What is Cajun cuisine?

Cajun food is southern cuisine most often associated with Louisiana. It originated with Acadian immigrants (a French population that settled in Canada but later fled to the southern United states). Cajun food staples include gumbo, etouffee, jambalaya, and other hearty, spicy, meat-heavy one-pot meals.

What is sauce piquant?

Merriam-Webster defines sauce piquant as "a sauce with sharp flavor." I've also seen it defined as a hot spicy tomato-based stew (which is consistent with this recipe).

Roux is a mixture of equal parts fat and flour used to thicken sauces, soups, and stews.

What is the cajun (or creole) trinity?

Diced onion, celery, and bell pepper. The concept is similar to the French mirepoix (onion, celery, and carrot).

Do I need any special kitchen tools for this spicy chicken sauce piquant recipe?

Nope. I recommend a dutch oven for this recipe but any large heavy-bottomed pot will do. See below for my favorite kitchen tools that are useful (but not required) for this type of recipe.

Spicy Chicken Sauce Piquant

Description

This spicy one-pot Cajun classic is a favorite in our house. Serve it with steamed rice, and cornbread.

This recipe is adapted from “Real Cajun” by Donald Link

Ingredients

Scale

1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup all-purpose flour
vegetable oil or lard for browning chicken, around 1/4 cup to start and more as needed
1 yellow onion, diced
3 celery stalks, diced,
1 poblano or green bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp dried thyme
several dashes of hot sauce
4 green onions, sliced thin

Instructions

Combine salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, chili pepper, and paprika in a large bowl and mix. Add chicken. Toss using your hands until the pieces are evenly coated in the spice mixture.
Put the flour in a medium low-sided bowl. Dredge the seasoned chicken pieces through the flour to coat and set aside. Reserve any excess flour.
Heat 1/4 cup oil in large dutch oven over medium-high. When the oil is hot, add half of the chicken to the pot. There should be enough room in the pot for the pieces to be in one layer. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes and then turn and brown the other side. The chicken should turn a nice golden brown. Transfer to a plate and brown the remaining chicken following the same method. You can a little more oil to the pot if needed. Transfer browned chicken to the plate.
Reduce heat to medium and add the onion, celery, pepper, and garlic. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes until veggies are soft. Add 1/4 cup of the remaining dredging flour. You can mix in new flour if you don’t have enough dredging flour reserved. Toss the veggies with the flour until evenly coated and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chicken, tomatoes, stock, bay leaves, dried thyme, and hot sauce.
Give the pot a good stir to combined all ingredients. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer over low heat for about and hour, until sauce has thickened and chicken is tender and sheds easily.
Serve with white rice and garnish with green onions.

Keywords: Cajun, chicken sauce piquant