My parents live up in the mountains in Puerto Rico and it can get pretty chilly up there believe it or not. People think of the Caribbean being 80 degrees year round, but that is no the case in PR. There is a mountain range that runs though the center of the island and up in the mountains it can get down to the 50’s sometimes 40’s during the winter. When the chill would come creeping in my mom would make a pot of asopao. The best way I can describe asopao is a sort of gumbo without the roux or okra. This week it got chilly here and it was accompanied by some rain. I decided it was a good time to make asopao.
There are many variations of asopao. The most common variation is made with chicken but it can also be made with calamari, clams, sausage, pigeon peas, shrimp or a combination, like a gumbo. I had some shrimp in the freezer and 2 jars of clam juice so I decided to make asopao with shrimp. The best rice to use for asopa is a short grain rice like arborio rice.
Pour 1 cup of rice into a bowl and cover with 2 inches of water. Set it aside to soak for 1 hour.
In a large pot heat 1 tbs of olive oil, add 6 cubes (or Tbs) of sofrito, cook for about 4 minutes.
Add 1 cup of diced tomato, 1/2 cup of tomato sauce, 1 tsp of capers and 8 pimento stuffed olives, stir till well combined and bring to a simmer.
If you are making a variety with chicken, add chicken here. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat, cover and cook for 15 minutes.
Add 4 cups of clam juice. If you are making it with chicken, substitute the clam juice with chicken sauce.
Bring the stock to a boil and add shrimp.
Drain the rice, add to the pot and stir. Set to a medium heat, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
Cook until the rice is tender and it has a gumbo like consistency. If you want it thicker, lower the heat, cover and cook to desired consistency. If you want it to be “soupy’er” water 1/4 cup at a time.
Serve immediately and enjoy!
It is important to serve right away because the rice will continue to soak up the sauce and become thicker with time.
I think this qualifies as comfort food and most definitely a dish that will warm you up on a cold day.
Asopao de Camarones
- 1 cup of short grain rice
- 6 cubes (or Tbs) of sofrito
- 1 cup diced tomato
- 1 1/2 tsp of capers
- 1/2 cup of tomato sauce
- 8 pimento stuffed olives
- 4 cups of clam juice
- 1 lbs of shrimp, peeled and deveined
Pour 1 cup of rice into a bowl and cover with 2 inches of water. Set it aside to soak for 1 hour.
In a large pot heat 1 tbs of olive oil, add 6 cubes (or Tbs) of sofrito, cook for about 4 minutes. Add 1 cup of diced tomato, 1/2 cup of tomato sauce, 1 tsp of capers and 8 pimento stuffed olives, stir till well combined and bring to a simmer. If you are making a variety with chicken, add chicken here. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat, cover and cook for 15 minutes.
Add 4 cups of clam juice. If you are making it with chicken, substitute the clam juice with chicken sauce. Bring the stock to a boil and add shrimp.
Drain the rice, add to the pot and stir. Set to a medium heat, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Cook until the rice is tender and it has a gumbo like consistency. If you want it thicker, lower the heat, cover and cook to desired consistency. If you want it to be “soupy’er” water 1/4 cup at a time.
hi
can i substitute vegetable broth for the clam juice??
thank you.
Yes, but it won’t have as much of a seafood flavor.
How many portions is this recipe for? That is, how many servings and what is the size of a serving?
its the best shrimp gumbo ive ever tasted tx god bless
I made this for dinner tonight, and it was magnificent, thank you!
Where are the tostones to go with it? Oh and the avocado slices right in the asopao?
ive had asopao bfr but never like this god bless
YUMMY!
Needed a nice warm harty meal for such a cold blizzard night like the one we are having tonight!
Didn’t have shrimp so I made it with chicken, can’t wait to make it with the shrimps.
Keep the recipes coming!!! Especially the latin ones.
Always looking for something new, fun, easy, and delious to make,
Jenn.
Ditto on this??
I love Asopao but mom never makes it for me ’cause she thinks its a waste of expensive shrimp blah blah I love it and yes its getting very cold here
Last night temp was 73!!! Metro area Toa Baja 73!! all people are talking about is how cold this Christmas is
I just finished making this. Delicious! Guyo makes a spicy tomato sauce, which added a little more kick. I only had 2 cups of clam juice on hand, so I used 2 cups of chicken broth. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
This looks delicious. I came across your site searching for another recipe (Pastelon) which came out so good might I add. You have this easy approach to recipes… I love your step by step instrucions and your pictures are awesome. Thank you… I’m so excited and looking forward to making dishes now that I don’t feel intimidated by complex recipes. I love it!!
Trust me when I say this is pure comfort food…Awesome
I cannot recall how I found your blog but I am glad I did. The Asopao de Camarones looks delicious. Reminds me of arroz con pollo a la chorrera. YUM!!! Will be making this in the coming weeks. 🙂
I am so excited that I found this recipe, I swear to you my eyes are watering! Thank you so much for sharing! thx also for letting people know it’s important to soak rice!
I made the recipe over the weekend…it was a cold, rainy LA night. Perfectly delicious and satisfying! Who knew clam juice was so expensive! Sheesh….$3/8 oz bottle at our local grocery store. It did add a nice depth to the flavor, tho!
Thanks, Meseidy!
Mary Ann
This sounds delicious – clam broth must make it taste great. I am going to try this today!!
Excellent recipe of Soup for winter season. I will try this out.
Mmm…mmm…Mmmmm…..Gotta have to try this sometime!
Hola
This sounds real good I will have add this and make it on a cold day. I was surprised that it gets cold in Puerto Rico.
Thanks
My kind of stick to your ribs soup. I remember the days in PR when you went on parandas and everyone had a pot of asopao in the back burner to bring you back to life and a safe drive home. Thanks for the memories….
I love shrimp…I will have to share this with my husband to make! He is from Puerto Rico. I am going to try to make pastalles for him this year, since we are unable to make it to the island for some!
That soup looks delicious !! I have to try it, i love soups !!!
Hi I have a quick question. What kind of non-traditional dinner are you having for Christmas?
This looks absolutely delicious! I’m always looking for dishes that connect me with my Puerto Rican heritage, especially since I didn’t grow up with it that much. I don’t think my grandmother ever made this (her “specialty” is carne guisado), but it’s something I’d love to try.