Étouffée is the Louisiana dish of a thick seafood stew, often made with crawfish, shrimp, or crab, served over rice.
The French word étouffée means “smothered” or “suffocated,” referring to the cooking method in which seafood is gently cooked in a thick, seasoned sauce. Crawfish étouffée is especially associated with Louisiana, although shrimp and crab versions are also established.
The sauce commonly begins with butter or oil, onion, celery, and bell pepper. It may be thickened with a roux, flour, or sometimes a combination involving shellfish stock. Tomatoes appear in some Creole versions but are less central in many Cajun preparations.
Étouffée differs from gumbo because it is usually a concentrated sauce served over rice, while gumbo is a soupier stew. It also differs from jambalaya, in which the rice cooks together with the other ingredients.