Seafood Weekend | Crawfish ala Hot and Juicy

I love it when my husband cooks with me in the kitchen.

Well OK, maybe sometimes!  There are times when we disagree, and oh you don't want to hear that part of the story. : )  But I can say that for the recipe I'm about to share, it states that "I'm lucky I fell in love with my best friend". Yep, this is definitely one of the best collaborative cooking experiments that we've done.  

For today's recipe, my husband and I prepared a Hot-N-Juicy (H-n-J)-inspired crawfish and shrimp with Louisiana-Style seasoning. We went to the market earlier today and they had live crawfish. So crawfish it is... and we want it spicy... Oooh Baby!

Hot N Juicy is similar to The Boiling Crab in Southern California - which is well known for the long lines and wait - but it is soooo worth it.  So H-n-J is a crawfish joint that started in Las Vegas and has several locations in the East coast and So Cal. We've visited the Orlando location - thanks Dick and Marvie for the invite. Expect it to be hot and messy when you dine here, as the seafood can be really spicy and it is served in a plastic bag with all the juices and seasoning.   

So taking the cue from Hot N Juicy, we cooked the crawfish with shrimp, potatoes, corn and sausage - all sprinkled liberally with spicy seafood seasoning - or simply known as the crawfish Louisiana Boil recipe.  To put a Filipino take on this dish, we added sweet longganisa instead of andouille sausage.  And guess whose suggestion that was?  Yep I have to give it to my husband.  And the result is outstanding! Uhm let's say we were in a food coma after, haha!

Crawfish Ala Hot and Juicy

You could use Louisiana (brand) boil powder - but there is a hint of anise - which may not be to everyone's liking. So we concocted our own seasoning - Louisiana-Style.

Ingredients:

1.5 lb. crawfish

1 lb shrimp

1 pack of sweet longganisa (around 12 bite size pcs,)

2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced

3 pieces whole corn (sliced in half)

Spices for boiling:

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp chili oil

1 tbsp seafood salt

1 tbsp seafood seasoning

4-6  cups of water (enough to cover the crawfish)

1-2 tbsp of Louisiana hot sauce (adjust to heat preference)

Ingredients for the sauce:

4 cloves of garlic (minced)

3 tbsp butter

1 tbsp chili oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp lemon pepper

1 tbsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp seafood salt

1 tsp seafood seasonin

2 pc bay leaf

2 tbsp Louisiana hot sauce

Procedure: 

Wash and clean the crawfish several times with tap water.  Click here to see how.

In a pot, boil water.  Add salt, chili oil, seafood salt, seafood seasoning and Louisiana hot sauce.  Let the water boil for 10 minutes.  Then add the crawfish.  Let it boil for 6-8 minutes.  Turn off the stove and soak the crawfish for an additional 20 minutes, uncovered.  Drain and set aside.

In another pot, boil for 10-12 minutes the potatoes, corn and longganisa, with the same ingredients used in boiling the crawfish.  Drain and sear the longganisa and potatoes on a separate pan.

In a bowl mix the lemon pepper, red pepper flakes, Louisiana hot sauce, seafood salt, seafood seasoning, and chili oil - set aside. In a big wok, saute garlic with butter. Add bay leaf then add shrimp.  Cook for about 4 minutes or until shrimp color changes to orange.  Add crawfish and the spices you mixed earlier. Stir and cook for another 4 minutes.  Add the seared longganisa, potatoes and corn. You may add the broth used to boil the corn and longganisa.  

It may seem complicated, but trust me, it's worth all the trouble!  ENJOY!