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🐟 🇵🇪 Peruvian Cuisine

Peruvian Ceviche

The freshest fish, cured in lime juice, with red onion and aji amarillo. Peru's national dish.

⏱20 min prep 🍽4 servings 📊easy ⭐5.0 / 5

The Cultural Story

Ceviche existed in Peru for over 2000 years — the Moche civilization was curing fish in fruit juices long before limes arrived with the Spanish. The secret is freshness: the fish should be ocean-fresh, the limes squeezed at the last minute, and the dish eaten immediately. In Lima, ceviches are lunch-only because the fish comes in with the morning catch. Eating ceviche for dinner would be suspicious.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1Cut the fish into 1-inch cubes. It MUST be fresh — this is non-negotiable for ceviche.
  2. 2Soak red onion slices in ice water for 10 minutes to remove harshness. Drain.
  3. 3Mix lime juice with aji amarillo paste, garlic, ginger, and salt. This is the leche de tigre (tiger's milk).
  4. 4Toss fish cubes in the leche de tigre. Let sit for 3-5 minutes only — the acid "cooks" the outside while keeping the center raw.
  5. 5Add red onion and cilantro. Toss gently.
  6. 6Serve immediately on a plate with sliced sweet potato and corn. Pour extra leche de tigre over the top. Do not refrigerate and eat later — ceviche is a now food.

Community Reviews (1)

C
★★★★★

Key learning: do NOT marinate the fish for more than 5 minutes or it becomes rubbery. The slight raw center is the whole point. Trust the process.

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