Chupe de camarones
A soup from Arequipa, essentially an Andean chowder: prawns, corn, potatoes and milk in one pot. What sets it apart is using the prawns twice — the shells and heads make the broth, the meat goes in for the last three minutes. Without that broth the soup tastes mostly of milk and vegetables. The other element is ají amarillo, the fruity yellow Peruvian chilli, which nothing quite replaces.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Shell broth 30 min
- Base 15 min
- Vegetables 20 min
- Finishing 12 min
Step by step
0 / 8 donePeel the prawns and fry the shells
Peel the prawns (keep the meat in the fridge) and fry the shells and heads in 3 tablespoons of oil for 5 minutes, crushing them with a spoon, until deep orange. Crushing the heads releases the fat and juices that carry the sea flavour of this soup.
Ingredients: 800 g prawns · 1800 ml water · 5 tbsp oil · 1 pcs onion
Crush the heads — most of the flavour comes out of them.Simmer and strain the broth
Cover the shells with water, add the halved onion and simmer 25 minutes, then strain, pressing the shells hard. Do not cook longer — simmered for too long, a shell broth turns bitter instead of sweet and briny.
Ingredients: 800 g prawns · 1800 ml water · 5 tbsp oil · 1 pcs onion
Fry the base until the oil separates
In a large pot, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and soften the finely chopped onion with the garlic for 5 minutes. Add the ají amarillo paste, grated tomatoes, oregano and cumin and fry 10 minutes, until the oil clearly separates at the edges. This is the Peruvian aderezo — without it the chilli stays raw and sharp instead of fruity.
Ingredients: 1 pcs onion · 4 cloves garlic · 3 tbsp ají amarillo paste · 2 pcs tomatoes · 1 tsp oregano · ½ tsp cumin
Oil separating at the edges — the aderezo is done.Cook the vegetables in the broth
Pour in the broth, add the potatoes, corn rounds and rice and cook 18 minutes. Corn in rounds on the cob, not kernels — in Peru it is eaten by hand straight from the soup, and that is part of the dish's character.
Ingredients: 500 g potatoes · 2 pcs corn · 60 g rice · 150 g peas · 400 ml milk · 150 g white cheese (queso fresco) · 6 pcs eggs · 1 tsp oregano
Add peas and milk
Add the peas, pour in the milk and heat without boiling. The milk goes in last and must not boil — in a slightly acidic tomato broth it splits easily and the soup turns grainy.
Ingredients: 500 g potatoes · 2 pcs corn · 60 g rice · 150 g peas · 400 ml milk · 150 g white cheese (queso fresco) · 6 pcs eggs · 1 tsp oregano
Crack the eggs into the soup
Lower the heat and crack the eggs in one at a time, spaced apart. Cook 2 minutes without stirring, then add the prawns straight away — the eggs finish in the next 3 minutes along with them. The egg sets in the thick soup as if poached, and the yolk stays runny; for children, pregnant women and older people, cook the eggs longer, until the yolks are set.
Ingredients: 500 g potatoes · 2 pcs corn · 60 g rice · 150 g peas · 400 ml milk · 150 g white cheese (queso fresco) · 6 pcs eggs · 1 tsp oregano
Eggs cracked straight into the soup, no stirring.Add the prawns for three minutes
Add the peeled prawns between the eggs and cook 3 minutes, until pink and curled. Not a moment longer — overcooked prawns are rubbery, and here they are the main ingredient rather than a garnish.
Ingredients: 800 g prawns · 1800 ml water · 5 tbsp oil · 1 pcs onion
Finish with cheese and oregano
Crumble in the white cheese, scatter with oregano and serve at once, making sure every bowl gets an egg and a round of corn. The cheese does not melt but softens — salty points in a mild, milky soup.
Ingredients: 500 g potatoes · 2 pcs corn · 60 g rice · 150 g peas · 400 ml milk · 150 g white cheese (queso fresco) · 6 pcs eggs · 1 tsp oregano
Before you start
Ají amarillo and its substitutes
The Peruvian yellow chilli is fruity, almost apricot-like, with moderate heat. Jarred paste is sold at Latin grocers and online. Substitute: yellow pepper blended with half a habanero — the colour matches, the flavour only approximately.
River prawns
In Arequipa the soup is traditionally made with freshwater prawns, camarones de río, whose sweeter meat gives a broth of a somewhat different character. Outside Peru, or out of their season, sea prawns work well.
Eat it straight away
A soup with milk and egg does not reheat — the milk splits and the eggs harden. The shell broth can be made a day ahead and refrigerated; the rest takes about 45 minutes.
