Preparing Prawn Soup – Recipe#14

Introduction 

Prawn soup is an appetizing, thick, and healthy soup that can be served in almost all the stations within the global culinary market. It can be made in hundreds of varieties like clear soup, cream soup, hot soup, sour soup, and many more, and lots of accessories. The secret is to use sweet and freshwater prawns in preparing the broth. 

Selecting the Prawns and Washing Them

The very first and thus crucial selection is to use fresh prawns. Both large and small prawns are used in the preparation of the dish, depending on the producer’s choice. When selecting it, the best prawns should be hard and bouncy with shiny eyes without speckles of black.

Ensure they do not have a bad smell of fish, they should smell like the sea, fresh. Head on chill, fresh prawns tend to have better taste compared to peeled frozen ones bought across the counter. 

After having the prawns washed, make sure you wash them thoroughly with water to remove any filth or chemical residues. Open the long thin alimentary canal extending along the dorsal side of each prawn and wash them.

This can be left with head and shell on if you are planning to make a stock, while some recipes require you to peel and devein it. Peeled prawns cook faster. Cut off the heads of somewhat bigger prawns, twisting them. Take a tiny knife, cut the back, and remove the black gut tract. Last but not least, wash the prawns one final time.

Making Prawn Stock 

When it comes to tasty prawn soup, it is vital to start with a great broth – in this case, prawn shells. Here is how to make it:

Ingredients:

• Prawn shells and heads
• Water 
• Slice of onion
• Celery stalks
• Peppercorns
• Salt

Method:

• Warm oil in a pot and stir-fry the prawn shells and heads until they change their color to red, for approximately 2–3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 
• Pour water, sliced onion, and celery stalk, and let it boil. 
• Allow it to cook for 30–40 minutes to allow the flavors from the shells and vegetables to transfer to the broth. 
• Then, pour the broth through a strainer into some other pot. First, you press on the solids with a spoon to get as much juice and taste as you can.
• Taste the dish again and adjust the amount of salt or pepper required if any. The prawn stock is ready to use after that.

You might want the richer stock: sauté the shells in oil or butter before boiling. It is also possible to add garlic, carrots, fennel, tomatoes or parsley, dill, and thyme to the stock.

Check Out: Mussel Soup Recipe – Recipe#13.

Preparing the Prawn Filling

With the stock ready, it’s time to cook the prawns. Here is a basic recipe for sautéed prawns:

Ingredients: 

• 500g of prawns, shelled and gutted 
• 2 tbsp oil/butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced  
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 red chili pepper, sliced 
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Chopped parsley 

Method:

• Heal oil/butter in a pan and fry the garlic and onions until they become tender and give out some aroma.
• Then add the prawns and chili pepper. To cook, turn the prawns around after 2–3 minutes relying on the side that is not yet cooked while ensuring they turn red. But, make sure you do not overcook them.
• Levy lemon juice and chopped parsley. Give everything a good toss. 
• Turn off the heat from the pan and set the filling aside. 

However, this is the plain version, and you can add vegetables such as zucchini, bell peppers, or mushrooms to it. Other flavored enhancements including oyster sauce, soy sauce as well as white wine also fit well in this combination.

Putting It All Together

Now it is time to build the prawn soup together. As it has been mentioned above, there are numerous combinations of the broth and the filling that can be made. Here are 3 delicious variations:

1. Light and Simple Prawn Soup

• Heat the prawn stock a little with some tomatoes and vegetables such as carrots, corn spinach, or bok choy. 
• add more salt and black pepper to your taste.
• Then pour the stock into serving bowls. 
• Place at the top of the sautéed prawns, and garnish with some shredded scallions. 

2. Creamy Prawn Soup

• Put butter in a pan and add a little flour stirring to create a smooth paste. Little by little, you will pour the prawn stock and keep on whisking to prevent the formation of lumps. 
• Let the soup continue to cook until the soup has thickened slightly. Stir in some cream.
• Then season with salt and scatter white pepper powder across for taste.
• Lastly add the cooked prawns together with fresh herbs such as chopped parsley, chives, or tarragon.

3. Spicy Coconut Prawn Soup

• Stir fry chopped Mexican crushed red chilies, Garlic, shallots, and galangal or ginger in oil. 
• Put in coconut milk, prawn stock, chopped lemongrass stalks, and kaffir lime leaves.
• Add fish sauce and cook the food for an additional 10 min.
• Finally, add the cooked prawns and a small lime juice.
• Then garnish with the chopped fresh cilantro.

There are very many ways in which you can prepare prawn soup. You can add any vegetables, herbs, and spices that will harmonize with the sweetness and briny tastes of prawns. You may use whole prawn or any minced meat of your preference.

Serving Suggestions

Ideally, the prawn soup is perfectly well satisfied in combination with different starchy dishes. Here are some options:

• Steamed rice – A classic!
• Bread rolls or croutons to crispy 
• Rice or egg noodles
• Dumplings

Conclusion

Finally, in pointing at their serving bowl you should garnish it with some chopped scallion or cilantro or even a tablespoonful of sour cream. If you want a more runny soup add more of the stock In those that are thicker, add corn starch.

It is also possible to blend a portion of soup to make a creamy style. Sweet ‘exotic shrimp’ soup can be best drunk with white wine or beers such as lager beers or pale ale. 

Now it’s time to sit back, enjoy this rich prawn soup, and enjoy the result of the hard work done! Here are all the main procedures that we want to share with you to help you prepare great prawn soup at any time. So apply what you have learned and let everybody know how fun it is to cook.

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