A host last week served me a delicious version of a fresh Tahitian dish called Poisson Cru. It had several ingredients besides raw fish, lime juice and coconut milk, but was much like the simpler Ika Mata I’ve enjoyed in the Cook Islands.
This got me thinking to ask here about favorite fish dishes “cooked” without heat.
Well? Especially good responses will be rewarded with my host’s recipe.
Does brief salt curing count here? I like to slice up a fatty fish, sprinkle generously with salt on both sides for about ten minutes, and then rinse (patting very dry) before garnishing or topping. This worked particularly well with some Ora King salmon and some Baja Kanpachi this past April.
Technically, just salt probably doesn’t qualify. However, your tomato topping dish may, by virtue of the acid.
Good enough. PM me and I’ll pass on the recipe. Fair warning, though: this poisson cru is so addictive a large batch disappears fast!
I’ve been to Cozumel, Mexico 11 times. On my first visit I had ceviche for the first time ever when we were on a fishing trip and the captain made it from a wahoo that my uncle had just caught. I was nervous to try it but I was hooked after 1 bite. My mission since then has been to order ceviche at every place we go to that serves it. My absolute favorite is the shrimp ceviche at the Money Bar. I’ve recreated it many times at home and it is always a hit. I steam the shrimp until it is mostly cooked. Then I peel, dice, and marinate it in fresh lime juice for a couple of hours. I drain the lime juice, add diced tomato, jalapeno, and lots of chopped fresh cilantro. I finish with a final squeeze of lime. So good!
My first ceviche was when I was in my teens at the Mulege Hotel in Baja where Paula (the owner) and her son took really good care of us. Like @NJChicaa’s it was simple… firm white fish in lime juice for hours, and then mostly salsa/pico/verde ingredients. Yum!
It has been a long while since I made it at home as fresh fish isn’t available where I am now (and even most restaurants here aren’t using really fresh fish).
The prep I was served recently has several more ingredients (carrot, parsley, celery, tomatoes, cucumber, green onion, sweet onion, red pepper flakes, etc.). There are poisson cru recipes that even include hardboiled eggs.
But at its heart, it’s a beach/boat/atol food that requires very little beyond fish, lime and coconut.
Oddly enough, I did an aguachile with hiramasa trim today. I used part of the tail end, after portioning filets for the main. Tasty!
“Leche de Tigre” In the Classic Peruvian Style is my all time favorite Marinade for Ceviche. Aji Amarillo, Ginger, Garlic and Lime. Sometimes a little Coconut Milk
A close second is an extra verde tweak of “Aguachili” made with Cucumber juice, Serrano Chilis, Grilled Green Onions, Cilantro and Lime.
For a nice fatty fish like yellowtail or kanpachi, I love to squeeze fresh lime, then msg and a touch of salt on the fish slices. I give them 15 minutes to ‘cook’. A few Marcona almonds and a few carrot sticks are optional. Cilantro, culantro or epazote as a garnish, or a mint.
Wildly popular when I lived in Quito. Here’s the recipe, but it’s in Spanish.
2 Pounds (about 1 kilo, of cooked shrimp, if you buy it raw, I suggest you cook it in beer or coconut milk for amazing flavor)
Red Onions (sliced very thinly)
Tomatoes (sliced very thinly or diced)
Bell Pepper (red or green, diced - optional)
Limes (freshly squeezed)
Orange (the juice of)
Ketchup (or 1/2 cup of freshly blended tomato juice for a fresher style ceviche)
Cilantro (chopped very finely)
Salt (pepper and oil, sunflower or light olive oil)
Patacones (thick fried green plantains)
Chifles (thin plantain chips)
Tostado Corn
Popcorn
Hot Sauce (aji criollo)
Downtown Quito, it was $3.00.
Ding, ding, ding. Three winners. PM me if you want the poisson cru recipe.
Ora king salmon!! So luxurious.
Do you know? Is Ora GMO?
How does it compare, eating-wise, with say, Yukon or Columbia king salmon?
I was in Ecuador for 6 months once. I enjoyed the ceviche. Does 6 months count long enough to say one lived there?
I haven’t had any Yukon or Columbia king salmon as an adult since moving away from the Pacific Northwest so I can’t compare properly.
Eating wise, it’s very fatty in good way. Comparisons to wagyu abound.
I don’t know if Ora king is GMO.
For reasons I don’t understand, the specialty groce that stocks it in my city has significant smaller fish than they had a few years ago. Makes me wonder what’s happening. They used to bring rather large fish, now they’re kind of medium size.
