A Cajun Cooks

[Rajun Gardener]

Yes, Don. I've eaten choupique, gar, buffalo drum and many other of God's tasty critters!!

Garfish goes great with that last dish I made.

[Rajun Gardener]

For anyone wondering why Tony's is so salty.. Here's a recipe from an old cookbook, they don't use MSG any more and take a look at the bottom for the additions for seafood.

[Rajun Gardener]

A new video dropped about my home town and of course I have to share.

A taste of history and the present. Ya'll come visit and eat!!!

[DonDuck]

Lafayette is one of my favorite cities. So many different things from swamps to foods and the people exist within a few miles inside and outside Lafayette. Other than seasonal love bugs and occasional hurricanes, everything about Lafayette is good.

[DonDuck]

I've only eaten gar balls and gar steaks. I tried to grill the large steaks and they were pretty good, but my grill smelled horrible for months. Many people don't realize how large alligator gar get. I've seen them washed up on the rocks at Sabine pass between Louisiana and Texas over six feet long. They had individual scales larger than a silver dollar.

[AlittleSalt]

Originally Posted by Rajun Gardener

Yes, Don. I've eaten choupique, gar, buffalo drum and many other of God's tasty critters!!

Garfish goes great with that last dish I made.

Pressure cooked fresh water drum is the best fish I have ever eaten. My wife and I caught a 23 pound fresh water drum. It did take both of us. It was on a Zebco 33 with 10 pound test mono. We were sitting in the water on an old washing machine that someone dumped out at the lake. I put a half piece of plywood on top. We were sitting there catching crappie and channelcat on crappie minnows - when BAM - a 23 pound drum hit. I had to get in the water to catch it in a net. It took a long while.

Excellent tasting fish.

[DonDuck]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

Pressure cooked fresh water drum is the best fish I have ever eaten. My wife and I caught a 23 pound fresh water drum. It did take both of us. It was on a Zebco 33 with 10 pound test mono. We were sitting in the water on an old washing machine that someone dumped out at the lake. I put a half piece of plywood on top. We were sitting there catching crappie and channelcat on crappie minnows - when BAM - a 23 pound drum hit. I had to get in the water to catch it in a net. It took a long while. Excellent tasting fish.

I've always been reluctant to eat large fish. That applies mostly to large saltwater fish. It has seemed the larger they get, the more worms they have in their flesh. It doesn't really matter because if they are cooked well, everything in the flesh is also cooked well.

[Worth1]

I have eaten my fair share of gar balls and fried gar.
Also carp buffalo and goo's
My father and I would be cleaning fish from before sundown till 3:00AM in the morning.
My mother would be running relays with two big pressure canners until all of it was canned in jars.
We did (((NOT))) waste protein or food.
To me in my opinion Cajun cooking is what food poor country folks eat.
Creole is fancy food rich folks eat.
Most Cajuns I know and I have known and still do know plenty, wouldn't give two spits and a p!ss for New Orleans.

[Rajun Gardener]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Most Cajuns I know and I have known and still do know plenty, wouldn't give two spits and a p!ss for New Orleans.

You got that right and Shreveport, a bunch of Cowboy fans that can't make a real gumbo and act like they're part of the Cajun culture to get tourism!!

[Rajun Gardener]

Baahaaahaa!!! Eye relief is real. Sonny will always remember it.

https://youtu.be/fkAsg5d-t5U?t=169

[DonDuck]

I'm not sure Cajun food can be identified as poor peoples food. I see a lot of "Cajun" food restaurants in this country and very few Creole restaurants. Most good Cajun restaurants are pretty expensive. Most "poor" people don't eat in Cajun restaurants with the exception of in Louisiana.


I do like a lot of New Orleans food like muffuletta and shrimp po' boy sandwiches, but most Creole dishes taste like Cajun dishes minus the seasonings.


I thought Ralph & Kacoo's in Shreveport did a pretty good job with Cajun food, specifically turtle soup and soft shell crabs.

[DonDuck]

Originally Posted by Rajun Gardener

Baahaaahaa!!! Eye relief is real. Sonny will always remember it.

https://youtu.be/fkAsg5d-t5U?t=169

I once did that with what used to be called a "bazooka" which is essentially a tube fired anti tank rocket. It was about fifteen degrees f and the blood poured into my eye socket and froze. At the hospital, the doctor thought my eye was gone until they thawed the blood with hot compresses and found my eye to be uninjured.


I fired it correctly, but due to the cold weather; the rocket fuel didn't ignite properly. When it did ignite, it kicked like a ten ton mule. Scared the heck out of me.

[Worth1]

Of course a Cajun restaurant is going to be high priced it is a fad and the reason crawfish prices skyrocketed.

But the reason I am here is; Just because a Cajun cooks doesn't mean a Cajun has to cook Cajun food.
Cajun cooking is making a meal to feed a family and visitors with what you have on hand.
Much of what many of us were raised up doing including myself.
I always cook enough for unexpected company or can whip up a meal in no time flat if it does happen.

.

[Rajun Gardener]

This is my take on curry noodles, Sri Lanka style. It's all in the cooking process so I made a video with all the details. https://youtu.be/7p5p2gFh-EI






Here's the full recipe.
Rob's Seafood Curry Recipe
Ingredients:
2 carrots grated
A thumb size piece of ginger shredded
1 medium onion chopped fine
1.5" of cilantro stalks chopped fine. I cut off the ends and use the fresh stalks
1 large sized tomato diced.
4 cloves of garlic diced
1/4 cup sliced cilantro for garnish
1/4 cup sliced green onions for garnish
Noodles: I used ramen but any thin noodles will work or it can be served over rice.

Seafood:
1 paella pack of seafood, it has octopus, clams, shrimp and squid in it
8-10 Stone crab claws
1 1/2 lb of fresh peeled shrimp
1 quart of shrimp stock, any seafood stock will work
NOTE: You can add any seafood you like, snow crabs, clams and blue crabs work just as well.

Spices:
1 heaping TBS of Jonggavision Hot Pepper Paste
1 tsp of Sesame seed oil
1 heaping TBS of yellow curry powder, I used Sherwood brand
1 TBS Instant Tom Yum Paste (Hot and Sour Soup), Por Kwan brand
1 tsp of Rajah brand Garam Masala
1 TBS of Sambal Oelek Chilli Paste
2 TBS of canola or olive oil to saute the vegetables.
1 5.6oz can of coconut cream

Directions:
Add 2 TBS of canola oil to pot on high heat, saute the onions and carrots first till soft.
Add the cilantro, garlic and ginger
Cook till vegetables are dry and most moisture is released and evaporated.
Add 1 tsp of Garam Masala and 1TBS of curry powder, cook spices a few minutes then add Tom Yum paste while stirring to mix with vegetables.
Add shrimp stock and simmer till reduced to almost a paste.
Then add tomatoes and a heaping TBS of the pepper paste, simmer tomatoes till it thickens again.
Add coconut cream with a little water to rinse out the can and 1 TBS of Sambal pepper paste
Simmer a few minutes to incorporate the flavors and add all the seafood with 2 cups of water
Simmer for 15 minutes while stirring till thickened a little
Turn off heat and let cool a few minutes to thicken

Serve over ramen or rice topped with cilantro and green onions, More Sambal hot sauce if you like it spicy!
Bon Appetite!!!

[imp]

Enjoying the video's, good job.