This flavor-packed shrimp soup, despite its ease of preparation and (mostly) ordinary ingredients, actually does full justice to the main ingredient. In Mexico it is considered one of a handful of dishes that are able to “bring the dead back to life”—which means easing the suffering caused by anything from a broken heart or just general life ennui to the discomfort caused by a head cold or hangover.
The dish is only moderately spicy. The guajillo chile peppers called for here are relatively low in piquancy and add wonderful flavor (not just heat) to the broth. You can usually find these dark red dried peppers in the Mexican section of a large supermarket or at a Hispanic grocery store. They’ll stay good for months on end as long as they are kept dry, so don´t be concerned if there are more in the bag than what you need right away; you´ll use them eventually.
This soup is traditionally eaten with both a spoon and your fingers; one spoons up the vegetables and broth to sip, then picks up each shrimp by its tail and bites into it. While eating it, you kind of also feel the need of something crunchy to accompany the whole experience, like a cracker to help you “push” your food around in the bowl or set a whole shrimp on. In Mexico you´d probably be served plain saltine crackers with most any seafood soup such as this one, and that´s a great choice. Tostadas (hard fried or baked corn tortillas) would be another excellent option. If you provide each person with their own “cracker plate,” they will have a place to put the shrimp tails during the meal.
People who live near fishing boats may be able to enjoy shrimp frequently, but for the rest of us, seafood is a bit of a luxury. This soup definitely wrings every last bit of flavor out of the coveted crustacean.
More main dish soups:
Mexican Shrimp Soup (Caldo de camarón)
Ingredients
- 10 dried whole guajillo chile peppers
- 2 cups boiling water
- 4 large carrots
- 1.5 pounds 700 grams red potatoes (about 8 egg-sized potatoes)
- 1 medium white onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon pork lard or vegetable oil
- 1 pound (about 450 grams) ripe red tomatoes or one 15-oz. can of whole or diced tomatoes
- 2 quarts (2 liters) seasoned fish or seafood stock made from scratch, from a jar or box, or prepared from bouillon powder or paste
- 1 pound about 450 grams fresh or thawed frozen shrimp, vein removed, head off but tails on*
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- 6 fresh juicy Mexican limes or key limes
Instructions
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Prepare the guajillo chile peppers: With scissors, cut off the stems off the peppers. Cut them open, then remove and discard the seeds and veins. Place the peppers in a bowl and cover them with the boiling water. Cover the bowl and let the chile peppers soak while you do the rest.
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Get your veggies ready: Peel the carrots and potatoes. Dice the carrots into approximately half-inch cubes; chop the potatoes into roughly one-inch cubes. Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic. Chop the cilantro (both leaves and tender stems) and halve the limes; set these aside for serving time.
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In a soup pot or kettle, heat the lard or oil. Sautee the onion, garlic, carrot, and potatoes over medium heat, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes, until the onion is mostly transparent.
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Roughly chop the tomatoes, if using fresh. Place fresh or canned tomatoes into a blender, then pour in the guajillo peppers and the water they have been soaking in. Cover and blend until smooth, about 15 seconds.
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Place a medium-sized to large strainer over the soup pot. Pour the mixture from the blender into the strainer so that the liquids will go through to the pot but tomato seeds and any hard slivers of pepper and/or tomato peels will not. Use the back of a large spoon to squeeze any remaining liquid through the strainer, then discard the solids.
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Add the two quarts of fish broth and continue to heat the mixture. Once it reaches boiling point, lower the heat and allow the broth to boil softly for about 20 minutes, until the carrots and potatoes are cooked.
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Raise the heat and add the shrimp. Cook briefly, just until the shrimp have turned pink. Add the chopped cilantro and serve immediately in deep bowls, distributing the vegetables and shrimp equally among portions.
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Place the halved limes on the table where all can reach them, so that each person can squeeze the juice to taste into their flavorful bowls of Mexican shrimp soup. Provide saltines or other crackers or tostadas, if desired, for a wonderful texture complement.
Recipe Notes
*Notes on shrimp:
- Since you will be picking up each individual crustacean to eat it, you´ll want to get good sized shrimp for this recipe, as small ones would be messy and difficult to work with. I´d recommend shrimp labeled “extra large” (26 to 30 pieces per pound) or “jumbo” (21 to 25 shrimp per pound).
- Overcooked shrimp becomes rubbery, so if you are not planning to serve this soup right away, proceed with recipe through step # 6, then take the pot off the stove. Once you are ready to eat, bring soup to the boiling point again and add shrimp; they will only need to cook for a couple of minutes, at most.
- Likewise, if you have leftover soup, remove the cooked shrimp from the hot broth right away so that it will not continue to cook; store broth and shrimp separately, reuniting them only at the moment of reheating. Use leftovers within two days.
More soups with potatoes
Additional seafood delights:
Latest update: 9 June, 2024
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