P
Peruvian
Chupe de Camarones: Prawn Chowder
Chupe de camarones — the prawn chowder of Arequipa — is one of the most complex single-dish preparations in Peruvian cooking: a rich, orange-red prawn broth containing rice, potatoes, corn, broad beans, egg, and fresh cheese — the entire range of Arequipa's agricultural production in a single bowl. The technique of building the prawn broth specifically — using the prawn heads and shells to make a concentrated stock before any other ingredients are added — is the foundation.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
For the prawn head stock
1 kg
whole prawns
heads and shells separated from tails; tails reserved
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2 tbsp
vegetable oil
Your own market
1 medium
white onion
roughly chopped
Your own market
2 medium
2 tbsp
ají panca paste
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the chupe
300 g
100 g
white rice
Your own market
150 g
corn kernels
fresh or frozen
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
150 g
broad beans
podded
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
4
eggs
raw, one per portion
Your own market
150 g
queso fresco
crumbled, for service
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Separate the prawn heads and shells from the tails; set the tails aside. Heat the oil in a heavy pot over high heat and fry the heads and shells, pressing them firmly with a spoon, until they colour deeply and the oil turns orange. Add the onion, tomato, and ají panca paste and continue to fry for several minutes until the tomato has collapsed. Cover with cold water, bring to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve, pressing all solids hard; discard the solids. The stock is ready when it is a concentrated, deeply coloured orange-red broth.
From the canon — Ají panca — the dark, burgundy-red dried chilli of the Peruvian coast — provides the smoky, slightly fruity, low-heat flavour dimension that underlies marina… Ají Panca: The Smoky Dried Chilli →
2
Return the strained stock to the pot and bring to a steady simmer. Add the potato chunks and cook until they begin to yield at the edges — a knife should meet slight resistance at the centre.
3
Add the rice to the simmering stock and cook until the grains are just tender and have begun to thicken the broth slightly.
4
Add the corn kernels and broad beans and simmer until both are cooked through — the beans should be bright green and offer no resistance when pressed between two fingers.
5
Add the reserved prawn tails and cook for 3 minutes only, no more. The tails are done when they have just turned opaque and pink throughout.
6
Break one raw egg directly into the simmering chupe per portion and allow it to poach gently in the hot broth until the white is just set but the yolk remains soft. Ladle into bowls immediately, crumble queso fresco over each portion, and serve.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Live or same-day-caught whole prawns with heads intact, sourced from cold Pacific waters; a single-origin ají panca paste ground from dried chillies; queso fresco made the same day from whole unhomogenised milk.
02
Estate — Fresh whole prawns purchased the day of cooking; a reliable commercial ají panca paste; firm, traditionally made queso fresco from a specialist supplier.
03
Market — Responsibly sourced whole prawns, refrigerated and unskinned; supermarket ají panca paste; widely available queso fresco or a mild fresh feta as a close substitute.
04
House — Frozen whole prawns fully thawed before use; dried ají panca rehydrated and blended in place of paste; ricotta salata or mild fresh goat's cheese crumbled at service.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. The strained stock is a deeply saturated orange-red with a perceptible sheen from the fried prawn shells.
◇Touch. A knife pressed into a potato chunk meets slight resistance at the centre before the rice is added.
◇Sight. Prawn tails have turned fully opaque and pink — no translucency remains — at exactly 3 minutes.
◇Sight. The poached egg white is set and opaque; the yolk remains visibly soft beneath a thin, trembling film.
◇Where it lives or dies. The dish lives or dies on the prawn head stock: if the heads and shells are not fried hard enough, and the stock not pressed and reduced to concentration, the broth lacks the depth that holds every other element together.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Fortified wine
From British Columbia
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Without alcohol
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The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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Sourced through Provenance