This Cold Spicy Cucumber Soup with Poached Shrimp with big poached shrimp has enough heat from the chilies to be a perfect warm weather treat.
Cold Spicy Cucumber Soup with Poached Shrimp
Print This Recipe Yield 4Source Adapted from Jean-Georges Vongrichten & Mark BittmanPublished
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 carrot peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 slice stalk celery roughly chopped
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 whole black peppercorns
- 20 jumbo shrimp unpeeled
- 5 seedles cucumbers
- 2 green Thai bird chilis seeded and minced
- 2 tablespoon asian fish sauce
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed limejuice
- 2 tablespoon mint leaves thinly sliced or minced
Directions
Mix salt, carrots, celery, white wine, bay leaves, and peppercorns in 1 quart of water in a medium-sized saucepan set over medium-high heat. Bring the liquid to a simmer.
Add the shrimp in their shells then let the water come to a boil. Cook for 60 seconds, stirring once or twice. Remove the shrimp immediately and lay out in a single layer to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until well-chilled, about 1 hour. Peel shrimp just before serving.
Make the soup: Wash the cucumbers, but do not peel them. Cut off a 6‑inch piece from the center of one cucumber. Cut this piece into tiny 1/8‑inch dice; set aside. Cut the rest of the cucumber into ½‑inch chunks. Place the ½‑inch chunks into a food processor along with ½ ‑cup water, pulse a few times to grate, then run the machine until the cucumber is completely smooth and nearly liquified.
Line a large, fine meshed strainer with 2 layers of cheesecloth. Set the lined strainer over a large bowl. Add the cucumber puree, letting the liquid fall into the bowl. then using the back of a wooden spoon press the remaining pulp to extract as much of the liquid as possible. Discard the pulp.
Add the minced green Thai bird chilis, Asian fish sauce and limejuice. Chill well. (You can make in advance to this point and refrigerate for up to 2 days.)
Taste the soup, adjust seasoning if necessary with a bit more fish sauce or lime juice to taste. Avoid salt.
Ladle the cold soup into shallow bowls and serve, garnished with reserved diced cucumber, peeled poached shrimp and mint.
I’d say that I never have one of those “I don’t feel like cooking” days but I’d be lying out of both sides of my mouth if I did.
But sometimes I think ahead enough like today and cooked 10 lbs of chicken leg quarters. I’ll shred it all and vacuum seal it into bags to be used for “those nights” in a dish like your naanwich.
I just tried naan bread for the first time last week. I went all the way to England and ended up eating at an Indian restaurant! 🙂
Awesome! We have naan at our house all the time, and this is a great idea for a light meal or lunch!
I’d be afraid to make these for a party for fear I’d just do rounds annoucning naanwich. Love the idea. Always outside the box! Perfect for lunches on the road, where I find myself most days.
I have to admit, I love those rotisserie chickens for use in wraps, salads, etc. And there were occasions when Husband brought one home for regular dinner (on his very rare duty-nights in the kitchen).
All those flavors make me smile and I really wish I had one of your naanwiches right now.
And trust me, even mid-size towns in Serbia demand a lot of bread and bacon (except that I am not the one to bring it home:)
I think naanwich might be my favorite word ever and I have to agree, I love hearing that others have those same I don’t want to cook moments too.
I’d make one just so I could say “naanwich.” Looks great!
or the wine that turned things around? Doesn’t matter, either way you came out of the whole thing with a great looking sandwich. Huzzah! — S
Those rotisserie chickens come in handy throughout the summer months when it is just too hot to cook, and are perfect for “sammies” and dishes of all types.
yes … waking up and lingering in bed longer than one should … but then again i don’t let anyone ‘should’ on me so i suggest you take that stance next time those voices try to … this naanie?? get it? sandwich/sammie … naanwhich/naanie???? i’m such a jokester this morning …
Oh, how I wish a home didn’t require so much bread and bacon (not that kind, anyways). This “naanwich” sounds like just the thing for a quick and easy lunch.
I bet salmon or tuna would be glorious replacements for the chicken… this sandwich looks FAB-U-LOUS, my friend!
I need one of those days and then I need one of these sandwiches. Please?
I have had an I‑don’t-want-to-cook day today, too. And now that it’s 5 pm, I’m hungry, your post has made me hungrier, and I think I’ll send someone out for a chicken.
I like the idea of saffron here. Even though I don’t use it often, I probably would have reached for curry powder. I know…so predictable!
I have some left over grilled chicken in the frig and this just might be a perfect way to use it. My mouth is watering right now. Hope you had a nice long holiday weekend.
It’s refreshing to hear a serious food guy admit he has times when he doesn’t want to cook. I certainly do!