Soupe de crevette et patate douce au lait de coco

Sweet potato, coconut milk and nutmeg, yum!  I love this version of the soup from the Guadeloupe islands which called for monk fish.  I never had monk fish, have you?  In fact I don’t ever recall seeing it at local supermarket or even at special fish store.  Upon some research about monk fish I decide to substitute it with white prawn and it’s delicious just as I imagine.  I also revise the cooking method a bit by caramelising the potato and onion to bring out more flavor.  This soup is super easy but requires a bit of work like peeling the shrimp, making the broth, chopped everything and blend the soup in the blender, but it is all worth it. Either chunky or creamy you’re going to love it.  Even if you don’t like coconut milk, I highly recommend using it because  you won’t even taste it.

Of course you can use any meaty white-flesh fish or lobster tail in place of shrimp and very light chicken broth if no fish broth available.  My version of shrimp make use of the shell  to produce the fish both.

The soup is beautiful to look at with a deep turmeric yellow tinted with orange bits from the carrot and… wait until you taste it, heavenly!

I hope you enjoy making and eating this soup in welcoming autumn.  Please give me some fed back of how you like it and if you substitute any ingredients, especially the fish.

Sweet Potato Coconut Milk Shrimp Soup

8 servings

Ingredients:

500 g Prawn or large Shrimp

600 g Sweet potato

240 ml/1 Cup coconut milk

2 large Carrots

1 large white/sweet Onion, diced

4 cloves of Garlic, minced

4 branches of  fresh Oregano, minced/or 1 teaspoon dried

1 teaspoon of freshly ground Nutmeg

1.5 – 2 liters of fish Broth, see instruction at step 3 below

4 Tablespoons of Olive oil or non-flavor oil of your choice

Salt & ground Pepper to taste

fresh coriander & shichimi (optional) for garnish

Method:

1.  Peel the sweet potato and carrot and cut into 1/2-inch cubes.  Chopped the oregano leaves if used fresh.

2.  Peel the prawn, reserve the shell.

3.  Roast the prawn shell in a large 5-quart soup pot until it turns pink.  Add the water and bring to a boil.  Turn down heat to simmer and let it cook for 20-25 minutes.

4.  Drain & reserve the broth; discard the cooked prawn shell.

5.  Warm the oil in the soup pot over medium heat.  Sauté the onion for a few minutes then add in the potato and carrot cubes and continue sauté for 5 minutes.

6.  Lower the heat and continue to cook slowly to caramelise the vegetables and onion; stir frequently; about 20 minutes.

7.  Add the minced garlic, oregano and ground nutmeg  and cook for about 5 minutes more.

8.  Add the reserved broth.  Bring to a boil then lower the heat to bubbly simmering, about 20-25 minutes.

9.  In the meantime, half the prawn length-wise and cut into 1-inch pieces.  Chop the coriander.

10.  Turn off the heat.  Carefully mix the soup in a blender in batches.  Reserve back in the pot.

11.  Add the coconut milk and the pieces of prawns and simmer it on medium heat, about 10 minutes.

12.  Serve the soup in individual bowl, garnish with chopped coriander.

Enjoy!

Tips:

1.  If you decide to use a meaty fish in place of prawn and do not have fish broth, a well-diluted version of chicken broth can be used to no ill-affect.

2.  The soup freeze well so at step 11, the prawn/fish can be omitted.  Add the prawn/fish when you reheat and serve the soup.