When I was a child, a young woman with a huge straw basket balanced over her head would make the rounds of my neighborhood every week or so. She would knock on doors, peddling fresh fish that her husband had just hauled in that morning from the sea that hugs Bombay's shoreline. Everyone simply called her "Kolin" which is the Marathi word for fisherwoman.
Kolin was a striking woman-- mahogany skinned with large eyes shaped like almonds and gold earrings so big and so heavy, they had pulled her earlobes almost down to her chin. She was always dressed in a colorful saree with a gold border and at her waist, where the saree tucked in, she had fashioned a little purse with the fabric in which she kept all the bills and coins she had collected from her customers.
I dreaded Kolin's visits. Partly because of her rather abrasive tongue that always told you exactly what she thought, and partly because I hated the smell of the fish that lingered in the air for hours after she had left. But I was never so terrified as the occasional day when Kolin would bring what my parents considered a special treat: crabs.
The poor little creatures would be alive as Kolin picked them out of a wire cage in her basket, snapped their claws and put them in a steel tin my mother would hold out. Some would escape and run all over the apartment, scurrying into every corner of the room, trying to hide from the inevitable. It was such a terrifying sight that I could never bring myself to eat a crab through all of my childhood.
Years later, a friend who loves her seafood argued with me that crabs do not really feel pain: they just don't have the mental capacity to do it, she insisted. But it is not an argument that is easily made to someone who had seen the terror of those little crabs in a Bombay apartment trying to save their skins.
Driving home the other day, I was listening to a segment on NPR's All Things Considered that reminded me of another reason why seafood is just not a good idea. The report discussed the massive numbers of mammals trapped each year in fishing "incidents" -- around 650,000. Casualties happen in all sorts of fisheries, ranging from tuna to squid, shrimp, swordfish and bottom-dwelling fish. At the bottom of the ocean, sea mammals can get trapped in trawls. The mammals affected include dolphins, whales, seals, porpoises, manatees and so on.
Something worth chewing over.
And now for the vegan gumbo!
As nature turned the world into a cold, icy mush over this past week, I found myself craving something warm and comforting and nutritious to put into my tummy. It seemed the perfect time to make a seafood-free vegan gumbo -- something I'd been planning on making for a long time.
One of the things I love about eating vegan is that I never have to be one of those people who has to rush at the last minute to buy milk or eggs because a storm is coming and the supermarket may not be open or accessible for days afterward. I don't have to worry about a power failure turning all that meat in my freezer into an unsanitary nightmare. Give me some beans, rice, frozen veggies and soymilk -- all of which are usually already in my pantry -- and I'm all set.
I had everything I needed for the vegetarian gumbo on hand. Okra, beans, onions, green peppers, herbs, and even some Cajun seasoning that I had picked up months ago.
And then, just to get a little edgier, I decided to make my homemade vegan gumbo fat-free. There seemed to be so much going in with all those different flavors -- beans, herbs, veggies-- that the fat just seemed totally redundant. I threw in some sage and chipotle for their smoky deliciousness, and I made the gumbo gluten-free by making the roux with brown rice flour instead of whole-wheat-- an idea that totally worked.
More delicious vegan dinner recipes:
- Vegan Jambalaya
- Vegan Dirty Rice
- Grilled Tofu Steaks in a Creamy Vegan Cajun Sauce
- Vegan African Peanut Stew with Eggplant and Okra
- Vegan Maryland Crab Cakes
The recipe's really easy and comes together faster than you would imagine. I served it with some wholesome brown rice, but crusty bread or quinoa would go really well with this too. You can also serve it with my extra delicious vegan dirty rice, another Louisiana classic.
Wishing everyone a great weekend-- hope you have plenty of time to live, love, and laze around, not in any particular order. Now on to this gluten-free and fat-free vegan gumbo recipe -- it's going to take you straight into New Orleans!
Vegan Gumbo Recipe
Vegan Gumbo
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp brown rice flour
- 1 large onion (finely diced)
- 6 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- 1 green bell pepper (finely diced)
- 2 carrots (cut into rounds)
- 2 cups button mushrooms or crimini mushrooms (sliced)
- 2 cups frozen or fresh okra (cut into rings)
- 1 cup pureed tomatoes
- 3 cups canned red beans,, (If using dry beans, start with 1 cup of beans, soak them overnight, then cook in a pot with enough water to cover the beans. Let the water come to a boil, lower the heat to simmer, cover the pot and then cook about 90 minutes to 2 hours, until the beans are tender. Add more water if the beans get dry., drained and rinsed.)
- 1 tbsp dry sage
- 1 tbsp thyme
- 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
- 1 chipotle chili (minced, with 1 tsp of the adobo sauce)
- 2 tbsp tamari
- Water or vegetable stock
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large pot and add the brown rice flour. Roast, stirring constantly over medium-low heat, until the roux is a couple of shades darker. Remove immediately to a bowl.
- In the same pot, add the onions, carrots and garlic along with a quarter cup of water or vegetable stock. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions soften and the water has evaporated.
- Add the tomatoes, bell peppers and mushrooms and cook, stirring, for another five minutes. Add the chipotle chili and adobo sauce, tamari, herbs and the Cajun seasoning and mix well.
- Now add the beans and the okra and stir well to mix. Add the brown rice flour back to the pot and stir in. Add 2 cups of vegetable stock and allow the gumbo to come to a boil over medium-high heat. If the gumbo is too thick, add more water or stock. Lower the heat to a simmer and let everything cook for another 10 minutes.
- Add more salt if needed. Turn off the heat. You can also throw in some vegan sausage if you like -- cut it into rounds. That would add a small amount of fat to the gumbo, but it would also send the protein content soaring higher.
- Enjoy!
I added vegan sausage. It actually took less labor than regular gumbo, was healthier, and JUST as delicious. This was one of those recipes - if I didn't know it was vegan, I wouldn't know it was vegan. My skeptical daughter tasted it - she said, "Wow! The flavor is definitely there!" I doubled the chipotles just cuz I like my gumbo spicy. I could eat it every day, and it feels sinful, but as healthy as it is, I can eat as much as I want!
So happy to hear Sarah!
Thank you! This was fantastic! I added about a 1/2 tsp of liquid smoke to give it that Louisiana aroma and it worked out fantastic!
Is this recipe missing oil to make the roux? The first step tells you to roast the brown rice flour but there isn't any oil. Please help!
It's a dry roux. As it turns out, you don't actually need to add oil to make a roux. Just cook the flour. I know it sounds crazy, but it works. Just keep stirring/whisking it until it turns the color of brown that you want. You can also do an oven-baked dry roux for similar results, but less sensitive to mistakes. Feel free to google "dry roux" for the options.
It’s an oil free recipe. You can roast the flour without oil, on its own to add flavor. It’s just a non traditional roux. This recipe follow a whole food plant based way of eating, which uses no oil or processed foods; oil is one of the most processed foods out there.
I cook all the time without oil. Don’t miss it once I got past the idea I needed it. In other recipes not this one you can use oil or vegan broth to replace the oil.
if crabs did not feel pain they would not try to crawl out of the boiling water in the pot....
Where do you get your chipotle chili and adobe sauce?
From the supermarket! Usually in the international foods aisle, with the Latino foods. You can also fine it online.
Love the idea of the food (will definitely make it soon!) and also the way that you write! Excited to eat this and also try (and continue reading!) your great recipes and stories.
This vegan gumbo was really great. I added just a few fennel seeds at the end to give it that sausage taste.
Amazing recipe!! Thank you so much for this. Easily the best gumbo recipe I’ve ever used 🙂
The report discussed the massive numbers of mammals that are injured or die globally each year in fishing “incidents” — around 650,000. Casualties happen in all sorts of fisheries, ranging from tuna to squid, shrimp, swordfish and bottom-dwelling fish. At the bottom of the ocean, sea mammals can get trapped in trawls. The mammals affected include dolphins, whales, seals, porpoises, manatees and so on.
I hate to burst your bubble but do you know about the massive numbers of mammals that die during the harvesting of the beans and grains that you eat? "No food is free of death. Being a vegan doesn't mean you get to say no creature was harmed because of the way I eat" it's simply not true.
That said - your recipe is really nice and I'm going to use it as a veggie offering at my New Year's Day party - along side a traditional gumbo.
Hi Cathy, sure, no food production is without casualty, and I daresay every vegan knows that, because we don't just embrace this cause instinctively or emotionally -- for most of us it's a journey reached through realization, compassion and research. This is also a popular card for meat-eaters to pull out when they argue against veganism. That said, vegans still cause far fewer casualties than meat-eaters do, by not contributing directly to animal cruelty and suffering in food production, including the nine billion chickens, 121 million pigs and 30 million cows who die horribly to feed Americans each year.
Thank you for your compassionate heart.
First of all - the gumbo is delicious.
Second - really Cathy?!?
I can appreciate some researched and enlightened information from someone that walks the walk, but this comment is just overly dramatic and inaccurate finger wagging , so spare us please.
Here's a link to a very thoughtful and researched article debunking this absurd statement:
https://www.theflamingvegan.com/view-post/Vegan-Mythbusting-1-Are-wild-animals-killed-when-grain-is-harvested-for-vegans
And - last thing here - did we seriously just get a lecture from someone serving a "traditional" (meaning full of dead animals) gumbo?
Hard to stomach.(the comments - not the gumbo. Again - the gumbo is delicious!!)
I made this tonight and it was fantastic, and beautiful! Thanks so much for another great recipe I can enjoy with dietary restrictions.
Suzanne
I'm from Louisiana with a long family history of traditional gumbo. I've tried a few different vegan gumbo recipes, but this was by far the BEST! It will be a regular in our home. Thank you!
Hi Vaishali
My husband is always on the lookout for different vegan recipes to try and was excited to find your website. He made the gumbo last weekend and it turned out really delicious. Was enjoyed by all. Used bbq spice mix as we didn't have the Cajun spice and it gave a lovely smoky flavour.
Thanks for the lovely recipes. I am looking forward to trying the rawa vegetable idlis.. 🙂
Hi Reema, that's so good to hear, thanks for the feedback. Nice idea to use the barbecue spice. The rawa idlis are Jay's favorite! 🙂
Hi, just wondering how spicey this is as I have toddlers. They can tolerate a bit of a kick.? This looks great and I will post a review after I've made it!
Not very spicy at all! 🙂
Delicious!...Every one loved it
Thanks for the recipe
Awesome, so happy you tried it!