“She was breaking her fast on a bowl of cold shrimp-and-persimmon soup when Irri brought her a Qartheen gown, an airy confection of ivory samite patterned with seed pearls.” (II:637)
Shrimp and Persimmon Soup
Our Thoughts:
This cold soup was a surprising mixture of flavors. An interesting choice for a breakfast, but once you think about it, a rather healthy one: fruit and protein. The combination of the persimmon and shrimp made us feel like we were dining in a Mediterranean seaport. Lime juice adds a lovely freshness to the soup, while the shallots create a decidedly savory flavor.
Although different from our normal fare, this soup is going in the personal cookbook. Also, the persimmon soup, sans shrimp, would be a wonderful base for a variety of other soups and stews, whether served hot or cold.
Shrimp and Persimmon Soup Recipe
In our research for this dish, we could not find a single soup recipe containing the two main ingredients- persimmons and shrimp. We’ve tried to combine ingredients that go well together and create a remotely breakfast-y taste. Feel free to make your own changes!
Ingredients:
- 8 large deveined shrimp
- 3 medium persimmons, peeled and roughly chopped
- shallot, chopped
- 1 Tbspn olive oil
- lime
- 2 inches of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- 6 mint leaves
I wonder if GRRM was inspired by a real dish or made this up out of whole cloth? Regardless, interesting recipe!
One question: do you save the liquid that you pour off right before blending the persimmons or do you discard it?
We saved it until we were done blending, just in case the texture wasn’t right yet. You can continue adding broth until the texture is right for you!
Im assuming from the pic you used asian persimmons, I wonder how american persimmons would do?
I have searched far and wide for American persimmons, to no avail. I know that they are actually a fall fruit (these are Chilean), but I never see any around in the Northeast in the fall. I’m not sure how they would do, having never tasted them, but if you find any, let us know how it works out!!
first reaction: shrimp and persimmon – that’d be a family combination in the Philippines.
second reaction: DANG IT! I need a blender now?!? Wait… I could do it the way they did in the books… Exactly how would they “blend” without blenders??? (>_<) Any ideas? (^_^)
I’m a big fan of potato mashers and use them instead of a blender sometimes….
use something like a ricer if you have one or the suggested potato masher if you don’t. Then for a really smooth texture push it through a sieve as well.
The only time I’ve ever cooked persimmon was in a side dish at Thanksgiving. Persimmon and green beans. This looks much better!
How many servings does this recipe make?
This makes two large servings (bowls), or four small servings (cups).
So interesting… I just read “She was breaking her fast on a bowl of cold shrimp-and-persimmon soup when Irri brought her a Qartheen gown, an airy confection of ivory samite patterned with seed pearls.” in the book “A Clash of Kings” by George R.R. Martin. I was impressed to see if this was a real soup and looked on Google and found this…!! Im glad someone thought it a good idea!
Welcome to The Inn! :)
It’s probably best that you stuck with Fuyu persimmons (Asian). The Hachiya variety (American) are finicky and must be squishy-soft ripe before using. BUT, Asian grocers like HMart carry some version of them in practically every season be it dried whole, fresh, or cut and dried like Phillipine mangoes. HMart is a Korean grocery that recently entered the New England Market (Burlington, MA).
This is the first recipe of yours I’ve tried (but I have SO MANY bookmarked!) and it turned out wonderfully! I did actually have some for breakfast, even.
I live in Japan, and persimmon season has been going strong for several weeks. But as persimmons are so decidedly an autumn fruit here, it was weird to be eating them in a cold soup, especially as the temperature has dropped quite a bit recently. ^_^
Just made the soup and it turned out great! The hubby was harassing me for the past two weeks to make this for him so I finally gave in. Just needed a few tweaks due to texture. I would add less ginger and more persimmons to the mix. We also added a tablespoon of honey and a dash of sea salt. This was a fun and healthy recipe :)
How many shallots do I use?
I’ve made this one a few times, and it is certainly a very unique soup. To tailor it a bit more towards evening fair, I actually added a few more spices to the ginger/mint broth. I suggest adding the following: 1 star anise pods, 1/2 cinnamon stick, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, 4 cloves, 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, and 3 cardamom pods.
In contrast to a poster above, I actually prefer it with more ginger, less persimmon and more shrimp.
I don’t know if someone already asked this, but do you have anything that might pair well with this?
How many shallots do I use?