Cebichería Lunch · Lime-Cured Fish

Ceviche

Name: Ceviche recipe
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4 as a starter or light lunch servings
Ingredients: For the ceviche: 500 g very fresh, firm white fish fillet that the seller confirms is suitable for eating raw (sea bass, sole, brill or corvina are typical choices), skinned and boned, about 150 ml freshly squeezed lime juice (6 to 8 limes), 1 teaspoon fine salt, 1 small red onion (about 100 g), very thinly sliced, ½ to 1 hot chilli, finely chopped (ají limo or ají amarillo if you can find them, otherwise habanero or Scotch bonnet; start with less, as these are very hot), 1 small garlic clove, grated (optional), 2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander; To serve: 2 medium sweet potatoes (about 500 g), 2 corn on the cob (or about 200 g large-kernel sweetcorn), 8 crisp lettuce leaves, and a handful of cancha or corn nuts for crunch (optional); Salt for the cooking water, and ice, to keep the fish cold while you work

Photo: Jorge G. Mori / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Peruvian ceviche is cured for only a few minutes, so it is made to order, and the sharp, milky marinade left in the dish, called leche de tigre, is often sipped on its own.

Cubes of raw white fish are tossed with lime juice, salt, ají chilli and thin slices of red onion for just a few minutes, then served at once with sweet potato, corn on the cob (choclo) and toasted corn kernels (cancha). It is sold at cebicherías, markets and street stalls in Lima and along the coast, mostly at lunchtime.

Why it's made this way: Because the lime cure takes only minutes, Peruvian ceviche is made to order from the day's fresh catch and eaten at midday; it was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2023.

What is Ceviche?

Ceviche (also spelled cebiche) is a dish of raw fish cut into cubes and briefly cured in lime juice with salt, chilli and red onion. In Peru, where it is a lunchtime staple at cebicherías, markets and street stalls in Lima and along the coast, it is made to order from the day's fresh white fish, left for only a few minutes, and served at once with boiled sweet potato, corn on the cob (choclo), toasted corn kernels (cancha) and lettuce. The sharp, milky juice left in the bowl is called leche de tigre (tiger's milk), and it is often sipped on its own.

The origin of ceviche is disputed. Peru is closely identified with it, and the practices and meanings around preparing and eating Peruvian ceviche were inscribed in December 2023 on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, as "Practices and meanings associated with the preparation and consumption of ceviche, an expression of Peruvian traditional cuisine". Other countries along the Pacific coast of the Americas have their own versions and their own claims, so it is safest to say that it is a coastal dish with deep roots in the region. Note that lime juice only changes the surface of the fish, turning it opaque and firm. It does not cook it through and it does not make it safe, so everything below depends on starting with fish that is suitable for eating raw.

How to make Peruvian-style fish ceviche

Serves 4 as a starter or light lunch · prep 25 min · cook 30 min

Ingredients

For the ceviche: 500 g very fresh, firm white fish fillet that the seller confirms is suitable for eating raw (sea bass, sole, brill or corvina are typical choices), skinned and boned, about 150 ml freshly squeezed lime juice (6 to 8 limes), 1 teaspoon fine salt, 1 small red onion (about 100 g), very thinly sliced, ½ to 1 hot chilli, finely chopped (ají limo or ají amarillo if you can find them, otherwise habanero or Scotch bonnet; start with less, as these are very hot), 1 small garlic clove, grated (optional), 2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
To serve: 2 medium sweet potatoes (about 500 g), 2 corn on the cob (or about 200 g large-kernel sweetcorn), 8 crisp lettuce leaves, and a handful of cancha or corn nuts for crunch (optional)
Salt for the cooking water, and ice, to keep the fish cold while you work

Method

Cook the sides first so they can cool. Boil the whole sweet potatoes in salted water for 25 to 35 minutes until a knife slides in easily, adding the corn cobs for the last 10 minutes. Drain, let them cool to room temperature, then peel and cut the sweet potato into thick slices and the corn into thick rounds.
Put the sliced onion in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes to soften its bite, then drain well and pat dry.
Keep the fish in the fridge until the last moment. With a very clean, sharp knife and a clean board, cut it into 2 cm cubes. Put the cubes in a bowl set over a larger bowl of ice. Squeeze the limes just before you need them and strain out the pips.
Sprinkle the 1 teaspoon of salt over the fish and stir gently. Add the chilli, garlic (if using), onion and lime juice, and fold everything together so each piece is coated. The juice should come about halfway up the fish.
Leave it for 3 to 5 minutes only, then fold in the coriander and taste the juice, adding a little more salt or chilli if you like. The outside of the fish should turn opaque while the centre stays translucent. Do not leave it for longer, as the fish turns chalky and tough and the lime flavour takes over.
Serve at once. Line four plates with lettuce leaves, spoon the ceviche and its leche de tigre on top, and add the sweet potato, corn and cancha on the side. Eat straight away and do not keep leftovers.

Tips

Raw fish is a food safety risk, and lime juice does not make it safe. The acid does not reliably kill bacteria or parasites. Buy from a fishmonger you trust, tell them you plan to eat the fish raw, and ask how it was handled and whether it has been frozen. 'Sushi-grade' and 'sashimi-grade' are marketing terms: there is no official legal definition in the US, and in the UK and EU you should ask the seller to confirm the fish is suitable for raw consumption rather than relying on the label.
What matters in practice is freshness, careful handling and, for most wild fish, freezing. To kill parasites, the US FDA recommends that fish meant to be eaten raw be frozen at −20 °C or below for 7 days, or at −35 °C or below until solid and then stored at −35 °C or below for 15 hours, or frozen at −35 °C or below until solid and then stored at −20 °C or below for 24 hours (the FDA exempts some species, such as certain farmed fish and some tuna). EU hygiene rules (Regulation 853/2004) require fishery products to be eaten raw or almost raw to be frozen to −20 °C or below in all parts of the product for at least 24 hours, with some exemptions, for example for certain farmed fish; the rules on exemptions are detailed and have been under review, so check the current wording or ask your supplier. Freezing does not remove bacteria, so the fish must still be kept cold.
Home freezers are usually set to about −18 °C and almost never reach −35 °C, so they do not meet the FDA options that need −35 °C, and a domestic freezer is hard to verify for the rest, so do not rely on freezing fish yourself. Buy fish that the seller states has been handled and, where needed, frozen for raw use, and if it is frozen, thaw it in the fridge, never at room temperature.
Keep the fish at 4 °C or below, on ice while you prepare it, and eat it the same day. Throw away leftovers rather than keeping them. Use a clean board and knife that have not touched raw meat, and wash your hands and surfaces afterwards.
Pregnant women, young children, older people and anyone with a weakened immune system are generally advised not to eat raw fish.
Squeeze the limes just before using them and do not press the peel hard, as the white pith turns the juice bitter. Wear gloves or wash your hands well after cutting hot chillies, and keep them away from your eyes.

Regional versions

Mixed ceviche (ceviche mixto) adds other seafood, such as squid, octopus or prawns. Cooked seafood is the safer choice, so boil or poach it first and cool it before adding.
Leche de tigre as a drink: the leftover lime and fish juices, sometimes blended with a little chilli, onion and fish stock, served in a small glass on the side or on its own.
Cooked-fish alternative: if you do not want to eat raw fish, a similar dish can be made with cooked prawns or lightly poached fish dressed in the same lime, onion, chilli and coriander mixture, though it will taste different from true ceviche.

Questions

Is ceviche cooked?

No. The lime juice firms up and whitens the outside of the fish, which looks a little like cooking, but the fish is still raw and the acid does not make it safe to eat. That is why the fish must be fresh and suitable for raw eating to begin with.

How long should ceviche sit in lime juice?

In Peru, only a few minutes, so the fish stays tender and a little translucent in the middle. Some recipes elsewhere leave it for 30 minutes or more, which makes the fish firmer and more opaque, but a long cure does not make it safer.

What is leche de tigre?

Leche de tigre, meaning tiger's milk, is the sharp, cloudy mix of lime juice, fish juices, onion and chilli left in the bowl after the fish has been cured. It is served with the ceviche and often sipped on its own.

What fish is best for ceviche?

A firm, mild white fish that is very fresh and sold as suitable for eating raw, such as sea bass, sole, brill or corvina. Ask your fishmonger what they recommend and how it has been handled.

Is ceviche from Peru, Mexico or Ecuador?

Peru is the country most associated with ceviche, but the origin is disputed, and Ecuador, Mexico and other Pacific coast countries each have their own versions, such as Mexican versions that often include tomato, avocado and coriander. The Peruvian style described here is only one of them.