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Step 1
Look for simplicity. Authentic Cajun cuisine is based on three dishes: rice or some other grain, seasonal vegetable and the main dish, usually fish, poultry, pork or beef with spices.
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Step 2
Make sure the cornbread was made in a skillet and not in the oven. It should be in wedges and not in squares. Rice is also a staple of authentic Cajun food to neutralize the heavily seasoned main dish.
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Step 3
Savor the "holy trinity" vegetables of Cajun cuisine: bell pepper, onion and celery. These, along with hot chili pepper, form the base of Cajun jambalaya. Other vegetables include okra, corn and sweet potato.
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Step 4
Expect to see lots of seafood in an authentic Cajun restaurant. Shrimp, crawfish and catfish are common. They can be fried, boiled or cooked with Cajun spices.
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Step 5
Search for chicken with gumbos, jambalayas, and authentic Cajun sauces. Deep fried turkeys were introduced recently as was the turducken, a chicken stuffed inside a duck stuffed inside a turkey and three kinds of dressing in between.
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Step 6
Try the andouille, a dry smoked sausage with spices. You'll find it in jambalayas and sauces with other meat dishes. The boudin is an authentic Cajun dish of a sausage stuffed with rice and pork.
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Step 7
Ask about the spices in the dishes. Apart from black and cayenne pepper, authentic Cajun cuisine uses paprika, parsley, bay leaf, scallions and pepper sauce to make food interesting.
