AI-generated image
Jamaican janga soup
Crayfish soup
Janga soup: peppery river crayfish soup with coco and dumplings
In the river valleys of Portland, around the Rio Grande, children once caught janga (freshwater crayfish) with baskets in the shallows, and the catch went into a deep red, peppery soup said to give strength. Pumpkin, coco (eddoe) and flour dumplings make it hearty, and scotch bonnet and pimento give it heat and warmth. Buy live crayfish from a fishmonger, or use frozen cooked crayfish tails or large prawns. The common mistake is cooking the shellfish from the start; add it at the end so it stays sweet and tender. Before cooking, discard any live crayfish that are dead, limp or smell bad. Chef's tip: simmer the shells in the broth first for a deeper, sweeter flavour.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the soup
- 2 ¼ lb live freshwater crayfishor 500 g raw peeled crayfish tails or large prawns
- 2 litres water
- 14 oz pumpkinpeeled, cut into chunks
- 10 ½ oz coco (eddoes)peeled, cut into chunks (or potatoes)
- 1 onionchopped
- 4 cloves garliccrushed
- 3 spring onions (scallion)chopped
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 scotch bonnet pepperwhole
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 ½ tsp saltto taste
- ½ tsp black pepper
For the dumplings
- 5 ½ oz plain flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup cold waterabout
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (5)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Rinse 2 ¼ lb live freshwater crayfish well in cold water and check them: throw away any that are dead, limp or smell unpleasant. Separate the heads from the tails and peel the tails, keeping the shells and heads. Keep the tail meat in the fridge.
Step 2: Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large pot and fry the shells and heads with 1 onion and 4 cloves garlic over a medium-high heat until the shells turn red.
5 minStep 3: Add 2 litres water, 4 sprigs fresh thyme, 8 allspice berries (pimento) and half of 1 ½ spring onions (scallion). Simmer for 20 minutes, then strain the broth, pressing on the shells, and return it to the pot.
20 minStep 4: Add 14 oz pumpkin, 10 ½ oz coco (eddoes) and 1 scotch bonnet pepper and simmer for 10 minutes.
10 minStep 5: Knead 5 ½ oz plain flour, ¼ tsp salt and ½ cup cold water to a firm dough. Roll into small spinners and drop them into the soup. Simmer for 15 minutes, until the coco is tender, the pumpkin has softened into the broth and the dumplings float and are firm.
15 minStep 6: Add the crayfish tails and the rest of 1 ½ spring onions (scallion) and simmer for 3–4 minutes, just until they turn opaque and curl. Remove the scotch bonnet, season with 1 ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper and serve.
4 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 22 g
- Carbs
- 42 g
- Fat
- 7 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does jamaican janga soup take?
- About 75 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Tiyula itumBlack beef soup
Tiyula itum, 'black soup', is the pride of the Tausug people of Sulu in the far south of the Philippines, cooked for weddings, Eid celebrations and when guests come home. Beef (it is a halal, pork-free dish) is simmered with ginger, lemongrass and turmeric, then darkened with pamapa itum, a paste of grated coconut toasted until almost black and pounded with spices. The broth looks dramatic but tastes smoky, earthy and gently peppery, with heat from chillies. Serve it with plain rice. Chef's tip: toast the coconut slowly, stirring all the time, until it is very dark brown but not ashy; burnt-to-ash coconut tastes bitter and ruins the soup.
Filipino
Ful nabitSprouted fava bean soup
Sprouted beans are ladled out with their cooking liquor in Cairo homes when the weather turns cold or someone is feeling run down, and Egyptians swear by the broth as a pick-me-up. The beans are soaked and left to sprout for a few days, then simmered with onion, garlic and cumin into a light, earthy soup that is sharpened at the table with plenty of lemon. You can eat the beans with a spoon or pop them from their skins. Allow 3 to 4 days for sprouting, although the hands-on work is only about 20 minutes. People with G6PD deficiency (favism) must not eat fava beans. Chef's tip: stop the sprouting when the shoots are about 1 cm long; longer sprouts taste grassy and bitter.
Egyptian
Miso soup
Miso soup (味噌汁) is drunk every day in homes all over Japan, at breakfast as well as dinner, beside a bowl of rice. The base is dashi; this vegan version uses kombu and dried shiitake instead of bonito, which gives it a deep, rounded flavour. Silken tofu and wakame seaweed are the classic fillings. It takes ten minutes; just remember not to boil the miso. Chef's tip: add the miso at the very end and never let it boil. Boiling kills the miso's fresh, fermented aroma; Japanese cooks say the soup should only 'smile', with the surface barely trembling.
Japanese