Prawn Chowder (Soup)
Prawn Chowder (Soup)
Mamta Gupta
San Francisco is the best place for all sorts of delicious seafood chowders. This one is made with prawns only and is for people who do not like fish or clams or squid in their chowder. It is a filling soup. The basic recipe was given to me verbally by one of the small eateries there.
Serve it with sour dough or other fresh, crusty bread.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
1 full cup (approximately 200 gm.) shelled/peeled prawns.
1 tbsp. butter or olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed or grated
1 100 gm. onion, peeled and thinly sliced or chopped
1 green/yellow pepper (bell pepper or capsicum), deseeded and finely chopped
1 stalk of celery, cleaned and finely chopped (optional)
1-2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed. Don’t add too many potatoes.
2 fresh corn cobs. You can use a small tin of corn or 1 cup of frozen corn kernels
1 1/2 tbsp. plain white flour
1 1/2 cup fish/vegetable/chicken stock
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 small carton of single cream or 1 cup full cream milk
Instructions
Wash and leave prawns to drain.
If using fresh corn, strip kernels off the cob with a sharp knife. Puree half the corn kernels in a blender, with a little milk.
Prepare all vegetables as described under ingredients.
Heat butter/oil in a large pan, add onions and garlic. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes.
Add potatoes, peppers and celery if used. Cook on low heat, until vegetables are translucent. This takes 4-5 minutes.
Add flour and stir-fry for a further 1 minute, just like when making a white sauce.
Add corn kernels, pureed corn, milk, stock, salt and pepper.
Boil and then simmer for 10-15 minutes, until potatoes are cooked.
Add the prawns, cook for further 3-4 minutes. Do not over cook prawns or they will get leathery.
Adjust seasoning.
Add cream and stir. Serve hot with bread.
Also see Seafood Chowder and Soup Selection .
