How long is "too long" when it comes to cooking shrimp? Nantes Shrimp Cream Soup

Once again I'm weeding out my old recipes (still searching for that elusive P F Chang's Eggplant recipe and still not finding it). But I decided to really weed out the stuff I know now I'll never make...all of the halibut and red snapper recipes went...mostly because I will never pay $39.99/lb for halibut and I don't even see red snapper here in the mountains of NC.

This one slipped out of it's cover: Nantes Shrimp Cream Soup. I'm sure it's from an old, OLD Gourmet magazine, probably around the time L & I were staying at B&Bs and enjoying fancier meals than those available in our steel mill "shot & a beer" town.

But take a look at this recipe. It cooks the shrimp for 30 MINUTES. In any universe I've been in, anything past 5 minutes means shrimp-soled shoes. When I read it as is, it seems like they cook the shrimp, THEN cook it again for 25 minutes in a cream sauce.

Could this be a typo and they actually only do the first step, then only add the wine sauce, having filtered out the shrimp.
Wouldn't shrimp be one solid mass of toughness in that amount of time???

Marilyn, I wouldn't cook shrimp that long! I looked up a few other shrimp soup recipes, and none of them cook their prawns as long as the Nantes recipe indicates. Here's a copy and paste of a note at one site where I found a recipe for Creamy Shrimp Soup==>

Medium-sized prawns typically take 2 to 3 minutes to cook, while larger ones need 4 to 5 minutes. They’re done when they curl into a "C" shape and turn pink. Keep a close eye on them, as they can go from juicy to rubbery in just a few minutes.

Here's the entire recipe--

Ingredients​

• ▢ 2 tablespoons butter
• ▢ ½ cup finely chopped onion
• ▢ 2 large garlic cloves finely chopped
• ▢ 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 cups chicken stock--I used 33% reduced sodium
• ▢ ½ cup half and half or use whole milk
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ▢ ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon pepper powder
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ▢ ¾ pound shrimp peeled, deveined and patted dry
• 2 handfuls baby spinach
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan

Instructions

1) Melt butter in a medium pot, placed over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic and saute for about 3 minutes.

2) Add the flour and cook stirring constantly for 1 to 2 minutes.

3) Add the stock, half-and-half, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.

4) Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches a gentle simmer. Continue cooking for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the soup has thickened slightly.

5) Stir in the shrimp, spinach and parmesan. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the shrimp is cooked through and the spinach is wilted. Serve hot!

Yikes. I agree. They would be very chewy. I, too, do mine for just a couple of minutes, depending on how large they are.

Other than that, the Nantes does look like a good recipe, except perhaps?? a lot of liquid proportionately.

• Marilyn, I found this recipe which you posted on the date below. Wigs
• Jul 24, 2012

This is our favorite for Japanese version: PF Chang's Stir-fried Spicy Eggplant

1 pound eggplant, peeled, cut into 1-inch dice
1 teaspoon garlic
1 tablespoon cornstarch, mixed with
2 tablespoons water, to make a paste
canola oil, for deep-frying

***Spicy Sauce***
2 tablespoons vegetarian oyster sauce (or regular oyster sauce)
2 tablespoons lite soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon chili paste (Sambal Oleck preferred)
1/2 teaspoon ground bean sauce (Koon Chun preferred)
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil


DIRECTIONS:
Combine all Spicy Sauce ingredients and mix well.

In a wok, deep-fry eggplant at 350 degrees F for 1 minute. Remove eggplant and drain on paper towels.

Meanwhile remove all but 1/2 teaspoon of oil from wok. On high heat, stir-fry garlic for 5 seconds then add Spicy Sauce.

Reduce heat and let sauce simmer 20 seconds. Add eggplant and simmer for another 10 seconds.

Stir in cornstarch paste a little at a time until desired consistency. Serve immediately.

Recipe Source: PF Chang's

NUTRITION:
117 calories, 2 grams fat, 24 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams protein per serving. This recipe is low in fat.

Copycat P.F. Chang's Stir-Fried Spicy Eggplant Recipe | CDKitchen.com

Oh my gosh…I LOVE YOU, wigs!!!!
I’ve been looking for this…forever. Or apparently at least since 2012!

Two Japanese eggplants await their destiny.

marilynfl said:

Oh my gosh…I LOVE YOU, wigs!!!!
I’ve been looking for this…forever. Or apparently at least since 2012!

Two Japanese eggplants await their destiny.

Click to expand...

I am elated I could help you, Marilyn! Typically, I am not one who can easily Search and Find, but today I went right to your PF Chang recipe. Enjoy those eggplants. Wigs