Peruvian gastronomy is considered one of the best in the world and, among its most representative dishes we find its ceviche. This dish is made in a simple way because it is only made with raw fish that is left to macerate with citrus. Needless to say, it is a real delight.
It should be noted that with the name of ceviche different dishes from Latin America are known, each with its particularities and differences. Without a doubt, the Peruvian is the one that has achieved the most fame worldwide, coming to be offered in restaurants of all kinds not necessarily specialized in Peruvian cuisine.
White fish is used for ceviche. You can choose between sea bass, sea bream, hake, sole, grouper, halibut or even fresh (unsalted) cod, to name a few. Up to you! Another ingredient is hot pepper or chili, according to the name used there to refer to hot peppers. The most common is the rocoto but many times the chili pepper is chosen to give it a softer touch. Both are easily found in specialty stores if not fresh, frozen. If not, some red chillies or habanero peppers that are more accessible are also worth it.
The most common accompaniments for ceviche are a bit of cooked sweet potato and two types of corn: choclo or mote and cancha. The first is white, with a thick grain and is cooked; It is called choclo when it is fresh and mote when it is dry. The other, the cancha corn, has elongated grains and is served roasted. They are also easy to buy in stores, but if you don't have them, you can use some kikos as a substitute. Chifle is also usually served as a side dish, which are strips of fried plantain.
One last thing before getting down to business: the anisakis. If you don't know what it is, tell you that it is a fish parasite. When we cook it, nothing happens, but if we eat it raw, and we eat the anisakis alive, it can cause major problems. In order to safely consume raw fish, it is recommended to freeze it for at least 5 days at a temperature of -20ºC or below, and then leave it in the fridge for 24 hours for optimal thawing.
Do you want to know how to prepare a Peruvian fish ceviche? With our recipe you will learn to make it in a simple way and as if you were there. You'll see how good!
More than 2,000 years ago, in what is today the Peruvian, Ecuadorian and Colombian coasts, the pre-Inca Mochica culture prepared a dish based on fresh fish with the juice of their local fruit, the tumbo. With the passing of time, the way of preparing this dish changed. During the Inca period, the fish was macerated with chicha and chili peppers, and with the arrival of the Spanish, other products such as sour orange and red onion began to be added.
With the arrival of the Spanish, the name of the dish arose, according to the RAE it can be written in 4 ways: cebiche, ceviche, sebiche or seviche. The etymology of the name of the dish has three variants. The first comes from the word "bait", based on the fact that in the 16th century this term used to designate meals with a derogatory or diminutive tone according to the small value or size of the dish, based on the size of the pieces of fish in the plate. The second variant would come from the word iskebech, which means pickled in Arabic, which has the meaning of cooked in acid or vinegar. Based on that the term, which appears in Peruvian recipe books from the 19th century, letting pickle meant letting the fish cook in sour orange juice. And the third and last variant would come from the Quechua siwichi, which means fresh fish or tender fish.
From there, the emblematic recipe as we know it today, the classic cebiche, began to be formed. The one that is made up of 4 basic ingredients: fresh white fish, chili (limo or yellow depending on the region), salt and lemon juice. Starting in the 20th century, supplements began to be added to the original recipe where sweet potatoes, corn, lettuce, cilantro and yuyo are added. With the passing of time, the countries became independent and each country created its own version of that dish.
In Peru, more modern versions were created with flavors influenced by regional inputs and immigrants. In the Peruvian highlands they make cebiche with river trout, easily accessible fish in the area, in the Amazon they use charapita chili and accompany it with chifles, and on the coast new versions appeared such as tiradito and Nikkei cebiche, with influences of flavors and techniques asian. The most recognized versions in Peru are: shrimp cebiche (Piura), with Amazonian and freshwater fish (Amazonia), black shell cebiche (Tumbes).
In foreign countries we find cebiches with other products such as avocado (in Mexico), salmon (in Chile), tomato (in Ecuador) and accompanied with cookies or tortilla chips (Central America and Colombia).
The first thing we have to do is the accompaniment. We are going to need 1 medium sweet potato of about 400 g, wash it, put it in a saucepan, cover it with water, add salt and cook it covered over medium heat for about 35 minutes from when it starts to boil. Peel it and cut it into 1 cm slices. Finally we let it cool.
While the sweet potato is cooking, we prepare the two types of corn. In a saucepan with water, cook about 200 g of corn with 1 teaspoon of sugar for a few minutes. We can also use mote corn, but we must bear in mind that it must be soaked the night before. Once tender, drain and reserve. To make the cancha corn, heat 2 tablespoons of mild oil and toast over medium-low heat for a few minutes about 200 g of cancha corn, stirring frequently, and salt.
The next step is going to be to squeeze 4 lemons and about 8 limes, although if they get little juice we will put some more. However, it is important to know that you have to cut them without taking the center because it is the most bitter part and we want a mild flavor. For the same reason, you don't have to press too hard or rush to get every last drop of juice out of each piece. We reserve the juice.
Then we are going to prepare the leche de tigre, which is the name given to the juice that will give all the flavor to the ceviche. To do this, put 50 g of white fish without skin or bones, 1 piece of celery about 5 cm long, 1 piece of rocoto pepper to taste, ? of onion, 1 small garlic clove, peeled and without the germ, and 1 piece of peeled ginger.
We crush everything with 200 ml of fish broth or water. Add a small bunch of clean cilantro, both the stems and the leaves, and a little salt. We grind a little again to incorporate the coriander and, optionally, we can strain the mixture. Our tiger milk is ready.
Now we need a lot of onion. We take 1 good purple onion, peel it, remove the hard part and cut it into feathers, that is, into thin strips (julienne) with cuts parallel to the center. We separate the strips and rinse them a couple of times in cold water to soften the flavor. We booked.
We finally turn to the main ingredient, the fish. Cut about 750g of boneless, skinless white fish into bite-sized pieces, place on a platter and season with salt and pepper to taste.
To that fish we add the onion, a handful of finely chopped cilantro leaves and 1 limo pepper, also finely chopped, without seeds.
We also put the reserved lemon and lime juice, mix well and let the fish marinate like this for a couple of minutes, no more, otherwise the acidity penetrates the fish too much.
Finally, add the leche de tigre, mix very well and let the fish marinate for another couple of minutes.
As soon as we have it ready we must serve the ceviche immediately. We distribute the fish on the plates and put a lettuce leaf on each one, a couple of sweet potato slices, corn and cancha corn, a little tiger milk and serve. If we want to have it prepared in advance, we will leave the fish on one side and the juice and leche de tigre on the other to mix at the last moment.
The importance of celebrating Ceviche Day in the country lies in celebrating and continuing to spread the consumption of this important Peruvian dish nationally and internationally, since it is considered one of the most outstanding and popular of our gastronomy. After having designated the official date of its commemoration on June 28, 2008, it became known that the main objective of this celebration was to promote the consumption of fish at a time when it was reduced due to the climatic conditions on the coast and thus preserving biodiversity and sustained consumption.
During this celebration, Peruvians from all over the country enjoy a wide variety of ceviches in restaurants, food stands, and at home.
Ceviche was declared the nation's cultural heritage on March 26, 2004, when Alejandro Toled Manrique was serving as president of Peru. This distinction for the marine stew was granted in recognition of the outstanding role it acquired both in the country and abroad.
There are various stories about the origin of ceviche. The main one speaks of the pre-Inca coastal cultures, which had different ways of preparing fish. While the Mochicas macerated it with tumbo juice, the Incas did the same with chicha.
However, it was not until the discovery of America and the arrival of the Spanish colonizers that other ingredients were added, such as citrus fruits. At that time, the ceviche dish was more related to the poor. It was during the 20th century that they began to add lemon and that ingredient remained until today. Years passed and other complements such as onion, sweet potato and corn were added.
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