Shrimp Ceviche

Ceviche is served all over Mexico, coastal Central America, and Coastal South America. It is typically seafood that is “cooked” in citrus juice, though it can also be made from chicken or beef as well. It is believed that ceviche originated about 2000 years ago, in the Pacific coastal regions of Peru, by the Moche People. It was initially prepared using fermented juice from local fruit like tumbo and passionfruit. The Spanish Conquistadors introduced citrus fruits like lime to Peru, which became an integral part of ceviche preparation, that is still used today.

Ceviche is often spelled ‘cebiche’, or ‘seviche’, which could easily be a mash up of the medieval Spanish ‘cebo’, a word that described both fish bait and fish eaten as food, and ‘escabeche’, which some historians think may have travelled to South America with Moorish cooks accompanying Spanish conquistadores.

Larry and I love ceviche. We eat a lot of it when traveling around in Mexico too. A few years ago, while on a dive trip with some friends in Cozumel, our friend Rich ate ceviche every night. He tried it everywhere we went, with each place offering a different variety. We liked that idea, as well as all the different ceviche styles, so we adopted that too. After our recent trip to Cabo San Lucas, where we once again sampled many different types of ceviche, Larry bought me a ceviche cookbook so now I can make all different kinds too. I made a shrimp ceviche.

FYI, I had just prepared this dish and hadn’t let it “cook” yet. It took about an hour or so for the shrimp to fully “cook” in the citrus juices.

Shrimp Ceviche

This is but one of an endless array of styles and types of ceviche. There is NEVER just one way to prepare it. The key to a great ceviche is FRESH ingredients!

Ceviche is usually made with raw fish that is “cooked” in the acidic juices of the fruit. You can also use regularly cooked seafood too. Any kind of seafood can be used to make ceviche.

1-1 1/2 lbs large shrimp, peeled, deveined and cut into small pieces

3-4 tomatoes, diced – any kind and any color

2 jalapenos, diced fine

1/2 cucumber, diced

1 red onion, diced fine

1/4-1/3 cup lime juice

1/4-1/3 cup lemon juice

salt & pepper to taste

1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

avocado slices for topping, optional

Cut everything into small, bite size pieces and combine together. I used different colored heirloom tomatoes, but you can use any kind you like. Once everything is combined, let it all chill in the refrigerator for at least 30-60 minutes before eating, to allow the shrimp to “cook”.

There are many different ways to eat ceviche too. When we were in La Paz, on our whale shark and sea lion expedition, our guide made some delicious ceviche and served it over some mini tostadas with a light spread of mayonnaise for our lunch. This is how I decided to serve mine as well.

!Esta mui rico o delicioso! It was so good and so refreshing. It was like being back in Mexico again. 🙂 I am looking forward to making many other ceviche options too. All in good time though. Ceviche is a perfect warm weather dish, and right now, we are buried beneath yet another layer of thick snow, so it’s not exactly ceviche weather at the moment. Last week, yes, today, not so much. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.