5 ELEMENT CEVICHE
The Classic: Five Element Ceviche.
5 ELEMENT CEVICHE IS PERUVIAN CUISINE’S AMBASSADOR TO THE WORLD! THE FIVE ELEMENTS (AS WE UNDERSTAND THEM) ARE PERUVIAN ESSENTIALS: SEAFOOD, CITRUS, CHILI, CORN AND SWEET POTATO! RED ONION AND SALT ARE MAJOR PLAYERS BUT DON’T GET ‘ELEMENT’ STATUS THIS TIME! THIS CEVICHE IS A BEAUTIFUL ALCHEMY OF TASTES, COLOURS AND TEXTURES, WHERE EVERYBODY REMAINS INDIVIDUAL BUT EVERYBODY WORKS TOGETHER TO MAKE SOMETHING GREAT: A CLASSIC OF WORLD CUISINE AND AN IDEAL FOOD FOR HOT DAYS!
IN OUR VERSION WE’VE ADDED ORANGE AND LEMON JUICE, AND MIRIN AND SESAME OIL TO THE TIGER’S MILK (MARINADE) TO MELLOW OUT THE LIMES THAT ARE AVAILABLE LOCALLY.
BUY YOUR FISH SUPER FRESH ON THE DAY YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE YOUR CEVICHE! IF YOU’RE NOT SURE, ASK YOUR FISH MONGER WHAT FISH TO USE, YOU NEED TO BE CAREFUL BECAUSE NOT ALL FISH ARE SAFE TO EAT THIS WAY! IF YOU SEE THE FISH LISTED AS ‘SUSHI GRADE’ OR ‘SASHIMI GRADE’ YOU KNOW YOU’VE GOT THE RIGHT STUFF!
THERE’S LOADS OF GREAT RECIPES IN GASTON ACURIO’S PHAIDON BOOK ‘PERU- THE COOKBOOK’, WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND CHECKING IT OUT!
Print
5 ELEMENT CEVICHE
EVK’s take on Peruvian cuisine’s ambassador to the world: 5 Element Ceviche!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 orange sweet potato
- 2 cobs of corn
- 1 orange
- 1 lemon
- 2–3 limes
- 1T mirin
- ¼t sesame oil
- salt to taste
- ½ a red onion
- ½ an jalapeño pepper
- 300–400g super fresh sustainable fish fillet that is suitable for ceviche. Usually a firm-fleshed white fish like cod-avoid fatty or oily fish!
OPTIONAL
- other seafood like prawns, scallops, squid, octopus, etc
- garlic or ginger
- red pepper, carrot or radish
- cilantro
- avocado
Instructions
- Cook your sweet potato your favourite way. You can roast it with the skin on, then slice it into coins about 1 cm or 1/2″ thick; or you can peel it, slice it into coins and steam or boil them with your corn. Leave as coins or cut into small cubes.
- Cut your corn into 3 big pieces. Steam or boil to desired tenderness. You can finish it in a hot grill pan to get some sexy sear marks and serve it still on the cob if you want to, otherwise, let it cool and slice the kernels off.
- Squeeze your orange, lemon and limes through a fine strainer into a medium-sized bowl. We recommend using a citrus reamer rather than a lime press for ceviche because the press can release oils from the peel that taste way too strong!
- Add mirin to take the acidic edge off and a few drops of sesame oil for scent. Add salt to taste. If your tiger’s milk (lime juice marinade) tastes good, your ceviche will taste good, this is the time for adjusting!
- Slice your red onion as finely as possible and add to your tiger’s milk so it can pickle a little.
- Dice your jalapeño into tiny cubes. If you have a mandolin you could also slice your jalapeño into paper-thin coins which would look beautiful on your plate! Either way, add them too, then let your tiger’s milk sit for a bit so the onions and jalapeños mellow and mingle a little.
- Remove the skin and any bones from your fish and cut it into thin slices or bite-sized cubes.
- When you are ready (ceviche doesn’t take long!) add your fish and toss thoroughly. You can serve it right away or let it sit and toss occasionally until done to desired firmness.
- Couple serving suggestions: you can cube the sweet potato and cut the corn off the cob; then combine everybody in a salad bowl and toss. Or, for more of a presentation, you can make a little pile of sweet potato coins in the centre of each plate and stand 2 pieces of corn on end beside it. Top the coins with ceviche and drizzle the whole scene with tiger’s milk. Add a few slices of onion and jalapeño to the top of your stack and serve!
SOME OPTIONS
- use a different or additional seafood: prawns, scallops, squid, octopus, etc.
- add minced garlic or ginger to your tiger’s milk
- add julienned red pepper or carrot for colour and crunch
- add paper-thin slices of radish
- garnish with chopped cilantro or avocado
