Chupe

This is my personal recipe. I sort of made it up one day when I was cornered and HAD to say I knew how to make it. It is actually what I could remember from how my mom used to do it and a recipe I thought I remembered too... Here is the improved version of what I prayed wouldn't be a total disaster.
First of all, shrimp are bought by amount per kilo, that is how you decide on the size. For example, if it says in the bag 25/35, that means there are between 25 and 35 units per kilo (or pound) and that should tell you about the size. That is for the commercialized in-store shrimp. Now, if you go to the market to buy them handpicked, then you're up for a treat! They have to be whole, remember, and if they have ANY black spots or are headless, discard them, they're not good.

1 kg (2 lbs.) of fresh whole shrimp

1 cup of white rice

1 cup of cooked green peas

1 cup of cooked yellow corn

6 - 8 cups of boiled warm/hot water

1 chopped medium red or white onion

2 chopped fresh cloves of garlic

1 chopped celery stalked

1 chopped small carrot

1 chopped leek stalk

1 tablespoon of tomato extract.

50 ml of white wine (dry preferably)

1 can of evaporated milk or cream (crema de leche)

Blend of spices (oregano, parsley, cilantro, black pepper)

Aji (hot chili pepper)

Salt

Butter

Remove the tails of the shrimp and wash them. Clean the shrimp, cover and refrigerate for later. If you want, save a few with the last ring on the tail for decoration purposes.
Clarify the butter (melt it first and remove all the white foam on top). Sauté the onions, leek, carrot and celery, don't let it brown. Add the tails and sauté for a couple of minutes, until they change to a darker color. Pour the wine and the tomato extract, make sure the wine evaporates and the tomato extract spreads over the mix. Cover completely with water (2-3 cups at the most) and let it boil. Once it has boiled, let it simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the stove, let it cool and blend preferably with the pulse function, you don't want to pulverize the tails. Sift it carefully, making sure there are no big pieces of anything remaining. It should be a thick but fluid orange blend.
Put it back on the stove, preferably in a big/tall pan, add the salt and spices to taste, remember you'll be adding rice, rice absorbs the water and the flavor in it so, don't be afraid to add more salt as needed. Once again, let it boil and once it's boiled add the rest of the hot water. When it boils add the rice and let it cook until it's soft. Add the shrimp and cook for 5 minutes or so, don't let them shrink too much or they will get hard and will taste like rubber. Add the milk/cream, don't let it boil, just heat up until it blends. Add the peas and corn. Turn off the stove. Correct the salt and spices, add more as needed and add the aji (chili pepper).

If you decide to use the shrimp for decoration, sauté those shrimps on olive oil, and serve them on top of the soup. You can use some pulverized parsley or cilantro also.

Good luck! Let me know if it works and if you liked it... I need the feedback... seriously!