A hearty Peruvian green soup with deep seafood flavor. Cilantro perfumes a broth filled with rice, potato, vegetables, and generous seafood cooked just at the end. Hot, comforting, and lightly thickened, every ladle feels like a complete meal.
Turn what you find into an experience you can actually bring to your kitchen.
Blend the cilantro with about one-fifth of the shrimp broth for 30 seconds, until the mixture is deep green and fairly smooth. Finely chop the onion, garlic, and red pepper; cut the yellow potato and carrot into small cubes.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the onion and red pepper for 5 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the garlic, ají amarillo paste, cumin, and pepper and cook for 1 minute; stir in the blended cilantro and cook for another 2 minutes, until intensely aromatic with no raw smell remaining.
Add the remaining shrimp broth, the water, and salt. Once boiling, add the rice, potato, carrot, and choclo. Cook partially covered over medium-low heat for 12–14 minutes, until the rice is nearly cooked, the potato yields when pierced, and the broth begins to gain body while remaining plentiful.
Add the peas and mixed seafood. Simmer gently for 3–4 minutes, stirring carefully, until the seafood is opaque, firm yet juicy, and hot through the center, while the peas remain green. Remove from the heat immediately so the seafood does not toughen.
Serve immediately, distributing rice, vegetables, and seafood among the bowls. A proper aguadito should be green, piping hot, and brothy, with the rice slightly opened but without absorbing all the soup. And that’s it—use a deep ladle, because skimping on broth here would be criminal.
