Shika, from last night, regional dishes taste best when eaten in the regions from where they came. Having all the regional ingredients makes all the difference. On my first visit to New Orleans several years ago, I sampled gumbo from 2 different restaurants. One was very spicy and one was much milder, but more flavorful in my opinion. You could savor all the ingredients.
When I suddenly decided on making a gumbo last night, I decided based on the fact that I had the Andouille and wanted to build something around it. I had some frozen shrimp, but no other seafood. I had the makings of a fish stock, but not seafood stock. But I did have everything else I needed.
The key to making a good gumbo is in the roux, spices, and other ingredients which should be as fresh as possible. Though I only had the makings of fish stock, I made it as rich as possible and added the shells from the shrimp. Even though you may not have everything for the recipe, as long as you can make the roux and add the trinity ingredients to the roux as requested and follow the rest of the basic directions, I think you can come up with a pretty good gumbo. But without the roux, I think you’d have an above average soup.
Shika, from last night, regional dishes taste best when eaten in the regions from where they came. Having all the regional ingredients makes all the difference. On my first visit to New Orleans several years ago, I sampled gumbo from 2 different restaurants. One was very spicy and one was much milder, but more flavorful in my opinion. You could savor all the ingredients.
When I suddenly decided on making a gumbo last night, I decided based on the fact that I had the Andouille and wanted to build something around it. I had some frozen shrimp, but no other seafood. I had the makings of a fish stock, but not seafood stock. But I did have everything else I needed.
The key to making a good gumbo is in the roux, spices, and other ingredients which should be as fresh as possible. Though I only had the makings of fish stock, I made it as rich as possible and added the shells from the shrimp. Even though you may not have everything for the recipe, as long as you can make the roux and add the trinity ingredients to the roux as requested and follow the rest of the basic directions, I think you can come up with a pretty good gumbo. But without the roux, I think you’d have an above average soup.