Albondigas de Camaron (Shrimp Meatball Soup)

 Albondigas de Camaron

Every so often, I'm delighted to note that I can be surprised. Culinarily speaking, I mean. One of my darling children can still hide behind the bathroom door as I pass by and leap out like an ambush predator screaming bloody murder in the middle of the night, causing me to shriek in a very undignified manner and consider the possibility of grounding them from OXYGEN indefinitely. But food - different story. Especially living where I do, finding food that makes me sit up and take notice is a nigh-Herculean task.

I got the opportunity to sit up and take notice just yesterday. I was having a very pleasant day out with my wife and our youngest running household errands,  groceries, purchasing kitchen wares, etc. when we decide to stop in someplace for lunch. After a short discussion, we decide upon Inca Mexican Restaurant here in sunny Moses Lake, WA.

Upon casual examination, Inca is everything you expect from a Mexican eatery in a small to mid-sized town. Parking was adequate, we had shown up just after they opened at 11 a.m. so there was no shortage of available spaces. We were met by a colorful (if basic) sign perpendicular to the door identifying the downtown building. The interior was likewise similar to the cultural paradigm of the American Mexican restaurant, decorated with archways, red-brown tile, and artwork depicting important scenes from Mexican history.

(Odd side note, upon arriving I excused myself to make use of the facilities. At the second I flushed, they turned on the canned music, prompting me to think (if just for a moment) that I had done something horribly incorrect with and/or to the toilet.  Common sense arrived a touch late, and when it did I felt very foolish.)

Where Inca stands apart from the average burrito joint is their menu. It has the standardized sections for dinner combinations and the like. (Example:  #3. 2 Enchiladas, 1 Taco, includes Mexican rice, refried beans and cole slaw. You may substitute whole black beans for the refried beans.) These types of items are staples for the American consumer, and are cheerfully kept tucked away toward the back of the main menu. The lion's share of the menu is filled with a selection of what Inca is known for locally: Traditional fare prepared simply and to order. The Shrimp Fajitas are excellent, as my wife can attest.

I decided to try something away from my usual requests. Having become jaded by the food in the area, I usually stick to things that are industry standard and therefore difficult to screw up. For some reason, I felt  adventurous that day and let my eyes hover over a menu item that had SHRIMP MEATBALLS in the description. Sounds interesting. Being that my Spanish is in dire need of some Rosetta Stone polishing, I wasn't sure how to properly pronounce it; further I did not want to insult our waiter's culture by mangling his language with my coarse grammar, so I smiled, pointed, and said I wanted it with the corn tortillas.

The dish:  Albondigas de Camaron

It is a soup traditionally served with beef or sometimes pork meatballs. The guy in charge here apparently thought that such a thing was awfully pedestrian, so changed it out for shrimp. In essence, it is a soup comprised of a rich vegetable stock with large chunks of potato, carrot, and chayote squash. When the broth is nice and simmering, dallops of minced shrimp, onion, egg, and fresh cilantro are dropped into the mix and poached until firm. (There's more to it, but it's their recipe not mine and I think they'd be a little miffed if I gave away trade secrets.)

The soup was served with a saucer containing lime wedges, finely chopped onion, jalapeno, and a chiffonade of more fresh cilantro. Also, a handful of corn tortillas. Being unfamiliar with this dish, I asked our waiter, Ismael, the proper etiquette for eating it. he cheerfully explains that there are a number of methods. I decided to try a few different ones.

Option One: Use the chopped veggies on the side to season your soup to taste and eat as you commonly would any other soup. Tortillas are used as the bread component to the meal.

Option Two: Smash a single meatball into a tortilla, garnish with the side vegetables and eat fajita style. drink the broth at leisure.

Option Three: Break up the meatballs in the soup and num away.

According to our waiter, 90% of Mexicans who eat this dish, regardless of method, squeeze lime over it before anything else. It's just custom.

Suffice it to say, I greatly enjoyed this meal. Our waiter was very helpful and informative, to the point that he divulged ingredients and method of preparation. Now I have a decided interest in making this dish for myself, and have proposed some tweaks to bring it more into the realm of Cajun/Creole cuisine.  

Concerning the kitchen staff who prepared our meal: I do speak a little Spanish. Just enough to get me in trouble, mind you. We could hear them conversing about our order, and I was able to pick out enough to guess that they weren't particularly happy about having to make it. I may agree with them, it's a bit of a procedure getting poached meatballs from shrimp together for a customer first thing in the workday.

Some of the back-and-forth between the wait and cook staff, even in Spanish, was a delightful reminder of my own days working a hot line in a colorful local kitchen (That's local in Georgia, mind you. Very different accents). Ismael, our waiter, apologized for how long it took to get it to our table and informed me that it was made, like the majority of their menu, from scratch the moment I ordered it. It was a polite gesture, but somewhat unnecessary.

The flavor of the Albondigas de Camaron was rich, well developed, and a welcome change from the norm. It was simply prepared and presented, with fresh ingredients and polite staff. My lunch at Inca was indeed memorable.

For those of you who are fond of links:
 
 Inca Mexican Restaurant