Shrimp soup with mushrooms alla Coco Loco

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 8 shrimp(s), raw, peeled, without tail, approx. 18 cm, frozen
• 1 tbsp rice wine, dark, spicy-mild
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 40 g garlic butter, alternatively herb butter, for frying
• 150 g Shimeji mushrooms, brown-capped, fresh
• 20 g onion(s), red, small
• 10 g garlic clove(s)
• 5 m.-large tomato(s)
• 15 g ginger
• 10 g galangal
• 2 Pepper, red, long, mild to medium hot
• 5 g Asian shrimp paste (see appendix)
• 4 tbsp fish sauce, light
• 300 g water
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• e.g. fish sauce, salty
• e.g. jalapeño pepper, spicy, hot
• n. B. Celery leaves

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 45 minutes

A spicy soup often eaten with rice as a main course. Recipe from Lombok, Indonesia.

Make a 5 mm deep cut in the back of the thawed shrimp down to the tail. If necessary, remove the gray-brown intestines. Rinse the shrimp, drain well, and dry. Mix rice wine with lemon juice and rub the shrimp with it. Cut off the lower part of the shimeji mushrooms (substrate and mycelium). Separate the mushrooms, cleaning them with a brush if necessary. Cut off the long stems 2 cm from the cap, halve them crosswise, and use them with the caps. For the broth, peel and roughly chop the onions and garlic cloves. Remove the stems from the washed tomatoes, quarter them lengthwise, remove the green stem base, and cut the quarters crosswise into thirds. Wash, peel, and thinly slice the ginger and galangal roots. Cut the washed peppers crosswise into approximately 1 cm wide pieces, leaving the seeds and discarding the stems. Grind the shrimp paste. Place all the ingredients for the broth in a blender and blend at full speed until smooth. Transfer the puree to a saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes. Season with fish sauce and jalapeño pepper. To garnish, wash and chop the celery leaves. Melt the garlic butter in a pan over moderate heat. Add the shrimp and fry until pinkish-light brown on both sides. Ladle the broth into serving bowls and place the shrimp and butter on top. Sprinkle with the celery leaves, serve, and enjoy as an appetizer. Note: Shrimp paste (Indonesian: Terasi Udang) was a fermented paste made from shrimp and silversides. It was sold fresh at the fish market and contributed to the aroma of Asian markets. Nowadays, it can be purchased in blocks, dehydrated, in quantities of 50g and up, at any supermarket.