Chef Klaus
Backfisch mit Kartoffelsalat
Backfisch works when the batter is cold, the fish is dry, and the oil is steady. Miss one of those and you get a wet coat, not a crisp one.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Ostfriesische Krabbensuppe
Created by
The East Frisian shrimp soup that begins at the peeling bowl: sweet North Sea brown shrimp, their shells cooked into stock, then potato, leek, and cream brought in gently.
Soups & Stews
German
Weeknight
Special Occasion
45 min
Active Time
45 min cook•1 hr 30 min total
Yield4 servings
Ostfriesische Krabbensuppe belongs to the North Sea coast, where Krabben means brown shrimp, not crab. This is weeknight food if you've got good shrimp and Sunday food if you peel them yourself at the table first. In East Frisia the soup is pale, clean, a little creamy, with potato and leek to give it body; further along the coast you'll find clearer broths, more carrot, sometimes dill, and plenty of argument over whether cream belongs. Im Norden anders, im Süden anders. The south is not invited to settle this one.
The shells decide the soup. Buy cooked, unpeeled North Sea brown shrimp if you can, peel them, keep the meat cold, and cook the shells briefly with leek, onion, bay, and water. Don't boil them hard and don't forget them on the stove. A shrimp shell gives sweetness quickly, then it gives bitterness and a muddy edge. Twenty minutes is enough. Das braucht seine Zeit, but not all afternoon.
Weggeworfen wird nichts. The part most people throw away is the part that makes the broth taste of the coast. The shrimp meat goes in at the end, off the boil, because it is already cooked and needs warming, not punishment. Let it boil and you've made rubber in cream. Nicht aus dem Glas. The jar has no shells in it.
North Sea brown shrimp, Crangon crangon, have been landed along the East Frisian and Lower Saxon coast for centuries, with the organised cutter fishery expanding strongly in the nineteenth century as rail links carried fresh coastal catch inland. In northern German markets the word Krabben commonly means these small brown shrimp, while elsewhere it can be misunderstood as crab, which is why the dish's name is regional before it is national. The old household logic is clear: the expensive hand-peeled meat stretches into a family soup because the shells, not extra shrimp, build the stock.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
cooked unpeeled North Sea brown shrimp
Quantity
750g
peeled, shells reserved
butter
Quantity
1 tablespoon
onion
Quantity
1 small
finely chopped
leek
Quantity
1
white and pale green parts sliced, dark green trimmings reserved
carrot
Quantity
1 small
chopped
celery stalk
Quantity
1 small
chopped
bay leaf
Quantity
1
black peppercorns
Quantity
6
cold water
Quantity
750ml
waxy potatoes
Quantity
300g
peeled and diced small
dry white wine
Quantity
150ml
cream
Quantity
150ml
lemon juice
Quantity
1 teaspoon, plus more to taste
salt and freshly ground white pepper
Quantity
to taste
chives
Quantity
2 tablespoons
chopped
flat-leaf parsley (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
chopped
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| cooked unpeeled North Sea brown shrimppeeled, shells reserved | 750g |
| butter | 1 tablespoon |
| onionfinely chopped | 1 small |
| leekwhite and pale green parts sliced, dark green trimmings reserved | 1 |
| carrotchopped | 1 small |
| celery stalkchopped | 1 small |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| black peppercorns | 6 |
| cold water | 750ml |
| waxy potatoespeeled and diced small | 300g |
| dry white wine | 150ml |
| cream | 150ml |
| lemon juice | 1 teaspoon, plus more to taste |
| salt and freshly ground white pepper | to taste |
| chiveschopped | 2 tablespoons |
| flat-leaf parsley (optional)chopped | 1 tablespoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Fine-mesh sieve
- •Heavy soup pot, 3 litre capacity
- •Small sharp peeling knife
Instructions
- 1
Peel the shrimp
Peel the cooked brown shrimp over a bowl so every shell and drop of juice is caught. Keep the peeled meat covered in the refrigerator, because it is already cooked and will only go back into the soup at the end. Put the shells in a separate bowl. Weggeworfen wird nichts.
- 2
Start the shell stock
Melt the butter in a pot and soften half the onion, the leek trimmings, carrot, celery, bay, and peppercorns for five minutes without browning. Add the shrimp shells and stir until they smell sweet and seaside, not roasted dark; brown them too hard and the stock turns bitter where it should be clean.
- 3
Simmer briefly
Pour in the cold water, bring it just to a quiet simmer, and cook for 20 minutes. Runter mit der Temperatur. Shrimp shells give their flavour fast, and a hard boil pulls out harshness and grit. Strain through a fine sieve, pressing lightly, then stop. Forcing every last drop through is how sand gets invited.
- 4
Cook the vegetables
Wipe the pot, add the remaining onion and sliced leek, and cook them gently in a little butter if the pot is dry. Add the diced potatoes and white wine, then simmer until the wine is reduced by half. The wine goes in before the stock so its raw edge cooks off instead of sitting sharp on top of the cream.
- 5
Build the soup
Add the strained shell stock and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 12 to 15 minutes. Crush a few potato cubes against the side of the pot to thicken the soup naturally; this gives body without flour paste. Stir in the cream and warm it gently, never at a hard boil, because cream and shellfish both turn ugly when bullied.
- 6
Finish with shrimp
Take the pot off the hard heat, stir in the peeled shrimp, lemon juice, chives, and parsley if using, and let the shrimp warm through for one minute. Taste for salt and white pepper at the end, because the shrimp and their shells bring their own sea salt. Würzen, Fett, Salz zum Schluss. Serve with dark rye or a small boiled potato on the side.
Chef Tips
- •Buy cooked, unpeeled North Sea brown shrimp when you can. Peeled shrimp are convenient, but they come without the shells, and the shells are the soup.
- •If you can only find peeled brown shrimp, make a light fish stock from bones or ask a fishmonger for shellfish shells. Water and cream alone make a pale potato soup with shrimp floating in it. That is not the same dish.
- •Keep the shrimp meat cold and add it last. It has already been cooked on the cutter or at the processor; boiling it again makes it firm and dull.
- •Serve with Schwarzbrot, dark rye bread, or a simple slice of buttered rye. The sour bread is the northern answer to the sweet shrimp and cream.
Advance Preparation
- •Peel the shrimp up to one day ahead, keeping the meat and shells separately covered in the refrigerator.
- •The shell stock can be made one day ahead and chilled. Bring it back gently, then finish the soup with potato, cream, and shrimp shortly before serving.
- •Do not store the finished soup at a hard boil for reheating. Warm it gently so the cream stays smooth and the shrimp stay tender.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 375g)
Calories
310 calories
Total Fat
13 g
Saturated Fat
8 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
4 g
Cholesterol
185 mg
Sodium
780 mg
Total Carbohydrates
26 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
5 g
Protein
17 g
Where cooking meets culture.
Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.
Discover Culinary ExplorerMore from Coastal Fish & the Hanseatic Table
Browse the full collection
Chef Klaus
Brathering
The northern coastal herring that works twice: fried first for a firm skin and deep flavour, then laid down in vinegar until onion, spice, and sourness do the rest.
Chef Klaus
Bückling
The North Sea and Baltic smokehouse fish: whole herring, salted just enough, cooked in warm smoke until the skin turns gold and the flesh lifts clean from the bones.
Chef Klaus
Finkenwerder Scholle
Hamburg's flatfish supper lives in one pan: whole plaice floured at the last moment, fried light side down first, then finished with Speck, onion, and bacon fat.