How to Make Spicy Cajun Fried Shrimp

How to Make Cajun Style Spicy Fried Shrimp

Creole or cajun cooking hails from the state of Louisiana. These are the names of an proud people who garner a strong sense of pride in their culture. Like soul food creole cooking is a combination of foods that evolved during and after slavery. Using the resources available to them they created a culture that is a mix of American and French. Lousiana was one of the French Colonies in America. Their food and culture are a combination of religious values and an adjustment to an environment. The food is known for being well seasoned and very spicy with pepper liberally mixed in.

While it’s fine to eat out once in a while there is nothing better than cooking your favorite foods the way you like them at home. If the adults in your family like things hot and spicy you can also make a portion milder for the younger family members.

We made 2lbs of 30’s into a great meal with the addition of local produce and a healthy portion of a starch. When purchasing shrimp you will see them listed as 20’s, 30’s or 40’s and this simply means that there are 20 shrimp to the pound and so on. The less shrimp to the pound the larger the shrimp are. We used fresh shrimp but you can use frozen as well. Frozen shrimp can sometimes become tough when they are cooked so you have to be careful not to overcook them.

My Grandmother always said that if you took a packaged item and added your own seasonings and made it your own way it was yours. That's probably why we love watching Sandra Lee on the Food Network. She also believes in using store bought items to make cooking quicker and easier. You can make your own breading to fry fish from flour and corn meal. But we have found it simpler to find an all purpose mix that you like and use it. We are currently using House Autry Seafood Breader that we purchased at Wal-Mart. It has a nice balance of herbs and spices blended together that are not too spicy. We have seen it at other markets as well. It can be used on shrimp, fish, in crab cakes and more. We have purchased Creole seasoning or blackening spices but you can also make your own mixture to enable you to reduce the salt. We have found that most of the prepared Cajun spice mixes tend to be high in salt.

Ingredients:

One pound of shrimp, cleaned and deveined, tails on is fine

One cup of breading (Autry Seafood Breader Mix) or

A mix of 1 cup of flour and ¼ c of cornmeal

(add 1 tsp adobo, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp onion powder to the mixture)

One lemon

one cup of canola oil

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp Cajun seasoning or more to your taste

Optional: ½ tsp red pepper flakes

Heat oil on a medium flame in a frying pan or a small dutch oven. Sprinkle a pinch of breading in the oil and when it sizzles and fries the oil is ready. Rinse shrimp in water with half of the lemon squeezed into it. Dreg damp shrimp in the breading mix with the pepper added to it to your taste. Shake off the extra breading and add the shrimp to the pot or pan on the side away from you with tongs. Careful not to splash the oil which can burn. Make sure to turn any shrimp that is not under the oil so that all the pieces cook evenly. Remove the shrimp when cooked with a slotted spoon and place on paper to drain the oil off. You know the shrimp is cooked by the nice brown color it turns. You can sprinkle a dash of Cajun seasoning and squeeze some lemon on the shrimp and serve warm with a green vegetable, try my collard green recipe and a starch (try my spanish rice recipe). Add blue cheese to a small dish or make your own tartar sauce by mixing one cup of mayonnaise or salad spread with 1/4 cup of relish, stir and keep in a closed container. Enjoy!