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Classic Shrimp Aguachile With Lime, Cucumber, and Red Onion Recipe

Daniel Gritzer
Published: Last Updated:
Classic Shrimp Aguachile With Lime, Cucumber, and Red Onion Recipe

Aguachile 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.

Read more: How to Make Aguachile: The Chili-Spiked Mexican Ceviche

  • 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

Ingredients

  • 1 pound sashimi-grade head-on shrimp or 12 medium shrimp, shells and heads removed and reserved for another use (see note)
  • 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. 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. 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. 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.

This Recipe Appears In
How to Make Aguachile: The Chili-Spiked Mexican Ceviche

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Daniel Gritzer Culinary Director

Daniel cooked for years in some of New York's top American, Italian and French restaurants - starting at the age of 13, when he began staging at the legendary restaurant Chanterelle. He spent nearly a year working on organic farms in Europe, where he harvested almonds and Padron peppers in Spain, shepherded a flock of more than 200 sheep in Italy, and made charcuterie in France. When not working on, thinking about, cooking and eating food, he blows off steam (and calories) as an instructor of capoeira, the Afro-Brazilian martial art.

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