Caldo de Camarón Seco Sinaloense

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 4-quart pot or clay cazuela
• •Cast iron comal or heavy skillet for toasting
• •Spice grinder or molcajete for the shrimp powder
• •High-powered blender
• •Fine-mesh strainer

Instructions

1. 1

   Toast and grind the dried shrimp

   Set aside about a third of the dried shrimp whole for the pot. Heat a dry comal or heavy skillet over medium. Toast the rest of the camarón seco for two to three minutes, turning often, until they smell deeply of the sea and the shells turn a shade darker. Do not let them blacken. Tip them onto a plate to cool, then grind to a coarse powder in a spice grinder or molcajete. This powder is the soul of the broth. The Sinaloa cooks call it the polvo de camarón and it is what makes this caldo and not a tomato soup.

   Buy the dried shrimp with the heads and shells on. The heads carry the deepest flavor. Peeled, headless dried shrimp are a compromise, not the same ingredient.
2. 2

   Toast the chiles

   On the same comal, toast the guajillo and pasilla chiles separately, about 20 to 30 seconds per side. The skin will puff and the kitchen will smell like the inside of a chile vendor's stall. The pasilla burns faster than the guajillo, watch it. If you want more heat, toast the chiles de arbol last for 10 seconds per side. Burned chile is bitter chile. There is no fixing it later.

3. 3

   Soak the chiles and char the tomatoes

   Place the toasted chiles in a heatproof bowl and cover with hot tap water. Hot water, not boiling. Let them soften for 15 minutes. While they soak, char the tomatoes, the half onion, and the garlic on the comal until the skins blacken in spots and the flesh softens, about 8 minutes total, turning as they go. The char is the Sinaloan signature. It builds a smoky bottom note under the shrimp.

4. 4

   Blend the salsa base

   Drain the chiles. Transfer them to a blender with the charred tomatoes, charred onion, charred garlic, and one cup of fresh water. Blend on high until completely smooth, two to three minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing on the solids with the back of a ladle. Discard the skins. You want a clean, deep red puree with no grit.

5. 5

   Fry the salsa

   Melt the manteca in a heavy 4-quart pot or cazuela over medium heat. When it shimmers, pour in the strained chile puree. It will sputter. Step back. Cook for six to eight minutes, stirring often, until the puree darkens by a shade and the fat starts to separate at the edges. La manteca es el sabor. This step takes the raw edge off the chile and is the difference between a thin caldo and a serious one. No me vengas con atajos.

6. 6

   Build the broth

   Pour in the remaining seven cups of water. Stir in the ground shrimp powder, the reserved whole dried shrimp, the bay leaves, and the epazote. Bring to a gentle simmer. Taste before salting. Dried shrimp carries its own salt and you can ruin the pot in one careless pinch. Add salt only after you have tasted, and add it in small increments.

7. 7

   Cook the vegetables

   Add the carrots and let them cook for eight minutes. Then add the potatoes and simmer for another twelve to fifteen minutes, until both are tender at the point of a knife but still hold their shape. The potato should soak up the broth without falling apart. Taste again for salt. The caldo should taste of the sea, the chile, and the smoke from the charred tomato in that order.

   If the broth tastes too intensely of shrimp, add a splash of water and simmer two more minutes. The shrimp powder is potent and every batch of camarón seco is a little different.
8. 8

   Serve at the table

   Ladle the caldo into deep bowls, making sure each one gets some of the whole shrimp, a few pieces of potato, and carrot. Set the lime, diced onion, cilantro, sliced serrano, and saltines in small dishes for the table. Each person dresses their own bowl. The squeeze of lime at the last moment is what wakes the broth up. Asi se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Buy the camarón seco whole, with heads and shells on. The Sinaloan brands packed in clear cellophane bags are the standard. If your only option is the small headless shrimp from a supermarket spice aisle, double the quantity. They are a compromise.
• •Taste before salting. Dried shrimp carries a heavy mineral salt from the drying flats and every batch is different. One bad pinch of added salt and the caldo is gone.
• •Use real manteca de cerdo, the kind sold in tubs at the carniceria, not hydrogenated lard from the baking aisle. La manteca es el sabor. Vegetable oil works in a pinch but the broth will not have the same depth.
• •If you cannot find epazote, use Mexican oregano. Do not substitute Italian oregano or thyme. The herb has to belong to the cuisine.

Advance Preparation

• •The chile salsa base can be made one day ahead, fried, and refrigerated separately from the broth. Reheat with the water and shrimp powder on serving day.
• •The whole caldo keeps refrigerated for three days and the flavor deepens overnight. Add the lime and fresh garnishes only at the table, never in the pot.
• •The toasted shrimp powder can be made up to a week ahead and stored in a tightly sealed jar at room temperature. It is also useful for arroz rojo and tortitas de camarón.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 250g)