When we talk about crayfish, we immediately think of the Crayfish Festival in Xuyi, and the plates of red and oily sesame seeds on Guijie Street in Beijing at night. But you know what? Americans also eat crayfish, and they also make it spicy! The home of American crayfish is Louisiana in the south.

Long before Europeans came to Louisiana, Native Americans had learned to eat crayfish. There are many swamps and lakes in Luzhou, which provide natural and superior conditions for the growth of crayfish. The arrival of Europeans left their own culture and culinary characteristics here. In particular, the spicy Cajun food brought by the descendants of Acadian French immigrants has become popular throughout the United States. This crawfish is the representative of Cajun food.

Eating crayfish depends on the season, and early spring to late summer is the best time. In early spring, there is a carnival in New Orleans, the capital of Louisiana. People dressed in fancy clothes were walking on the street, it was so lively. Parade marchers throw colorful beads to onlookers along the way. That is one of the features of this parade! At night, on the famous Bourbon Street, jazz music with a strong rhythm comes from the pub. People sit at the outdoor dining tables, eating mountains of crayfish in front of them and drinking ice-cold beer. Life is really better than the gods.

There is only one way for Americans to eat crayfish, which is to boil it. Usually find a large straight aluminum pot, put water in it, and put a packet of crayfish seasoning. The seasoning includes salt, chili, pepper, celery powder, bay leaves, oregano, ginger powder, mustard seeds, etc. It is very spicy. It is said that some Hunanese who are very good at spicy food couldn't stand it after eating it. After pouring the crayfish into the pot, use a long wooden stick to cook and stir it. On the one hand, it is to fully dissolve the seasoning, and on the other hand, it is also to find the dead crayfish. It is said that if a crayfish is curved, it means it is still alive, and if it is dead, its body will become straight. Because crayfish grow up eating humus, if they die for too long, they will produce histamine and other toxic substances and should not be eaten. If you have just died, you can still eat it. In addition to these, a few cloves of garlic should be placed in the pot, as well as some other foods, such as mushrooms, onions, corn, lemons, red potatoes, etc., all placed in a small mesh bag and cooked together in the pot.

When it is cooked, clean the water, spread newspapers on the table, pour it on, and with a crash, a hill will rise on the table, and a group of people will gather around the table to eat and drink. stand up. This is how Americans eat crayfish. They pull off the head, pull out the shrimp meat in the middle, and eat it directly in their mouths without removing the intestines. It's really fierce! When eating crayfish, the staple food is corn pancakes. The sweet corn flour is baked until golden and soft. It is soft and delicious in the mouth. It is a perfect match with the spicy crayfish.

After the crayfish season, although there are no live crayfish to eat, frozen shrimp meat is sold all year round. Shrimp meat can be made into soup, crayfish rice, crayfish fried rice, etc. There is also Luzhou’s unique crayfish burger. Although it looks like an ordinary burger, the crispy fried patties are stuffed with small shrimps. The lobster meat still tastes as spicy as ever, fully reflecting the characteristics of Cajun food.

In the past, crayfish were all wild. Crayfish are easy to reproduce and grow very quickly, but so many people still want to eat them. As early as the 1960s, there were crayfish farms in Luzhou. Most of the crayfish sold on the market today are farmed, and wild ones are rare. Occasionally, some wild ones can be seen in the creek. Crayfish have very low IQ and are easily caught. I once saw a Mexican fishing for crayfish by the stream. He just used a branch, tied a piece of chicken to the end, and stretched it into the water. After a while, a crayfish took the bait. He lifted the branch, grabbed the crayfish and threw it into the plastic bucket next to it. Just like that, in less than an hour, he caught more than a dozen fish, which made me really greedy!

Although crayfish farming has expanded to Texas, Mississippi, North Carolina and other states, Louisiana is still the main crayfish production area, accounting for 90% of the total production. People in other states who want to eat live crayfish can order online. Generally, crayfish companies have this business. Just give them the date and they will guarantee it will be delivered by air on the same day. Airports in the United States also have refrigerated warehouses that can store live seafood for mailing. The wife of one of my former bosses is from Louisiana. After moving to California, she still missed the delicious food of her hometown. So every year during the crawfish season, she would order 100 pounds of live shrimp and invite people from the company to eat at her home. They even placed an order half a year ago, and 100 pounds of crayfish were placed in a large foam box. It is said that there is also a dormant agent that allows the seafood to suspend its metabolism. My boss received the notice and picked up the crayfish from the airport early that morning so that everyone could eat it at noon.

Luzhou made crayfish the state’s representative animal in 1983, and holds a crayfish festival every year. Crayfish is a specialty food of Luzhou, which is truly worthy of its name!

Directions (beer drinking optional)

Before you cook them. Rinse them. We recommend that you rinse your crawfish with plain water before cooking. Rinse them until draining water is clear.< /p>

Fill the large pot half full with fresh water, place on outdoor propane cooker, and start the fire. Place the lid on the pot and bring water to a boil.

While you wait for water to boil, rinse the crawfish with fresh cool water until draining water is clear. You do not need to “purge” them with salt. Rinsing will do just fine.

Drink another beer. Give one to a friend.

Add about 1 lb of Fruge's Original Seafood Boil to water. Let the boiling water mix it well for a minute or so.

Time to drink another beer. Send sober friend to store for more beer.

Drop in all 8 onions (halved), the potatoes and fresh garlic. Let this cook, keeping an eye on the potatoes. (Check for doneness by stabbing with a sharp knife or fork. If it goes in easy, it is cooked. Hint: Do not overcook potatoes, slightly undercook them because they will continue to steam and cook in the ice chest. You don't want to end up with mashed potatoes.)

When the potatoes are almost done, add the corn and mushrooms. After they have cooked, lower the fire on the burner and remove the basket. Place the vegetables in a small clean ice chest . Time to drink another beer.

Turn the heat up on the burner. Add more spice to the water. (About 25 oz. Save about 1 lb of spice for later.) Take the lemons (halved ) and squeeze the juice in the water. Then add the lemons to the water. When the water comes to a boil, place the crawfish into the basket and put the basket in the pot. (Be careful - it's very hot!) Put the lid on the pot and enjoy another beer.

When the water comes back to a rolling boil - keep a very close eye on this part (time it) - let it boil for 2 minutes and turn off the fire . Let the crawfish soak for a few minutes and then remove. Hint: Kill the boil by adding cold water or a bag of ice. Then let the crawfish soak. Most of the crawfish will sink to the bottom and fill with spicy water (JUICES ).

Remove the Crawfish from the pot and pour into an ice chest while your friend sprinkles the remaining seasoning. Mix this well and let steam for 5 minutes. Use more or less spice to your taste.

You can dump everything on newspaper on a table or serve it out of the ice chest. Food stays hot in the chest… your choice.

Now it's time to really drink beer and eat. The vegetables are for those guests who cannot figure out how to peel the crawfish. At least they won't starve.