Comforting Camp Gumbo

Inspired by traditional New Orleans recipes, our comforting camp gumbo is the perfect soul food to warm you and your tribe during cool evenings watching the sunset.

What is Gumbo?

Gumbo is a warm spicy stew traditionally made in Louisiana in the USA. An example of the American melting pot of cultures, Gumbo is said to take inspiration from 3 unique cooking traditions; West African, Native American, and French. Each practice used different thickening techniques in stews. The West Africans used ki ngombo (okra), which is where historians believe the word Gumbo is derived from; the Native Americans used a filé powder made from ground sassafras tree leaves, and the French used a roux made from flour and fat. Recipes dating back to the 1800s use one or several of these methods together. The recipes also show a wide variety of ingredients, including poultry such as chicken and turkey, red meats including beef and veal, cold and cured meats such as ham and bacon, local wildlife such as squirrel and rabbit, and shellfish such as oysters, crabs, soft-shell crabs, shrimp. Vegetables sometimes included greens and cabbage. In some areas of Louisiana it is common to add tomatoes to a gumbo, while in others, it is considered a cardinal sin. Whatever your preferences, have fun experimenting with your favourite meat, shellfish, or seasonal vegetables, just as the original chefs did.

We'd love to see your gumbo recipes. Show us your versions with #cookinthecloudsjp (cook in the clouds jp).

Comforting Camp Gumbo

  • Ingredients


  • Chicken Breast (cut into bitesize pieces)
  • Prawns 300g
  • Spicy Sausage 300g
  • 1 Onion
  • Stick of Celery
  • 1 Green Pepper (Piman)
  • Okra 100g (cut into 5mm pieces)
  • Garlic (2 cloves)
  • Flour 100g
  • Butter 100g
  • Chicken Stock 1000ml
  • Salt and pepper to taste (We love the House Garlic and Onion 香りソルト)
  • Your favourite chunky bread or rice to serve.


Spice Mix

  • Paprika Powder 2tsp
  • Oregano 1tsp
  • Thyme 1tsp
  • Cumin Powder 1tsp
  • Garlic powder 1tsp
  • Onion Powder 1tsp
  • Cayenne Pepper 1tsp
    • (If this seems like a lot, check out our cheat on the tips tab.)


Equipment

  • Small non-stick saucepan or frying pan to make a roux. (This is not necessary if you make the roux at home.)
  • Large stewing pan with a lid for cooking gumbo
  • Chopping board
  • Knife
  • Wooden spoon (or similar)
  • Ladle

  • Instructions

  • Prep Time: 30 mins
  • Cooking Time: 1h 20 mins

  1. Make a dark roux

    2. Cook the butter and flour on a low heat while stirring continuously until the roux turns a warm brown colour. This usually takes around 20 minutes. Once ready, put aside. (The roux can be made ahead of time and either refrigerated or frozen.)


  2. Chop Vegetables

    3. Finely chop the celery, onion, garlic, and piman and put aside.


  3. Cook Meat

    4. Cook chicken breast in a separate pan big enough to cook your gumbo.


  4. Add vegetables

    5. Then add the okra (sliced very small) and chopped vegetables, and cook for 5 minutes.


  5. Add spice and roux

    6. Mix in the spice mix and roux.


  6. Add stock and simmer

    7. Add the chicken stock once the spice and roux are thoroughly mixed through. Mix in some kaori salt 香りソルト and simmer for around 30 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.


  7. Add prawns and sausage

    8. Add in the prawns and sausage and cook for another 5~10 minutes. Make sure they are well cooked.


  8. Serve

    9. Serve with your favourite chunky bread or rice.

  • Tips

Our Spice Cheat

If you don't have enough spices, or you don't want to buy a lot of individual herbs and spices, Old El Paso's Spice Mix for Tacos has similar ingredients to our gumbo spice mix. To get a similar taste, we use the same amount of Taco spice mix (7 tsp) with one teaspoon of thyme and some garlic and onion salt (House 香りソルト). This little hack has helped us on several occasions, and the little spice pouches fit easily into our cooking kits. Alternatively, if you can find a Cajun Spice Mix at your local supermarket, that would work perfectly.

Chorizo is so expensive!

Traditional spicy sausage like chorizo can be pretty hard to find and expensive in Japan. No problem, if you don't mind going a non-traditional route. We often use spicy weiners found in most Japanese supermarkets. They taste great, and kids love them. But as we said above, traditional gumbo recipes used a variety of available seasonal ingredients. You could try chunky bacon pieces or make seafood gumbo with no meat at all. Feel free to change the recipe up.

Vegetarian Gumbo

For a vegetarian version, exchange the chicken stock for a good vegetable stock. Use vegetables, chickpeas or other beans instead of meat and fish. To prevent the vegetables from dissolving, add them in towards the end.

Do I have to use okra?

The simple answer is no. But for those who aren't fans of okra, hear us out. Okra is used as a thickener in Gumbo, it melts away to nothing, and by the time you eat it, you won't even remember it was there. However, our Gumbo is made with a roux and, as such, is pretty thick already. If you really want to skip the okra, you can, but we recommend giving it a try.

Big vegetables

If you are worried about space, instead of chopping all the vegetables at the camp, blend the onion, celery, piman, and garlic at home before leaving. You can store the puree in a bottle or strong ziplock or freeze it in an ice cube tray. We like this method for three reasons:

  1. We find that a small bottle of puree takes up less space than whole vegetables, and if frozen in ice cube form, it can help keep perishables cool.
  2. It saves time prepping at camp.
  3. The vegetables in this recipe are cut small to create a smooth thick soup base.
Note that we only recommend this method if you are making Gumbo on the first day of camp.


Lana Stephenson

Founder of Hike To The Clouds. When she's not hiking, Lana loves coding, cooking and playing with her cats Benji and Leia.