Cajun/Creole · Creole · main

Seafood Gumbo with Okra and Crab

Seafood Gumbo with Okra and Crab reads umami 5.9, marine & briny 4.5 and allium 4.3 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Cajun/Creole · Creole main, about 1 hr 30 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 6.8 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 3.1 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 2.1 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 1.5 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 3.6 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 4.7 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 5.9 · Marine & Briny 4.5 · Allium 4.3 · Salinity 4.2 · Richness 3.5 · Sweetness 2.6 · Herbaceous 2.2 · Sourness 1.8 · Fruity 1.7 · Warm Spice 1.5 · Earthy 1.3 · Heat 1.0 · Citrus 1.0 · Bitterness 1.0 · Floral 0.8

What's in it (17)

• vegetable oil — 109 g
• all-purpose flour — 60 g
• yellow onion — 110 g
• green bell pepper — 100 g
• celery — 80 g
• garlic — 12 g
• okra — 454 g
• tomatoes — 411 g
• fish stock — 1420 g
• bay — 2 g
• thyme — 1 g
• creole seasoning — 7 g
• salt — 5 g
• shrimp — 454 g
• lump crab meat — 227 g
• green onions — 330 g
• white rice — 710 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 30 min · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 109.7 kcal, 4.9 g protein, 3.1 g fat, 15.9 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a flat-edged spoon, until the roux turns the deep reddish-brown of dark chocolate, 20-25 minutes — don't step away once it starts to darken, since it can burn quickly.
2. Add the onion, bell pepper, and celery to the hot roux (it will sizzle hard). Stir well and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables soften and the raw onion smell fades, 6-8 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute.
4. Add the okra and cook, stirring occasionally, until it turns from bright green to a duller olive and the loose sliminess has mostly cooked off, 8-10 minutes.
5. Stir in the diced tomatoes with their juices, seafood stock, bay leaves, thyme, Cajun seasoning, and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the broth has thickened slightly and deepened in color, about 45 minutes.
6. Add the shrimp and crab meat and simmer gently until the shrimp are opaque and just cooked through and the crab is warmed through, 5-6 minutes (shrimp reach 145 F internal).
7. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Taste and adjust the salt and Cajun seasoning.
8. Stir in two-thirds of the sliced green onions. Ladle the gumbo over rice and finish each bowl with the reserved green onions.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Louisiana Seafood Gumbo — Cajun/Creole
• Shrimp Étouffée — Cajun/Creole
• Caldeirada — Portuguese
• Txangurro a la Donostiarra — Basque · Hegoalde (Spain)
• Cazuela de Mariscos — Argentine

Keep reading: what umami, marine & briny, allium mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.