Sopa de Lacassá (Sopa de lacassá)
Overview
Sopa de lacassá is a Macanese shrimp and vermicelli soup. Shrimp shells and heads are simmered to make a sweet, orange broth, then onion and garlic are fried and the broth is seasoned with balichão, the fermented shrimp paste of Macanese cooking, and sometimes a little turmeric or saffron. Fresh shrimp are cooked in it at the end, and thin rice vermicelli, called lacassá in the Macanese language, are added just before serving. The soup is savoury and fragrant, and it is often finished with spring onion and coriander.
History
Macanese cooking mixes Portuguese, Chinese, Malay and Indian traditions, and lacassá soup is believed to have its roots in Malacca, as a form of the Peranakan laksa. Because it contains no meat, it was traditionally eaten on Christmas Eve, once a day of abstinence for Catholics. It is also part of a proper chá gordo, the great Macanese tea party with many dishes.
Main ingredients
Shrimp, rice vermicelli (lacassá), balichão (shrimp paste), onion, garlic, turmeric. The soup is built on shrimp broth and is usually served hot. Diet: pescatarian; usually gluten-free.
Explore: Fish and seafood soups · Noodle soups
Recipe
Method
- 120 min
Fry the shrimp shells and heads in the oil, add 1.5 l water and simmer for 20 minutes, then strain.
- 2
Fry the onion and garlic, stir in the balichão and turmeric and add the broth.
- 35 min
Simmer for 5 minutes.
- 42 min
Add the shrimp and cook for 2 minutes, then add the vermicelli and heat through.
- 5
Serve with spring onion and coriander.
- ✓
Serve. About 45 min from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
