Tacaca from Para: Tucupi Broth with Tapioca, Jambu and Dried Shrimp

What you need

• 2 l (8 cups) tucupi, yellow cassava broth, sold bottled or frozen
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed to a paste
• 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
• 4 leaves chicoria do Para, culantro; or a few coriander sprigs
• 3 pimenta-de-cheiro, small aromatic peppers; or 1 mild chili
• 2 bunch jambu, leaves and tender stems; or watercress
• 500 g (1 lb) dried salted shrimp, large, shell on
• 1 l (4 cups) water
• 60 g (1/2 cup) tapioca starch, goma de mandioca, or sour cassava starch (polvilho azedo)

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Pour the tucupi into a large pot with the garlic, salt, culantro and peppers. Bring to a boil over high heat.

2. 2

   Lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 30 min. Tucupi must always be boiled through before eating; never serve it raw.

3. 3

   Meanwhile, boil the jambu in a separate pan of water until the stems are tender, 5-8 min. Drain and set aside.

4. 4

   Rinse the shrimp well, then boil them in the water for 5 min to soften and remove some salt.

5. 5

   Lift out the shrimp, keeping their cooking water. Pull off the heads and, if you like, the shells.

6. 6

   Let the shrimp water cool for a few minutes, then whisk the tapioca starch into it until no lumps remain.

7. 7

   Set the pan over medium heat and stir constantly until it thickens into a translucent, gluey porridge, 3-5 min. Add a splash of water if it gets too thick to ladle.

8. 8

   To serve, ladle hot tucupi into bowls or gourds, add a spoonful of the tapioca porridge, a few jambu leaves and some shrimp.

9. 9

   Top up with more hot tucupi and serve right away, very hot. The jambu leaves make the lips and tongue tingle.

Imported from tudogostoso.com.br. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.