This is a very delicious and flavorful homemade Shrimp Stock. You can use this stock to make seafood rice, seafood cream, Seafood soup, seafood stew as an example, but you can use it for many more other seafood dishes to enhances the flavor to the top. This recipe is going to be very easy to follow with a few tricks and I will show you ways to store as well. Enjoy!
Cooking time 40 minutes
2 and half liter of stock
Ingredients
800 grams Shrimp shells and heads from 2kg of shrimp
1 ½ cup Carrots diced
1 cup Celery diced
1 cup Tomatoes diced
1 cup French Garlic chopped
1 cup Onion diced
1 tbsp Crushed Black Pepper
3 Bay leaves
3 tbsp Ginger diced
2 Lemon Grass
4 tbsp chopped Fresh Coriander/Cilantro stems
1 tsp Sea Salt
50ml Olive Oil
1 tbsp Smoked Paprika
50 grams All-Purpose Flour
50 grams Butter
100 ml Brandy
How to make
First, we need to make the above ingredients ready.
Turn on the gas in medium flame, put a large 4 liters pot on. Once the pot gets slightly hot add in Olive oil, keep it around 3 tbsp to make flambé. I’m using total 50ml Olive Oil you can use a bit less if you like.
After the oil gets slightly hot add in diced 1 cup onion, ginger, chopped fresh Coriander/Cilantro stems, minced garlic, 2 smashed lemon grass or you can use lemon skin or leaves instead and 3 fresh Bay leaves and combine them very well and let them infuse slowly until you feel the aroma outside. It takes around 6 to 8 minutes. Stir a few times between to infuse evenly.
After 8 minutes, stir again, you will see, its reduced, very transparent and oil separated.
Now time to add in the diced Carrot 1 and half cups, 1 cup diced Celery, 1 cup chopped French Garlic, 1 cup diced ripe tomatoes, 1 tsp sea salt, 1 tbsp crushed black pepper and 1 tbsp smoked paprika. Combine very well. Cover it and let them cook in it’s won juice around 15 minutes or until the all vegetables are soft. Meanwhile we check and stir it to soften evenly. Everyone’s heat is different so, if you need, you can add in a bit of water to prevent burning.
After 15 minutes lid off, stir it, looks soft and well combine, you can let it cook, continue in medium heat with the lid on. Meanwhile turn another gas burner on in high flame and heat a thick base pan.
Now it is the interesting part, we are going to make the flambé on shrimp shells and heads. (Warning: If you aren’t sure and not confident doing it please don’t do it. If you just sautéthem still we can make a good stock, around children or children aren’t recommended too)
The pan is hot now I will add in 3 tbsp of Olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add in all those 800 grams heads and shells of Shrimps. Stir it very well, wait to heat and let it dry the access water.
After 2 minutes stir it again see all water is dry. Now reduce the heat to medium low, never do flambéing on high heat flame, wait a minute to reduce the heat of the surface of pan. Add in the Brandy or liquors or the alcohol that has high quantity of alcohol I use 100ml of Brandy, let the alcohol get warm and put flame on it, use long fireplace matches or lighter to flame it.
This trick, specially on the shrimps flambéing process, works so well and it enhances the flavor to the top to make it flavor rich and reduces the quantities of the alcohol while still we feel the flavor of the alcohol.
After stops flaming turn heat up to high stir a bit and let it evaporate 2 minutes, by this time it smells so good and rich than before. Two minutes done the juice got evaporate, turn off the heat.
Next time to check the vegetables, stir it. It cooked almost 25 minutes all together and all vegetables are cooked so well. Add in the all flambé shrimp shells and heads. Combine them very well. And add in 3 liters of water, give a little mix. Turn heat up to high, let it boil. After it boils, stir it a bit, reduce the heat to medium and let it continue boiling around 5 minutes. Do not boil them more than 5 minutes after adding the Shrimp shells and head. If you haven’t done the flambé than boil it between 5 to 10 minutes not more than that otherwise overcooks, and the stock will have some strange smell.
Now 5 minutes passed, turn off the flame. With a Potato masher, smash them to get all the amazing flavor and the head cream out of the Shrimp heads around 2 minutes. After the color of the stock looks so beautiful and rich. Transfer the stock. You will need large bowl and a strainer.
Pour it into strainer and squeeze it with a potato masher to get the all stock out, we are looking for 2 and half liters of stock.
We will have a bit more than 2 and half liters of stock. You can use directly like this or make the stock cubes, very good trick to make it creamy stock cubes.
Use a liter stock to make the creamy stock cubes, this method is called Roux, for this heat a pot in medium heat as soon as the pot is lightly hot, add in 50 grams of butter, mix it, let it melt.
After all butter melted add in 50 grams of plain flour little by little. Mix it constantly while you are adding in them. Mix them very well until they combine and changed the color toward slightly golden-brown.
Now add in 1 liter of stock that we separated earlier and combine them very well until you see no lump and let it simmer in medium heat until they are slightly thick around 5 minutes. Meanwhile keep it mixing.
Now when you see thick liquid consistency transfer to a Jar and pour into an ice cube tray then keep in the freezer. I made 2 type of cubes and a block which is easy for us to decide how much we want to use.
After 12 hours of frozen, take them out and keep them into bag and store in the freezer and use until 3 months.
The liquid one you can use now if you like and the rest keep in the freezer with other but if you are using in next couple of days keep in the refrigerator, use it before 4 days, this is my recommended time.
Basically, the ratio I recommend is, 1 cup of stock equal 1 cup of water for the mild shrimp flavor.
For stronger flavor 1 cup stock equal ½ cup water
2 big Cubes dissolve into 1 cup of water and small cubes double the ratio of this.
To make a flavorful stock you must cook aromatic ingredients and vegetables very well I like to cook them in the oil to infuse them and take most of the flavor out. And use some tricks like I did so then you will get amazing homemade stock.
I hope you try and enjoy!
Thank you so much for coming along and be part of Pabs Kitchen!
