20 Minutes 
4 people
By Doreen Colondres
The “chupe” is one of the most traditional soups of Perú and its history would fill an entire book! We could write many pages just talking about its ingredients and the many existing versions of the “chupe” through time. Although it may sound complicated, it’s not! Once you make it you’ll see… and once you taste it, you're going to love it as much as I do. Buen provecho...
What you need to have:
- 20 med-large un-peeled shrimp
- 5 cups of water or natural fish broth
- 3 medium potatoes cut into med-size squares
- 2 peeled carrots cut in small pieces
- 1 “choclo” cut in 4 or 6 pieces (peruvian corn)
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 3 tablespoons of yellow “ají” amarillo paste or (4 blanched ajies, in case you can find them frozen)
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste diluted in water
- ½ cup of milk 100%
- ½ cup of cooked rice
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- ½ tablespoon of dry oregano
- ½ cup of green peas (“arvejas”)
- Fresh cheese in small cubes (for decoration)
- 1 small tablespoon of parsley (for decoration)
- Salt and pepper to taste
What you need to do:
- In a deep pot add the olive oil and sauté the shrimp shells for about 5 minutes to extract their flavor. Then add the water and boil at medium temperature for 30min.
- In a separate pan sauté the garlic, onions, pastes, and oregano in olive oil for about 10min or until the onion is very tender.
- Drain the water from the shrimp and pour it in with the mix of other ingredients in the pan.
- Add the potatoes, carrots, and “choclo” and leave until cooked.
- Minutes before serving add the rice, the milk, the peas and the shrimp (peeled and clean). The shrimp should be fully cooked and somewhat “pinkish” in color.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Decorate with fresh “queso” and parsley or hucatay (similar to epazote) either dry or fresh.
If you don’t have the time to peel the shrimp on your own, go ahead and buy them peeled and clean and then substitute the water for vegetable or fresh fish broth. Also if you like “chile guajillo”, go ahead and add it in. Although it’s not traditionally a part of this recipe it does add a lot of flavor. The traditional way to serve the “chupe” is with a poached egg on top, but I leave that at your discretion… Buen provecho!
