Classic Shrimp Aguachile With Lime, Cucumber, and Red Onion
- Yield:Serves 4 to 6 as a snack or appetizer
- Active time:20 minutes
- Total time:20 minutes plus 1 to 2 hours salting time
This recipe appears in:
How to Make Aguachile: The Chili-Spiked Mexican CevicheAguachile is a chili-spiked style of Mexican ceviche. [Photographs: Vicky Wasik]
If you love ceviche, then Mexico's aguachile is for you. Traditionally made with raw shrimp, lime juice, chilies, cucumber, and onion, it's served immediately while still totally raw, unlike most other ceviche recipes. This recipe is about as close to the Sinaloa classic as you can get, and it's unbelievably delicious given its simplicity.
Note: Look for shrimp that are fresh and have never been frozen, and tell the fishmonger you are planning to eat them raw. If you can't find shrimp that are fresh enough, you can substitute gently cooked shrimp (in which case omit the salt-curing step), or another type of seafood such as raw sea scallops or sashimi-grade fish. If you buy head-on shrimp, use the heads for another purpose, such as making seafood broth, or deep-fried as a snack.
Ingredients
- 1 pound sashimi-grade head-on shrimp or 12 medium shrimp, shells and heads removed and reserved for another use (see note above)
- Sea or kosher salt
- 2 serrano chilies, stemmed and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons water
- 4 tablespoons fresh juice from 4 limes
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 2 tablespoons diced seeded cucumber
- Tostadas and sliced avocado, for serving
Directions
-
1.
Split shrimp in half lengthwise and discard any veins. Transfer to a plate, sprinkle all over with salt, cover with plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours.
-
2.
Meanwhile, in a mortar and pestle, combine chilies with a pinch of salt and pulverize thoroughly, then add water and continue to work until chilies are reduced to tiny bits. Alternatively, blend chilies with water in a blender or with an immersion blender until thoroughly blended. Add lime juice and season with salt and pepper.
-
3.
In a mixing bowl, toss shrimp with chili-lime marinade, onion, and cucumber. Season once more with salt and pepper and serve right away with tostadas and avocado.