The sausage I add varies - I usually try for something smoked, double-smoked being preferable. Chorizo adds a nice kick, but it's not usual. Strangely enough, when I tried making this with Andouille sausage, my boyfriend did not prefer it. I usually have Ukranian kielbasa at hand. About five to 10 minutes after adding the meat, all is done. I take an extra taste for seasoning and additional spicing, but after that, it's done. I have asked my boyfriend previously, and he says my jambalaya is his favourite meal. I do love preparing it because it makes for excellent left-overs and everyone compliments me on the smell of my lunch. For me, a bit of extra effort at cooking time leads to excellent results for days... if my boyfriend doesn't get to it first!