Chupe De Camarones (Shrimp Chowder)
Submitted by imafox90
Classic Peruvian chupe de camarones with shrimp, flounder, potatoes, and corn in a creamy, spicy tomato broth finished with cream cheese and garnished with fresh mint.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
60 minCOOK
30 minREADY
90 minChupe de camarones is Peru’s answer to chowder, and it’s in a league of its own. This version layers shrimp and tender flounder fillets into a spicy, creamy tomato broth with potatoes and sweet corn kernels.
The broth gets its silky body from cream cheese beaten smooth with milk, which melts into the soup and gives it a lush richness. Chili pepper, red pepper flakes, and a few dashes of Tabasco keep things lively underneath all that cream.
The presentation is beautiful: a piece of poached flounder sits in each bowl with the steaming chowder spooned over the top, finished with sprigs of fresh mint that add an unexpected cool note.
Pro Tips
- Sauté the garlic and onion until truly golden, a full 10 minutes. That deep caramelization is the flavor foundation of the whole soup.
- Simmer the flounder in a separate pan so it stays intact. Stirring it into the chowder would shred the delicate fish.
- The cream cheese must be completely lump-free before it hits the broth. Beat it with the milk until silky smooth.
- Serve immediately while the shrimp are still plump. This soup doesn’t hold well on the stove.
Ingredients
Directions
About 45 minutes before serving, in dutch oven heat salad oil; in it sauté garlic and onion until golden (about 10 minutes).
Add tomatoes, potatoes, chili pepper, seasoned salt, 1½ tsp. salt, red pepper, Tabasco, 3 cups water, 1 cup milk; stir occasionally, while bringing to a boil, then simmer, covered, 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in 1½ cups water and ½ teasp. salt in skillet, simmer flounder fillets 6 minutes, or until fork-tender but still moist.
Also, beat cream cheese with ¼ cup milk until very smooth.
Now stir cream-cheese mixture, then shrimp and corn, into soup; cook over medium heat 5 minutes.
Next, drain flounder fillets, divide each in half crosswise, then place a half in each of 6 soup plates.
Spoon hot soup over fillets, garnish with mint sprigs and serve at once.
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