The BEST Ceviche Recipe (with regular ingredients)

The best ceviche recipe requires a blender and a marinade with just 5 simple ingredients.  Also known as aguachile ceviche, you must try this green god wonder if.

If you like easy fresh fish recipes, you might also try Hamachi crudo, legitimate Hawaiian poke, and Easy Baked Ling Cod with 3-Ingredient Miso Glaze.

What is ceviche?

Ceviche (pronounced suh-vee-shay) is originally from Peru.  The method involves bathing raw fish in citrus juice, such that the acid denatures the proteins in the fish to "cook" it.

If you're squeamish about raw fish, it doesn't taste raw but the texture is not flaky like a heated fish fillet would be.

It is a wonderful appetizer though that can be easily made ahead of time and served like salsa where everyone can grab a tortilla chip and dig in.

Why is this the BEST ceviche recipe?

There are many ceviche recipes in the world, but they can boiled down to 3 main styles:

1. Mexican ceviche - The standard simple marinade of citrus juice and salt, often flecked with chopped tomatoes, jalapeno, and cilantro.
2. Peruvian ceviche - To make this you need aji amarillo paste and Peruvian hominy.  This is a great ceviche, but you probably don't have those sitting items around the house nor are they likley at the regular grocery store.
3. Aguachile ceviche - A Mexican style ceviche that adds cilantro and garlic paste to the marinade. The is the best ceviche recipe because it adds another dimension of flavor to the standard Mexican ceviche (#1 above)  but with regular, attainable ingredients.

We like reaching for success with just a little more effort.

The Secret Ingredient

The secret is in a glorious green marinade comprised of:

• lime juice - from freshly squeezed limes
• cilantro - just take the top ⅔ with the leaves without the stems
• serrano chile - or jalapeno or your fresh chile of choice.  Do remove the seeds and white ribs inside if you prefer it less heat.
• garlic cloves
• salt - must have salt or it won't taste like anything

Blitz it all in the blender, and you have a citrus marinade that is just a little more complex than the standard lime juice only.

Type of Fish you can use for Ceviche

Generally, any firm, white fleshed fish works very well for ceviche such as:

• halibut (used in these pictures)
• rockfish
• snapper
• seabass
• grouper
• sole
• flounder
• scallops
• shrimp

The key is quality fish.  Wild fish is preferred and fresh rather than previously frozen, but use what works for you.

Avoid dark, oily fish such as tuna, mackerel, or salmon.

How to Make the Best Ceviche

Step 1: Clean & cut fish

Cleaning fish is not our first choice of activity to do in our free time, but you can avoid this step by buying skinless, deboned fillets.

Cut the fish as evenly as you can into about a ½" dice.  This will ensure consistency of "cooking" time in the lime juice marinade.

Step 2: Blend marinade

Blend the cilantro, fresh chile, garlic, and salt in a blender until pulverized.

For a spicy ceviche recipe, use more chile, a spicier chile, and/or don't remove the seeds/ribs from the chile as I did.

Step 3: Marinate fish for 2 hours

Pour the marinade over the cut fish and stir.

Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

You can shortcut this part if you really don't feel like waiting.

1. Marinate for 5 minutes - This is similar to a crudo or sashimi.  It tastes like raw fish with some citrus.  Sometimes I enjoy eating it with just a touch of marinade, since I love raw fish anyway.
2. Marinate for 1 hour - This is halfway to done and acceptable in my opinion.  The fish is about half way firm and still has some raw squishiness.
3. Marinate for 2 hours - This would be the tried, true, and traditional length of time for ceviche.  The fish will firm up and become more chewy.

Can you leave ceviche overnight?

Proceed at your own risk.  The fish will continue to firm up and even get rubbery.

If you do buy quality fish, I would not take the chance and take care to drain the fish after a couple hours.

Does ceviche need to be refrigerated?

Yes!  It is highly perishable, and should be stored in the refrigerator until serving.

Step 4: Drain fish

After 2 hours, remove the fish from the acid bath.

What do you do with the leftover marinade? 

You can actually save this and serve it in a shot glass as tigre de leche.  It is said to be cure for hangovers and doesn't taste too bad either.

Step 5: Garnish and serve

What should you serve with ceviche?

Now comes the fun part!  Once you've sufficiently marinated the fish in the green lime juice bath, you can add whatever you like to the ceviche.

Optional garnishes:

• avocado
• orange supremes
• thinly sliced red onion
• radishes
• cilantro
• microgreens
• tortilla chips
• tomato
• cucumber

Make it easy on yourself, and use what you have around or needs to be used up.

Tips to make it better @home

1. For spicy ceviche, use more chile or retain the seeds and ribs in your chile of choice.
2. The fish should be completely covered in the lime juice marinade for best results.
3. Take care not to marinate longer than 2 hours in the acid bath to avoid rubbery fish.
4. Save the marinade, if desired, and serve as a shot of tigre de leche to cure a hangover.

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Recipe

Do you love ceviche?  Spread the ♥, and please share!