A spicy Creole dish usually made with either fish, red meat, pork, ham or chicken, and tomatoes and peppers. Jambalaya comes from the word “jambon,” French for ham.
According to folk etymology, the Cajun-Creole dish known as jambalaya acquired its name when a salesman from the northern United States stopped for a bite to eat at a New Orleans cafe. After telling the waitress he wanted to try the cafe’s specialty, the waitress shouted to the cook in the kitchen: “Jean, throw something together!” a command that in Louisiana French would be spoken as “Jean, balayez!” After finishing his meal, the customer left and travelled across America with the mistaken impression that “Jean, balayez!”—or what he remembered as “Jambalaya!”—was the name of the delicious dish he had been served. Those who wish to accept this dubious explanation of the name jambalaya may do so with impunity, because the actual origin of the word is unknown, apart from the fact that it first appeared around 1872. However, considering that one of the main ingredients in jambalaya is ham, it may be that jambon—the French word for ham—lurks somewhere in the name’s past. Although there is no / sound in jambon, the pronunciation may have been influenced by association with the word jumble, which is what jambalaya—containing not only ham, but also rice, pork, sausage, shrimp, and crayfish—certainly is.
A rice dish, typically from Louisiana, USA, made with bits of ham, shrimps, or oysters, cooked with vegetables such as tomatoes, onions, peppers, and celery, and seasoned with garlic and various herbs and spices, such as thyme and cayenne pepper.
Jambalaya is a delicious stew comprising of meat, poultry, and/or seafood, paired with rice. It originated in the Cajun region of the United States, specifically the bayous of Louisiana. While it initially started as a ham-based dish, it has undergone significant refinement over time and is now embraced by New Orleans Créoles as well. The cooking process involves simmering the rice alongside the other ingredients in a stock, resulting in the rice absorbing the delicious flavors of the other foods.