Prep Time: 5 mins Total Time: 20 mins
- 2 cups half-and-half
- salt
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1/2 cup celery chopped
- 1 pound shrimp peeled, deveined, and cut into bite sized pieces
- 4 ounce butter
- 2 serrano chilies chopped (i substitute 1 tablespoon of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, or more to taste)
- 1 tablespoon chili powder preferably new mexican
- 1/2 tablespoon cumin ground
- Carbohydrate 52.1295800549828 g
- Cholesterol 605.53294933 mg
- Fat 146.307563248624 g
- Fiber 1.80393753544966 g
- Protein 51.3952637683069 g
- Saturated Fat 90.2269628021275 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (1237g)
- Sodium 1561.89600614563 mg
- Sugar 50.3256425195332 g
- Trans Fat 9.21591490586565 g
- Calories 1703 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large pot melt butter over medium heat and add onion, celery, chilies and garlic, cooking until onions are translucent.
- Sprinkle flour over vegetables and combine.
- Add chicken broth, cumin and chili powder. Bring to a simmer.
- Add half-and-half while continuously stirring bringing soup back to a simmer.
- Add shrimp and continue to cook until shrimp is cooked through (about four minutes).
- Serve immediately, garnishing each bowl with chopped cilantro.
Ingredient quantities alone do not reveal how the starch interacts with dairy fat over direct heat. When flour coats sautéed aromatics before broth enters the pot, it forms a blond roux that dictates the body of the final soup. Without this foundational paste, the half-and-half and chicken broth would separate into a thin, watery broth rather than holding a cohesive, velvety mouthfeel.
Controlling Viscosity and Seafood Structure
Achieving the correct thickness requires managing heat transfer from the heavy-bottomed pot to the liquid. Whisking the dairy into the simmering base must happen gradually to prevent the milk proteins from curdling under sudden thermal shock. Cook the mixture over medium-low heat until it coats the back of a spoon, leaving a clear path when you draw a finger through it. Shrimp proteins tighten rapidly when exposed to sustained high temperatures, turning rubbery within minutes. Introduce the bite-sized pieces only at the very end of the cooking process, holding the liquid at a gentle simmer for precisely four minutes until the flesh turns opaque and firm.
- Scorched dairy results from failing to stir continuously during the addition of the half-and-half, leaving milk solids attached to the hot base of the pot.
- Gritty texture stems from undercooking the initial flour-and-butter paste; cook the roux for at least two minutes until the raw cereal taste disappears.
- Overcooked, rubbery shrimp occurs when the shellfish is added before the liquid has reached its final consistency.
