Shrimp & Okra Gumbo

Earlier this year, I spent 10 days in the Central African nation of Cameroon on a culinary pilgrimage with 20 other Black chefs from across the United States. Led by culinary historian and writer Michael Twitty, and in partnership with Roots to Glory Tours, we chartered through the southwest and northwest provinces of Cameroon smelling, eating, cooking and learning from locals, farmers, elders, dignitaries and chefs.

We learned about the plentiful seafood and commonly used spices at the seafood and spice markets in Douala, the commercial and economic epicenter. We cooked with passionate local chefs as they taught us how to make traditional Cameroonian dishes such as ndole (a stewed dish of peanuts, a leafy green called bitterleaf, and seafood or beef) and pepper soup.

In the Penja Valley, we were led on an expansive tour of a Penja pepper farm where we learned that the peppercorns grown there get their distinct texture and flavor from the rich volcanic soil only found in that region. In Foumban, we were welcomed into the royal palace of King Sultan Mohammed Nabil Mbombo Njoya, the 20th king in the Bamoun ruling dynasty that dates back to the late 14th century. (While Cameroon is a republic governed by a president, that governmental structure is inextricable from German, then English and French, colonialism. The traditional monarchy of the Muslim Bamoun people, one of Cameroon's 200 ethnic groups, remains in place. The Bamoun still follow the rule of their king, also known as the sultan.) He reminisced with us about his time in America, where he attended St. John's University in Queens.

This entire culinary tour provided so much perspective, culturally, but the most impactful experiences took place in the small town of Mouanko, the main town of the Douala Edéa Wildlife Reserve, during the Diaspora Kitchen event. Launched by the Generations Partners for Progress in partnership with the American-based African Investment Corporation, the inaugural DK event was created to protect and promote Cameroon's culinary heritage as well as to introduce Cameroonian cuisine to every palate across the globe. This two-day event proved to be both an intercultural and intergenerational exchange with cooking demonstrations and storytelling by Cameroonian elders. We learned all about the traditional foods of Cameroon, and shared creative takes on traditional Cameroonian staples.

It was in one of the makeshift mud structures, designed to mimic a traditional kitchen with a three-stone hearth, that I met an elder making okra stew (sauce gombo). Okra stew is a popular dish originating from West Africa and is called "gumbo" in many French-speaking African countries.

While the elders were busy preparing the traditional okra stew to eat with cooked garri, in a nearby tent, the Cameroonian chefs served samples of gumbo with rice swallow, their masterful take on this traditional African dish. Both preparations reminded me, in some way or another, of gumbo in South Louisiana. The most recognizable difference in the chefs' preparation of gumbo was the addition of roux. Because okra itself can be used as a thickening agent, most times, a roux is not used in a gumbo that contains okra. But it was a welcome surprise to taste the added depth of flavor that the roux provided, along with the fresh seafood and smoked sausage which is very reminiscent of gumbo that I am more used to in South Louisiana.

But watching how one of the chefs prepared the okra took me back to watching my maternal grandfather, Ernest, prepare it. He would sit outside in the hot Louisiana sun and slice the okra, fresh from his garden, very thinly, in the same manner as the chef inside the humid hut in Cameroon. Growing up in South Louisiana, okra is an important staple as it is in Cameroon. My grandfather would blanch and freeze the bounty from the growing season to ensure we had enough okra year round.

My grandfather was not only an avid farmer, but also a talented cook. However, the one thing he did not cook was okra. He would grow, harvest, clean and prep the okra, but left it for my grandmother or my mom to prepare. My mom mostly prepared okra gumbo during the cooler months of the year, for special occasions, familial celebrations and milestones by request. Nowadays, my personal preference in preparing okra is either pickled or in gumbo sans the roux, but with that same depth of flavor that I seem to only be able to achieve when using my mom's recipe—the same recipe that she was taught to make by her mother and that I now share with you.