Dried Shrimp Soup (Caldo de Camarón)
A deeply savory, chile-red broth built from toasted guajillo and ancho chiles and dried shrimp, simmered with potatoes and chayote until everything is tender. A coastal Mexican classic, especially loved during Lent.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Toast and soak chiles
Toast the guajillo and ancho chiles on a dry hot skillet or comal over medium heat, 10–15 seconds per side, pressing lightly, until fragrant and slightly darker. Watch closely: if they blacken they turn bitter. Place them in a bowl, cover with the hot water and soak for 15 minutes.
- 4 guajillo chiles
- 2 ancho chiles
- 500 ml hot water
✅ Done when: the chiles are soft and pliable, and the soaking water has turned deep red-orange
Prepare the dried shrimp
Rinse the dried shrimp briefly under cold water to remove excess salt and grit, then pat dry. Divide them in half: cover one half with warm water and soak for 10 minutes, so it softens and plumps slightly for texture. Grind the other half in a blender or molcajete to a coarse powder; this will melt into the broth and give it its deep shrimp flavor and body.
- 100 g dried shrimp
✅ Done when: half the shrimp is softened and swollen, the other half is a coarse, fragrant powder
Blend and strain the base
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Fry the chile base
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Cook the potatoes
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Finish with chayote and shrimp
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Serve
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Toast and soak chiles
Toast the guajillo and ancho chiles on a dry hot skillet or comal over medium heat, 10–15 seconds per side, pressing lightly, until fragrant and slightly darker. Watch closely: if they blacken they turn bitter. Place them in a bowl, cover with the hot water and soak for 15 minutes.
- 4 guajillo chiles
- 2 ancho chiles
- 500 ml hot water
✅ Done when: the chiles are soft and pliable, and the soaking water has turned deep red-orange
Prepare the dried shrimp
Rinse the dried shrimp briefly under cold water to remove excess salt and grit, then pat dry. Divide them in half: cover one half with warm water and soak for 10 minutes, so it softens and plumps slightly for texture. Grind the other half in a blender or molcajete to a coarse powder; this will melt into the broth and give it its deep shrimp flavor and body.
- 100 g dried shrimp
✅ Done when: half the shrimp is softened and swollen, the other half is a coarse, fragrant powder
Blend and strain the base
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Fry the chile base
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Cook the potatoes
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Finish with chayote and shrimp
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Serve
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The Story Behind the Dish
Drying shrimp in the sun to preserve them is an old coastal practice that let fishing communities keep their catch long before refrigeration, and let the flavor of the sea travel far inland. Bags of camarón seco are still a common sight in Mexican markets, used whole, ground, or toasted into salsas and broths.
⭐ Why It's Famous
Because meat is traditionally avoided on Fridays during Lent, this rich, filling shrimp broth became one of the season's great stand-ins, and it is now cooked and loved all year round, especially on cold or rainy days.
💡 Fun Fact
Long before refrigerated trucks, dried shrimp was one of the few ways people far from the coast could taste the ocean, carried inland by traders along old mule routes.
Mexico's Pacific coast (states like Sinaloa, Nayarit and Guerrero), also made along the Gulf coast
23.25°N, -106.41°W
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