Don't Embarrass Yourself at the Seafood Market, Sha
Baby, you can cook like Emeril, but if you walk into my kitchen asking for “boo-DEEN” or “rowks,”
PawPaw’s gonna assume you got lost on the way to Olive Garden.
Brenda at the seafood market can smell fear. And nothing smells like fear quite like a grown adult asking for “court-bullion” or “an-doo-ill” sausage.
This is Nana’s official How to Say It Like a Cajun dictionary.
11 words every Louisiana cook needs to know, with phonetics, pictures, and sass.
Say it right, and you get seconds. Say it wrong, and you get peanut butter sandwiches and a long ride home.
[BUY NOW: Shop Nana's Complete Cajun Kitchen Collection]
1. Courtbouillon
Say it: coo-bee-yon | Sounds like: coo + bee + yon
Nana Says: “Not French soup. It’s fish in gravy. Say it right.”
If you call it “court bullion,” you’re eating sandwiches while the rest of us have redfish. It’s supper, not stock market.
Talk it. Cook it → [BUY NOW: Nana's Courtbouillon Kit]
Get the Recipe → [Linked HERE]
2. Roux
Say it: roo | Sounds like: Kangaroo without the “kanga”
Nana Says: “If you say ‘rowks’ I’m hanging up the phone.”
Flour + fat + 45 minutes of stirring till your arm falls off. But it’s the start of every good gumbo, étouffée, and courtbouillon. No roux = no Cajun.
Talk it. Cook it → [BUY NOW: Nana's Never-Burn Roux Spoon]
Get the Recipe → [Linked HERE]
3. Andouille
Say it: ahn-doo-ee | Sounds like: ahn + doo + ee
Nana Says: “It’s sausage, not a French girlfriend.”
If you pronounce the “L,” PawPaw’s gonna think you’re proposing to the meat. Slice it. Smoke it. Throw it in gumbo, jambalaya, beans.
Everything tastes better with andouille.
Talk it. Cook it → [BUY NOW: Nana's Jambalaya Kit]
4. Tasso
Say it: tah-so | Sounds like: tah + so
Nana Says: “Spicy ham. Rhymes with ‘pass-go.’ "
Two syllables. Collect $200 in flavor every time you throw it in beans, greens, or gumbo.
It ain’t bacon.
It’s Cajun bacon’s jacked older cousin.
Talk it. Cook it → [BUY NOW: Nana's Bean Starter Kit]
5. Étouffée
Say it: ay-too-fay | Sounds like: ay + too + fay
Nana Says: “Means smothered. And that’s what we do to crawfish.”
If you say “E-toof,” you’re getting smothered with side-eye from Brenda at the market. Smother your shrimp, not your reputation.
Talk it. Cook it → [BUY NOW: Get the Ingredients in Nana’s Cajun Kitchen]
Get the recipe → [Linked HERE]
6. Jambalaya
Say it: jum-buh-LIE-yuh | Accent on the LIE
Nana Says: “Like when PawPaw says he only had one scoop of ice cream.”
Rice, meat, trinity, Cajun magic.
Feeds 2 or feeds 20. Same pot, same love.
Just don’t lie about having seconds.
Talk it. Cook it → [BUY NOW: Nana's Jambalaya Kit]
7. Boudin
Say it: boo-dan | Sounds like: boo + dan
Nana Says: “Not ‘boo-deen’. It’s pork and rice sausage. Get it right.”
Eat it for breakfast. Eat it hot from the gas station. Eat it cold in your truck.
Just don’t disrespect it with bad pronunciation or the cashier will know you’re not local.
Talk it. Cook it → [BUY NOW: Nana's Boudin Trail Kitchen]
8. Lagniappe
Say it: lan-yap | Sounds like: lan + yap
Nana Says: “Means ‘a little something extra.’ Like when I give you extra shrimp.”
Ask for lagniappe at the store. If they look confused, you know they’re not from around here.
Authentic Louisiana always comes with lagniappe.
Talk it. Get it → [BUY NOW: Shop Nana's Complete Cajun Kitchen Collection]
9. Filé
Say it: fee-lay | Sounds like: fee + lay
Nana Says: “Ground sassafras for gumbo. Not the police files.”
Sprinkle it in your bowl at the table, NOT in the pot, or your gumbo turns into swamp slime. Then Nana turns into swamp monster with the wooden spoon.
Talk it. Cook it → [BUY NOW: Authentic Filé Powder + Nana's Gumbo Pot]
10. Cassoulet
Say it: cass-oo-lay | Sounds like: cass + oo + lay
Nana Says: “French bean stew, but we Cajun-fied it. Say ‘cass-you-let’ and you’re getting sandwiches.”
Duck, andouille, white beans. It’s what happens when French technique moves to Louisiana and gets a job. Say it right = you get seconds.
Talk it. Cook it → [BUY NOW: Get the Ingredients in Nana’s Cajun Kitchen]
11. Laissez les bons temps rouler
Say it: lay-say lay bon tom roo-lay | Means: Let the good times roll
Nana Says: “Say it before you eat. Say it before you dance. Just say it.”
If you can’t remember it, just smile and pass the boudin.
The good times will roll anyway.
Talk it. Live it → [BUY NOW: Nana's "Good Times" Party Bundle]
From Nana’s Kitchen:
Print this. Tape it to your fridge. Stick it in your cookbook. Put it in your glovebox for seafood market emergencies.
Talk it. Cook it. Live it. That’s Cajun.
Tell Nana: Which word did YOU used to say wrong? Which one still trips you up? Comment below.
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