Authentic Peruvian Ceviche is one of those dishes that really shows the essence of Peruvian Cuisine. As a Peruvian myself, making a great Ceviche is part of my identity. Here I will teach you what makes a traditional Peruvian Ceviche so special and how to perfectly recreate it at home.
Peruvian ceviche with leche de tigre
In its purest expression, Peruvian ceviche is made using fish, lime, salt, pepper, chilli and onion. In time, several variations have appeared, and this one is made with leche de tigre, which I love. It gives the dish a lot of flavour, and it’s also helpful when making ceviche outside Perú where limes might not be as sweet.
What is leche de tigre
Leche de tigre or “tiger’s milk” is made by slightly blending fish trimmings, onion, garlic, ginger, coriander stalks and chilli. Then, this is passed through a sieve and pressed to get as much liquid as we can. The reason why it looks milky is that the fish trimmings denaturize with the lime, and it gives a whitish precipitation. It’s delicious in Peruvian ceviche.
Is there milk in leche de tigre?
As you can see in the leche de tigre recipe, there’s no milk of any kind in it. There are a handful of recipes that add a splash of evaporated milk. However, traditionally, it’s not included in Peruvian ceviche. You can use red or brown onion to make the leche de tigre. Red onion will give it a pink hue and brown onion gives a whiter result.
The golden rule in Peruvian Ceviche
Back in the day, when Ceviche was first being made, it would marinate overnight in sour orange juice. After the Japanese immigration wave and subsequent influence on our cuisine, we now love it freshly mixed in the lemon juice or, in this case, in the leche de tigre. If you marinate the fish in the lemon for too long, the fish becomes white and tough to chew. Ideally, you want the fish to be in the juices for no more than 5-10 minutes before serving.
Traditional sides
Authentic Peruvian Ceviche is served with a side of sweet potato and Peruvian corn (choclo). You will find Peruvian corn frozen in any Latin food store. These two sides really help to balance out the sourness of the ceviche. For the sweet potato, you will peel and boil it on medium heat until it’s tender. Remove it from the water and let it cool down completely before slicing it. The Peruvian corn can be cooked in water with a bit of sugar until it’s tender. It usually takes about 10 minutes.
What is the best fish for Peruvian Ceviche
The most important thing for a Peruvian ceviche, more than the type of fish, is its freshness. Depending on where in the world you’re reading this from, look for fish that you can get caught on the same day that you make the ceviche or at most the day before. For an authentic Peruvian ceviche, you want a fresh, firm white fish. The best options you can easily find at your local market are Flounder or Sole (popular in the UK), Sea Bass (corvina), Halibut, or Mahi-Mahi. My absolute favourites are the first two. Fish like salmon, for example, go better in a tiradito. And if you like ceviche, you have to try a “ceviche carretillero” that has squid chicharrón on top. I also highly recommend my tiradito apaltado.
Authentic Peruvian Ceviche Recipe
Ingredients
For the ceviche
- 1 kg white fish filet sole/flounder, sea bass, halibut, mahi mahi
- to taste chopped chili
- to taste salt and pepper
- 1/2 red onion sliced
For the leche de tigre
- 40 g trimmings from fish filets
- 30 g red or brown onion (red onion gives a pinkish tiger's milk and brown makes it white)
- 2 garlic cloves
- to taste chili
- 30 g celery
- 15 g ginger
- to taste salt and sugar
- 500 ml lime juice only squeeze while the juice comes out easily. If you squeeze further you’ll get the bitterness from the skin and pith
- 4 stalks coriander stalks only
To serve
- Coriander leaves and chopped to serve, to taste
- 2 cooked sweet potatoes
- Cooked Peruvian corn
Instructions
For the ceviche
- Let the onion rest for 15min with abundant salt to soften its flavour. Rinse and reserve.
- Cut the fish in 2cm cubes. Any pieces that are too thin go to the leche de tigre.
- Mix the fish with the chili, onion, salt and pepper and let rest while we make the leche de tigre.
For the leche de tigre
- Squeeze the limes as close as you can to the moment of serving so they don't go bitter and keep them with an ice cube as you're squeezing them. Remove the ice cube before blending.
- Put everything in the blender and pulse 3-6 times or until you see everything's now in small chunks.
- Pass through a sieve and press down to really get all the juices.
- Taste the tiger's milk and adjust the level of salt. Also if it's too sour add sugar. You'll especially need sugar if you're outside Perú and the limes aren't as sweet. You should be able to drink it and enjoy it on its own even without the fish.
- Mix the leche de tigre with the fish and other ingredients and serve immediately with coriander, sweet potato and Peruvian corn.
5 comments
This is so delicious I love it
[…] among my favorite mixtures is ceviche with squid chicharrón. I really like the combo of the freshness within the ceviche with the crispy […]
I made this recipe. It’s absolutely delicious!! Thank you very much!!
Where can we find “Peruvian” corn in the US, specifically Hawaii? I lived in Peru in the early 80’s so I know what it is but not sure what type of corn we have that is similar.
I am going to attempt to make a Peruvian dinner for my friends in April, using all your recipes, and will let you know how it turned out.
Hi Marjorie! Not sure if you will be able to find Peruvian corn in Hawaii, usually in the US there are latin stores where you find it frozen