Shrimp Po’ Boy
The Origins
The poor boy sandwich now known as the po’boy came to life in 1929 during the streetcar strike in New Orleans. Brothers Bennie and Clovis Martin would give away sandwiches to those striking workers in a show of solidarity as they both had been streetcar conductors before opening their restaurant, Martin Brothers’ French Market and Coffee Stand.
Back then, the items loaded on French bread consisted of portions of roast beef, fried potatoes covered in gravy. Nowadays, it can consist of all sorts of toppings even vegan options with shrimp being the most popular.
And that’s the one on the menu for today
Ingredients
- 1/2lb of shrimp (cooked or raw)
- 1 white onion
- 1 headgreen leaf lettuce
- 1 garden tomatoe
- Hellman’s mayo ( or mayo of choice)
- 1 French loaf (preferably) but a hoagie roll will do
- Corn meal
- Canola oil
Ingredients for the remoulade sauce
- 1 cup of mayo
- 1/4 cup creole mustard
- 1 tablespoon of pickle juice
- 1 small pinch of cilantro
- 1 green onion finely sliced
- 1 tsp of worchestershire sauce
- 1/2 lime juice
- 1 tablespoon of hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon of paprika
- 1 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper for heat (optional)
Instructions
Combine all the ingredients for the remoulade sauce in a small bow and whisk thoroughly. Salt and pepper to taste
In a separate bowl add in 2 cups of cornmeal and generously season with Cajun seasoning . Thoroughly coat all the shrimp with the seasoned corn meal. In a large sauce pan, add canola oil halfway (anymore and you risk the oil spilling over) and heat to 350°F. Gently add in the shrimp and fry for about 3-4 minutes. Once cooked, place onto paper towels to soak up any excess oil.
Cut your French bread in half and layer both halves with mayo. Add the green leaf lettuce, tomato and onion slices, top with shrimp and then generously cover with remoulade sauce. I tried my best fold my sandwich but the shrimp were too much to contain.
After a couple of bites, I know I’ll definitely be making this again soon.
Enjoy!
