Creamy Shrimp Soup of Northern Germany: Greetsieler Krabbensuppe

Greetsiel is a small port town of about 1500 on the North Sea coast of Germany. It is part of the region known as "East Frisia" (German: "Ostfriesland," East Frisian dialect of Frisian: "Oostfreesland"), which is part of the German state of "Lower Saxony" (German: "Niedersachsen").

The standard German word for "shrimps" * is "Garnelen" (pronounced as if, "gar-NAY-len") a form of a word standard German got from Dutch (modern Dutch "garnalen"), but in the north of Germany, the shrimps caught in the North Sea, typically brownish in color, are called "Krabben," actually the standard word for crabs, and of course, a close relative to the English word. As always, there are variations to this recipe. 

Ingredients:

3/4 pound small shrimp, peeled and cleaned
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces
1/2 carrot, sliced
2 green onions (whole; that is, green and white), chopped
4 cups water
1/4 cup parsley
1/4 cup chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup canned milk (reduced calorie is fine)
1/2 cup bacon, diced or chopped (I simply chopped some thick cut bacon slices)

Simmer the potatoes, carrot, parsley and green onions in the 4 cups of water until tender, then use a stick blender/immersion blender to puree the vegetables right in the cooking water, or put everything into a processor to puree the vegetables (then add all back to the pan). Add the butter and milk to the already warm liquid, and heat over low heat until hot, but not boiling. Meanwhile, saute the bacon and then drain it on paper towels. Add the bacon and shrimp to the soup, mix well and cook until the shrimp are tender (which is very quickly), season the soup with a little salt and top each serving with some chives.

* I "believe" in England and other parts of Britain, "shrimp" is the singular form and "shrimps" is the plural form, but in the U.S. (not sure about Canada), we often use "shrimp" as both singular and plural. So we often say, "Add the shrimp to the soup," but that could mean one shrimp or 50. It is rare to hear "shrimps" used in American English; at least, in my experience. It is often the same with the word "crab," although you are much more apt to hear "crabs" as the plural; at least, at times.

With some German "Vollkornbrot" (whole grain bread)...

WORD HISTORY:
Pond/Pound-"Pond" is simply a variation of the word "pound," the form meaning, "an enclosed place," as in "dog pound." Its distant history is unknown, but it goes back to the Old English verb "pyndan," which meant, "to dam up, to close off," and to the noun, "pynd," "a small lake, man made storage area for water." "Pynd" then became "pund," also taking on the meaning, "enclosure for animals," and the spelling later became "pound" for the "animal enclosure" meaning, and "pond" for "body of water." While there is no clear size for the body of water, "pond" usually indicates a small body of water, although the expression "across the pond" began use in the American colonies as a meaning for the Atlantic Ocean in the mid 1600s. The verb "to pond," and meaning "to accumulate water to form a pond or a puddle," came from the noun. "Pound" also provided the basis for "impound," a word originally used to mean, "to put confiscated cattle or horses into a closed off area" (in about 1450?), but today used with the same general meaning, but typically for confiscated vehicles.      

Thai Shrimp Soup, Spicy or Mild

This is a GREAT soup. If you like "heat," you can add another tablespoon of chili paste, but if you do not like "heat," use just one tablespoon. Thai chili paste or sambal oelek chili paste are available in supermarkets and Asian markets.  

Ingredients:

1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined 
1/2 cup rice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
3 cups vegetable stock 
1 can unsweetened coconut milk (13.5 ounce can)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons Thai chili paste or sambal oelek chili paste
3 green onions/scallions, including most of the green part
1 stalk lemon grass or 1 teaspoon ground/powdered lemon grass (optional) *
1 inch piece ginger, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

In a heavy bottomed pan, add the broth, the rice, the fish sauce, the red bell pepper, the chili paste, the scallions, the ginger, and the fresh lemon grass (if using, or add ground form in next step). Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce to low heat. Simmer until rice is almost tender. Add the shrimp, the lime juice and the cilantro leaves (also the ground lemon grass, if using). Cook just until the shrimp are about done, then immediately add the coconut milk, stirring well to mix. Let the soup heat up again, and then remove it from the heat. (Note: If the soup gets too thick, you can always add some more vegetable broth, a little at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.)   

* Lemon grass is a plant that grows in long stalks. It is used to some degree on parts of the Indian Subcontinent, but it is used extensively in Southeast Asian cuisine. In more recent times, it is available in some U.S. supermarkets or Asian stores. The outer layers of the stalk will need to be peeled off and discarded, and the more tender interior can be chopped up for use in cooking. It has something of a citrus flavor and aroma; after all, it IS called "lemon grass." It is also available in ground (powdered) form, and it is something you might want to try using, either fresh or ground.

WORD HISTORY:
Slurp-The origin of this word is presumably imitative of sound, and there are similar words in other Indo European languages that have to do with taking in food or liquids. In Old Germanic the imitation produced "slurphan/slorphan," with the meaning, "to sip, drink or eat noisily." This gave Old Low Franconian (the Germanic dialects that became Dutch) "slorpen," with the same meanings, and this then became "slurpen." English borrowed the word from Dutch in the first half of the 1600s. Because of the word originating as an imitative word for sound, there are a number of relatives, with varied spellings and slight variations in meanings: German has "schlürfen" (to sip or drink noisily), but also, "schlurfen" (to drag your foot or feet along noisily when walking), Low German Saxon has "slubbern" (drink noisily) and "slarpen" and "slurren" (drag your feet noisily), Danish "slubre" (slurp), Norwegian "slurpe" (sip/drink noisily), Swedish "slurpa" (drink/sip) and seemingly "slurka" (drink in big gulps).