Ceviche Questions

I'm making the following ceviche recipe and I have some questions:
http://www.napastyle.com/kitchen/recipe ... eviche_wit

I want to add some small shrimps. Anyone see a problem with this? This is the first time I'm doing ceviche. I was researching other ceviche recipes which had shrimp, many of them suggest boiling some salt water and then adding the shrimp to the hot water to "cook" them. However, I know that, with ceviche, the acidity of the ingredients is supposed to "cook" the seafood. The recipe above seems to follow that idea but if I add the shrimp, will I need to boil it first? Or, should I just throw it in with the rest of the ingredients and follow the marinating instructions?

Also, anyone have any interesting ideas on what I should serve with the ceviche to "scoop" it up?

I always partially cook the shrimp when making cerviche. We normally scoop with tostadas.

The Sleeve, is the point of boiling the shrimp first to speed up the process or because you have food safety concerns?

I've never boiled (or otherwise heated) any of the seafood for ceviche, including shrimp. I would be sure to start with high quality seafood, though, and that means shrimp that were flash frozen as soon as possible after being caught. If you are buying defrosted shrimp, you might ask the seller how long they have been sitting out and defrosted.

If you simply want to speed up the process, just cut the shrimp into pieces. Ideally, the seafood pieces should be roughly the same size. (i.e. the pieces of shrimp should be the same size as the bay scallops; if you are using sea scallops, chop them into smaller pieces also.) The bigger the piece of seafood, the longer it will take to cook.

I'd also recommend tostadas or good tortilla chips.

Shrimp takes on a rubbery texture many, including me, find unpleasant when "cooked" strictly in acid. Much shellfish ceviche in Mexico is actually just cooked shellfish with a citrus dressing.

Darren72 wrote:The Sleeve, is the point of boiling the shrimp first to speed up the process or because you have food safety concerns?

I don't really know. The recipes I've seen which led me to post this question didn't explain b/c they weren't differntiating from ceviche recipes that don't pre-cook. So, i just don't know. I will tell you that a lot of those other recipes require a longer marinating time than the one I linked above. Maybe that's the difference?

Here is an article that might answer some of your questions:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/food/foodanddrink/sns-fdcook1-wk1,0,3611823.story

thanks for the article. it does answer a lot of ceviche questions. it turns out i had to alter the plans and use tilapia instead of shrimp and bay scallops. I'll post the results either way. Thanks again to everyone.

I'm making ceviche for a potluck dinner this weekend. This is the recipe I'm thinking about:

http://www.recipezaar.com/Mexican-Ceviche-8899

I was going to double it and use half-fish, half shrimp. Seems like some people in the comments said the fish got sort of mushy, but there weren't any suggestions offered on how to prevent that. They suggest halibut, sea bass or red snapper for the fish; I like eating fish, but i haven't had a whole lot of experience buying it fresh....what would be the least expensive, or is one of them worth spending a little extra for? Is there any way to prevent mushiness?

Also, any advice on that whole parasites risk?

This looks like a pretty standard recipe, although I haven't put vinegar or oregano in ceviche before.

I haven't experienced mushy fish, but I'd say the two things to look out for are (1) don't cut the pieces too small. And, (b) opt for firm-fleshed fish. Halibut, sea bass, snapper, scallops, walleye, northern pike, are all good options, but anything that is firm will work (for example, sole is not that firm).

When I buy fish at Whole Foods, I tend to buy the best stuff that is on-sale, and generally aim for the wild caught stuff (rather than the farmed fish). Or go to a dedicated fish monger, like The Fish Guy.

Also, use enough lime juice to cover all of the fish.

Let the fish marinate for 6-24 hours. Some people like to let it go for just 6 hours and then drain off the excess lime juice. Others like to let it marinate for a full 24 hours.

24HOURS??? That's not ceviche, that's pickled fish. If your fish is fresh, letting it sit 24 hours isn't going to make it fresher. A proper ceviche should be ready in under an hour (well under, if you use small pieces). You can see the reaction taking place almost immediately. Keeping it in lime juice for 24 hours will overwhelm the taste of the fresh fish, which is what you're going for, presumably.

A caveat for the home chef: be very careful when using fish that are prone to worms, the acid may not be enough to kill them. Exercise the same cautions as you would with sushi and use previously-frozen "sushi grade" where possible.

spinynorman99 wrote:A proper ceviche ...

Boy, you are spiny. Satkoff has a recipe that calls for 4 hours; Bayless has one that calls for 6 hours. "A Cooks Tour of Mexico" has a recipe that calls for 24 hours. To each his own. I've had great results with short and long marinades.

My point is if you're spending money on a good piece of fish you want it at its freshest. I've had plenty of "next-day" ceviche experiences. I'm not suggesting they're bad, just that it's swinging the pendulum from fish to acid. It'll be a different thing entirely if you let it sit for 24 hours. It's just not necessary, once the reaction has occurred (as I said, usually less than an hour) there's nothing more happening other than losing the nuanced flavor of the fish.

spinynorman99 wrote:My point is if you're spending money on a good piece of fish you want it at its freshest. I've had plenty of "next-day" ceviche experiences. I'm not suggesting they're bad, just that it's swinging the pendulum from fish to acid. It'll be a different thing entirely if you let it sit for 24 hours. It's just not necessary, once the reaction has occurred (as I said, usually less than an hour) there's nothing more happening other than losing the nuanced flavor of the fish.

Excellent advice! Much of the fish sold here in the Mid West is not suitable for ceviche. I only use fish and shellfish I would eat raw.-Dick

When you marinate the fish in lime juice, you are denaturing the proteins. This process begins right away with protein molecules on the surface of the fish. The length of time it takes to to penetrate the interior of the fish depends on how thick the fish is, the type of fish, etc. When you say that the whole thing ought to be finished in under an hour, I presume you are dealing with very small pieces. I would venture to say that a 1/2-inch piece of halibut will take several hours for the all of the proteins to be denatured. In the end, the proof is in the eating. Like I've said, I'm very happy the product I've turned out.

I remembered that I have a $50 gift card to Whole Foods, so that's going to increase my budget quite a bit!

So, if I get halibut or snapper, cut it into 1/2 inch cubes and make it on Saturday morning for the party at 6:00pm, I should be okay?

Definitely.

Halibut are particularly prone to parasitic worms, so I tend to avoid it. Not sure if there is any science to back that up.

Oh no, no parasites- I'll stick with the snapper!

abe_froeman wrote:Oh no, no parasites- I'll stick with the snapper!

c'mon. life's one big adventure. make it interesting.

You'll see a bit more of a discussion about fish, parasites, and freezing in this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=22393&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

Personally, I wouldn't worry that much about parasites, even in Halibut. I'd venture to bet that most (if not all) of the fish at Whole Foods has been frozen to a sufficient temp (as indicated in the above post) to kill most parasites. If you were to go to Dirk's or The Fish Guy and tell them that you want to know which fish could be eaten raw, you'll get an informed answer. Whole Foods generally has very good fish; the only problem is that the fish mongers generally can't give you an informed answer. In any case, don't overthink this. Buy what you are comfortable with.

I had ceviche at the Mar y Tierra stand at the Melrose Park taste this weekend and now I want to make it myself. I was thinking of tossing in some black beans, corn, and avocado, but can I marinate those with the fish? Will this make the beans and corn tough? Thanks!

The recipe I was using is a mishmash of a few I saw on the 'net, basically 2lb firm fish, red onion, cilantro, jalapeno and lime juice.

I make a basic Peruvian-style ceviche with tilapia, lime juice, cilantro, a little garlic, salt, red onion, and rocoto paste (this is the brand I have at home http://s7d2.scene7.com/is/image/LaTiend ... $reg_1000$) Tastes great with plantain chips.

Pie Lady, I recommend marinating the fish separately, then you can add the rest of the ingredients just before serving. Sounds like a delicious combination. I might try that next time.

I always add whatever vegetables or other ingredients will be in the ceviche after the fish has finished marinating. This includes peppers, onions, etc. While I do include those in with the marinade, I discard them before serving and replace with fresh stuff.

I've had quite a few requests for the recipe used to make the ceviche that I brought to jimswside's excellent shindig. Quantities are all to taste, but I listed approximate proportions as best I could. The title below is probably all you really need to make this.

Ono Ceviche With Aji Amarillo, Coconut, Ginger, Green Garlic, Jalapeño and Cilantro
- 4lbs Ono filets (swordfish or other meaty fish would work too. Even tuna'd be good), cut into approximately 3/4 inch pieces
- Fresh squeezed citrus marinade: 70% lime, 15% lemon, 15% orange (enough in total to completely submerge the fish)
- salt
- about 6 oz coconut milk
- about 2-3 TBS aji amarillo paste
- about 1/2 cup minced green garlic (white bulbs, not greens). Use a sweet/mild onion if green garlic unavailable)
- about 1/4 cup finely diced jalapeños
- about 1-2 TSP grated ginger
- about another 1/8 cup of lime and 1/4 cup of orange juice
- plenty of chopped cilantro
- more salt

Step 1: Marinate the fish in the citrus and salt until it's got a texture you like, then drain it right away. Mine took about 2 hours. I started tasting at the 1 hour mark. As I noted above, I think the key to good ceviche is not to over-marinate. It becomes dry, crumbly and too acidic if you do that.

Step 2: Make dressing by mixing coconut milk with all of the ingredients below it.

Step 3: Combine drained fish with dressing.

thanks for the recipe Kenny, your ceviche was one of the best things I have eaten this year.

Seconded, I will be making this ceviche very soon. Even Fifille ate it with no repercussions (her iodine allergy seems to flare up particularly with ceviche for some reason)

Kennyz wrote:
- about 2-3 TBS aji amarillo paste

Kenny, this sounds awesome. Question: I'm not familiar with aji amarillo paste. I googled to learn what it is, but I don't recall ever seeing it in any of the various groceries stores I visit. Is this easy to find at a particular store?

PitaChip wrote:

Kennyz wrote:
- about 2-3 TBS aji amarillo paste

Kenny, this sounds awesome. Question: I'm not familiar with aji amarillo paste. I googled to learn what it is, but I don't recall ever seeing it in any of the various groceries stores I visit. Is this easy to find at a particular store?

I'm pretty sure I bought it a couple of years ago at the Cermak on Kedzie, which is part of a local chain. But I can't swear to that. I can swear to the location of most recent purchase, a couple of weeks ago at a cool little Peruvian corner market called, well, Peruvian Corner Market. It's owned by the same people who own Ay Ay Picante restaurant.

Peruvian Corner Market has both the paste and jars of whole aji amarillo peppers. I really think the stuff is fantastic. It provides fairly intense heat, but also sweet and intense cooked pepper flavor.


Peruvian Corner Market
3057 North Kimball
Chicago, IL
(773) 463-0510

Cermak Produce
4234 North Kedzie Avenue
Chicago, IL 60618-2402
(773) 442-8135

Ay Ay Picante
4569 North Elston Avenue
Chicago, IL 60630
(773) 427-4239

About how many pounds of citrus would I need to completely submerge the fish? I plan on making this for lunch this week.

Pie Lady wrote:About how many pounds of citrus would I need to completely submerge the fish? I plan on making this for lunch this week.

I don't know. The size and shape of your vessel will probably play a part in determining that, as will the amount of juice in the citrus you buy. I don't know my citrus poundage, but for 4 lbs of fish I think I squeezed 40 limes, 8 smallish oranges and 4 decent-sized lemons. I had some leftover for at least one mojito and 2 margaritas. The citrus was so cheap (20 limes for a buck, 10 oranges for a buck) that I just bought way more than I actually needed and squeezed 'til I had enough.