What do you eat with jambalaya?

[saraha]

We eat a fake jambalaya, and it’s spicy. I totally inauthentically put sour cream on top to cut the heat. What do people really eat with it to cut the heat?

[HomeAgain]

I prefer cornbread or biscuits w/butter and honey, but my family is picky and wants white bread. 

[Innisfree]

Rice

Eta: I know rice is part of the recipe. I guess we just adjust seasoning and the amount of rice to reach the desired amount of heat.

Edited March 17, 2023 by Innisfree

[HomeAgain]

1 minute ago, Innisfree said:

Rice

But there is rice in jambalaya.........

[Innisfree]

Just now, HomeAgain said:

But there is rice in jambalaya.........

Yeah, sorry, just went back to edit…

[Arcadia]

Baguette if we have. DS18 would just drink milk if its too spicy for him. My husband would drink water. DS17 and I are used to spicy food.

[J-rap]

Bread, but I like the baguette idea, because it's meant to help scoop up the sauce and flavor.  And maybe a side of collard greens or Swiss chard.

[Drama Llama]

Glass of milk. 

[Drama Llama]

1 hour ago, saraha said:

We eat a fake jambalaya, and it’s spicy. I totally inauthentically put sour cream on top to cut the heat. What do people really eat with it to cut the heat?

What makes your jambalaya fake?

[saraha]

5 minutes ago, BandH said:

What makes your jambalaya fake?

It doesn’t have chicken or shrimp, just sausage. And we put sour cream on top 🙄😆 The sour cream kind of acts like a raita I think.

[Amethyst]

I wouldn’t eat anything with it. Rice and bread at the same meal would be too much starch for me. But that’s just me. 

[Kassia]

2 minutes ago, Amethyst said:

I wouldn’t eat anything with it. Rice and bread at the same meal would be too much starch for me. But that’s just me. 

That's what I've always thought but I always see cornbread as a recommended side.

[Toocrazy!!]

Cornbread. 

[ScoutTN]

I can’t eat it bc it’s too carby, but I’d have milk or sour cream to cut spicy heat.

[Spy Car]

Jambalaya, a-crawfish pie and-a fillet gumbo? 

Bill

[Grace Hopper]

3 hours ago, saraha said:

We eat a fake jambalaya, and it’s spicy. I totally inauthentically put sour cream on top to cut the heat. What do people really eat with it to cut the heat?

We don’t try to cut the heat! 😂

I usually serve it with a green salad and baguette (sometimes garlicky). 

[Grace Hopper]

2 hours ago, saraha said:

It doesn’t have chicken or shrimp, just sausage. And we put sour cream on top 🙄😆 The sour cream kind of acts like a raita I think.

That is not fake. Jambalaya is a traditional Cajun dish that, like gumbo, makes use of a local grain (rice) plus whatever scraps of meat or seafood you may have leftover in your larder (which to an old Cajun could be chicken, turkey, beef, venison,  maybe pork). If I’m making it for regular supper, I just put in andouille sausage. If I’m making it for company or for a crowd, I add chicken. I add shrimp occasionally but it’s definitely not an every-time ingredient. 
 

If you use onion and green bell pepper and cajun spices like cayenne, with your meat and rice, and maybe tomatoes or broth…. your jambalaya is real!

[Katy]

There’s rice in it, but I always had it on a bed of rice too. I haven’t made it in years though. It was something I often had growing up. I suspect because one of my aunts married a cajun man. 

[saraha]

1 hour ago, Grace Hopper said:

That is not fake. Jambalaya is a traditional Cajun dish that, like gumbo, makes use of a local grain (rice) plus whatever scraps of meat or seafood you may have leftover in your larder (which to an old Cajun could be chicken, turkey, beef, venison,  maybe pork). If I’m making it for regular supper, I just put in andouille sausage. If I’m making it for company or for a crowd, I add chicken. I add shrimp occasionally but it’s definitely not an every-time ingredient. 
 

If you use onion and green bell pepper and cajun spices like cayenne, with your meat and rice, and maybe tomatoes or broth…. your jambalaya is real!

I use sausage, onions, green peppers, celery, okra, canned tomatoes, chicken broth rice and Cajun seasoning and a bay leaf

Edited March 18, 2023 by saraha

[Drama Llama]

9 hours ago, Spy Car said:

Jambalaya, a-crawfish pie and-a fillet gumbo? 

Bill

I am coming over what time is dinner?

[athena1277]

I’ve learned that the heat of the sausage affects the heat of jambalaya.  Try a different sausage or add cooked chicken to absorb some heat.  When I’ve made it with just chicken, there isn’t nearly as much flavor or heat.

[Melanie32]

I just cut down on the spices a bit to tone down the heat and serve it with salad and sometimes a slice of garlic bread. 
 

Sausage is the only protein in my recipe as well. 

[Rachel]

The two local Cajun restaurants here serve it with a side of garlic bread. I’m not sure if that’s traditional or not. 
 

When we make it at home I usually serve it with corn or a salad. That’s just because I feel like my kids need more vegetables in their diet though, I’m not sure how well the foods go together. My uncle is Cajun, I should ask him how he ate it growing up. 

[Rachel]

12 hours ago, Grace Hopper said:

That is not fake. Jambalaya is a traditional Cajun dish that, like gumbo, makes use of a local grain (rice) plus whatever scraps of meat or seafood you may have leftover in your larder (which to an old Cajun could be chicken, turkey, beef, venison,  maybe pork). If I’m making it for regular supper, I just put in andouille sausage. If I’m making it for company or for a crowd, I add chicken. I add shrimp occasionally but it’s definitely not an every-time ingredient. 
 

If you use onion and green bell pepper and cajun spices like cayenne, with your meat and rice, and maybe tomatoes or broth…. your jambalaya is real!

One time a guy my husband works with gave him alligator, so I threw that in my jambalaya. It was actually really good!

[Drama Llama]

I've thrown a can of those small white beans in my fake jambalaya to increase the protein and fiber.  That might be a way to stretch the dish and dissipate the heat, if you make it hotter than your liking.   Cauliflower would be another option to add.  

Sour cream or unsweetened yogurt sounds really good though.  I might try that. 

[Spy Car]

4 hours ago, BandH said:

I am coming over what time is dinner?

6:30.

But we'll be having leftovers of "fusion" Irish/Jewish braised corned beef, potatoes, roasted carrots and cabbage done Askanazi-style low and slow in my non-kashered Smart Oven.

We have plenty. Bring an appetite. 

Bill

 

[Drama Llama]

44 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

6:30.

But we'll be having leftovers of "fusion" Irish/Jewish braised corned beef, potatoes, roasted carrots and cabbage done Askanazi-style low and slow in my non-kashered Smart Oven.

We have plenty. Bring an appetite. 

Bill

 

I have my own Irish/Vegan fusion leftovers!  I want to come on jambalaya day! 

[Spy Car]

6 minutes ago, BandH said:

I have my own Irish/Vegan fusion leftovers!  I want to come on jambalaya day! 

Easy enough.

I would like some input from real Cajuns (or Cajun-adjacent) folks on the best rice to use. Is it parboiled Uncle Ben's or some Louisiana-grown long grain variety (that I source where?) or something else?

Bill

 

 

[Grace Hopper]

3 hours ago, Rachel said:

One time a guy my husband works with gave him alligator, so I threw that in my jambalaya. It was actually really good!

It is good! I prefer it in a sauce piquant. 

[Grace Hopper]

1 hour ago, Spy Car said:

Easy enough.

I would like some input from real Cajuns (or Cajun-adjacent) folks on the best rice to use. Is it parboiled Uncle Ben's or some Louisiana-grown long grain variety (that I source where?) or something else?

Bill

 

 

Mahatma long grain white was all my mother ever bought. I’m guilty of using other varieties, even minute rice (scandalous I’m sure).

Edited March 18, 2023 by Grace Hopper

[marbel]

I don't know much about jambalaya and certainly don't know what is the correct rice. But I like reading about food!

I really just came to say, please don't call your food "fake." It is real food. If you don't feel comfortable saying the name of the food without a modifier, then say "a version" or "my adaptation" or something like that. Don't denigrate your good cooking by calling it "fake." 

(Says the person who often uses jalapenos in Indian cooking because I can't find anything else, even though I once heard Madhur Jaffrey say never to use them. (For all I know, she has changed her mind, but still.) I don't claim to be an expert on curry, but dang it, it tastes good and is not fake.) 

💗

ETA: And now I'm wondering if Bill has any Madhur Jaffrey anecdotes! If so, do share! She is a treasure!

Edited March 18, 2023 by marbel

[Grace Hopper]

3 hours ago, marbel said:

I don't know much about jambalaya and certainly don't know what is the correct rice. But I like reading about food!

I really just came to say, please don't call your food "fake." It is real food. If you don't feel comfortable saying the name of the food without a modifier, then say "a version" or "my adaptation" or something like that. Don't denigrate your good cooking by calling it "fake." 

(Says the person who often uses jalapenos in Indian cooking because I can't find anything else, even though I once heard Madhur Jaffrey say never to use them. (For all I know, she has changed her mind, but still.) I don't claim to be an expert on curry, but dang it, it tastes good and is not fake.) 

💗

ETA: And now I'm wondering if Bill has any Madhur Jaffrey anecdotes! If so, do share! She is a treasure!

What a great point, and now I’m hungry for curry. 😄

[QueenCat]

Cornbread

[Bootsie]

I would serve it with added rice, French bread, or a green salad.  I would never think to put sour cream on my jambalaya.  If it is too hot to eat, I would adjust the spices.  It should be tasty--not full of heat.