Photo: El Nuevo Doge · CC0
Ceviche (Lime-Cured Fish)
Peru's national dish — fresh white fish 'cooked' in lime juice and tossed with onion, chili, and cilantro. A bright, clean plate now on UNESCO's intangible heritage list. It lives or dies by fresh fish, lime, and the punchy 'leche de tigre'.
Ingredients
- White fish fillet · sushi-grade sea bass/snapper, cubed500 g
- Limes · about 200ml juice8 each
- Red onion · thinly sliced1 each
- Ají amarillo or chili · minced, to taste1 each
- Cilantro · chopped3 tbsp
- Garlic · finely grated1 clove
- Salt1 tsp
- To serve
- Sweet potato · boiled1 each
- Corn (choclo) · boiled1 each
- Lettuce2 leaf
Steps
- ⏲ 10 min
Choose very fresh fish and cut into 2cm cubes. Keep it cold throughout.
- ⏲ 5 min
Thinly slice the red onion and soak in cold water 5 min to mellow it, then drain.
- ⏲ 2 min
Leche de tigre: mix the lime juice with grated garlic, chili, salt, and a little cilantro.
- ⏲ 3 min
Lightly salt the cold fish, pour over the lime mix, and toss just 2-5 minutes — it's ready when the surface turns opaque (longer makes it tough).
- ⏲ 1 min
Fold in the onion, cilantro, and chili.
Plate over lettuce with boiled sweet potato and corn, and serve immediately.
Tips & Variations
Variations
- Leche de tigre: Serve the leftover citrusy marinade in a small glass — the 'tiger's milk', also loved as a pick-me-up.
- Mixto: Add squid, shrimp, or other seafood to the fish.
- Nikkei style: A Japanese-Peruvian twist with a touch of soy and sesame.
- Mango/avocado: Modern takes that add sweetness or creaminess.
Tips
- Freshness is 90% of it — use only sashimi-grade fish, ideally bought the same day.
- Don't over-marinate — 2-5 minutes is plenty; too long and the proteins overcook and turn rubbery.
- Keep everything cold for a cleaner, safer result.
- Use lime juice freshly squeezed; squeezing ahead turns it bitter.
- Ají amarillo is the authentic heat; swap in any fresh chili if you can't find it.
The basics behind this dish
- Balancing Flavour: Salt, Acid, Sweet, Fat, HeatWhen something tastes like it is missing something, it is usually salt or acid. Five dials, the order to turn them, and how to taste properly.
- What Marinades Actually Do (and Do Not)A marinade penetrates one to three millimetres. Acid does not tenderise the way it is said to, and the only thing that really travels inward is salt.
- Knife Skills: Grip, Cuts, and Why Size MattersHow you hold the knife matters more than how fast you cut. The pinch grip, the claw hand, and why uniform size is a cooking decision rather than a cosmetic one.
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