The other day, I was talking to an old seredipitous friend (I might sketch a wordy portrait of him in a future post but for now I'll describe him as: a sage hundred year old tree living inside a vigilante) about the simple things in life regarding which we have the misconception that they are complex- as if tied to special requirements (ingredients, techniques, skills, expertise), when really, the only obstacle holding us from mastering it is our own obstinate fear for the unknown.
Like making homemade peanut butter
Or
Understanding how a washing machine works.
Cooking school has made me so much braver in this sense.
I am by no means an expert but after a year of studying culinary techniques, what I can confidently guarantee is that it takes a first time to understand and lose 70% of the initial fear (messing-up phobia). And after that... it just takes practice.
In some Latin American countries we have a dish called Ceviche, which is a cold preparation of seafood that's fresh and lemony, either served as a salad or a cold soup (depending on the region). In Ecuador it is on the expensive side of the menu so my initial thinking was that aside from the pricey-ness of some ingredients (such as, lobster and crab) perhaps there is some sort of sophistication in the process of making it that gives it the value-added feature.
Well... turns out that,
Making Ceviche is as easy-peasy as making Guacamole.
Isn't that exciting?
Well... turns out that,
Making Ceviche is as easy-peasy as making Guacamole.
Isn't that exciting?
Normally there are two initial options to how you serve your marine creature of choice:
Here is a recipe of Fish Ceviche that is mildly milky and has a lukewarm caress of a chili pepper.
You will need:
For the fish's acid bed
- fresh, firm, white meat fish (bass is an ideal choice), chopped in medium dice (1.2cm x 1.2cm).
- enough lemon juice to cover the plate/pan you are going to use
- 1 orange (the less ripe the better)
- 1 whole fresh red chili pepper
For the broth
- milky liquid residue from the fish's acid bed (explained further on)
- 1/2 cup of fish or shrimp stock (what I like to do is as I make fish ceviche, I simultaneously make shrimp ceviche so that I can use the water where the shrimp was scalded as broth for both my ceviches (fish and shrimp)
- extra squeezes of lemon (to taste and adjust as you please)
- salt
For the toppings:
- finely chopped red onion
- finely chopped green bell pepper
- finely chopped tomato (sans seeds)
- 1 tbs of vegetable oil (the milder the fragrance the better)
- finely brunoised cilantro leaves
- a squeeze of a lemon
- salt
What to do:
1) The Fish "Time consuming cooking is different from difficult cooking", is something I hear many cooks say but I think I heard it first from Nigella Lawson. It's a thought that sets a realistically optimistic mindset when cooking- making a three hour process oh-so-doable =) .
So with the above thought in mind, we start out with what takes up most of your time: which is the fish.
First chop up your fish into semi bitesized squares, if the fish is slightly frozen it's easier to shape and cut. Get yourself a long glass or plastic tray (or a plate with high sides) and fill it with freshly squeezed lemon juice and the juice of 1 orange juice. Over this, lay out your fish squares, chop in your chili pepper (remove the seeds). The purpose of the chili pepper is to give it, not a pompouswave of heat, but a beachy warmth that will cause a mini shock to an eater who's expecting a one-dimensional coolness from a cold seafood soup.
Wrap a cling film over your tray and let it sit in the fridge for 3 hours. Every thirty minutes just turn over your fish squares so that the acid does its job on all six sides.
2) The Broth and the Shrimp While the fish is bathing, we get on with the rest of the steps.
In a pot of water add a pinch of salt, pieces of onion and garlic and let it come to a boil (this is to give a breezy extraness to both the shrimp and the broth), discard the veggies and add in the shrimp to scald. Once your shrimpies reaches a pinkish hue from head to toe, take them out of the pot and let them cool. Do not discard the broth, let this cool too (save approximately 1/2 cup each for both the fish and the shrimp ceviche).
3) The Toppings
I'm sure there is a more suiting name for this portion of the ceviche but, I like to call 'em toppings since it reminds me of swirling icecream toppings (gummy worms, colourful sprinkles and caramel syrup) together, and basically that is what you do.
You get your chopped up veggies in a bowl, drizzle in some oil, pinch in some salt mix it all with a spoon. Taste. If you like it this way, you're done, if you'd like to add more salt or sourness let in some droplets of lemon (keeping in mind that the ceviche will already be acid).
Let this veggie mixture sit and make sense of itself- maturing in flavour.
4) The Mingle
When your 3 hours are up, the liquid in the tray where your fish is sitting will have increased. Do not throw away this liquid, pour it in a separate bowl. Get your favourite salad mixing bowl, add in half a cup of the shrimp broth you previously reserved, to this you pour in the acid liquid from the tray (which will be a bit milky both in colour and in taste, nevertheless sour) - go tasting to adjust the acidity to your liking. If you've poured in all the acid liquid and it's still not briny enough squeeze in some more lemon juice or adjust it with more salt. (Some people like adding mustard, more oil and even peanut paste (the latter can be controversial to traditionalists)).
Once the broth is to your satisfaction, dunk in the fish (which will be as white as snow but tougher and perhaps a bit bouncier than before) and half of the toppings (*do not add in the chili pepper*). Mix all ingredients together with a spoon, and there you have it: ceviche, ladies and gents!
5) Extra
As a bonus (and because we already have our cooked shrimp and broth) I share with you the recipe for red shrimp ceviche:
Broth: As before, we add in half a cup of shrimp broth, to this we add a generous 6 heap tablespoons of ketchup, a squeeze of an orange, lemon juice to the amount of acidity of your liking, salt (and if you're feeling a bit daring, a dash of pepper).
Once you feel the broth is sweet but heartwarmingly chilly enough for a day at the beach (just as you did with your fish ceviche), you add in your shrimp and the veggie toppings and mix well with a spoon.
*note: I added more veggies to the shrimp ceviche reason for which they are different is size and feel from those of the fish ceviche*
These are by no means authentic recipes, although in techniques and in theory I have tried to maintain them as similar as possible to what is served traditionally in Ecuador. The chili pepper used for enhancing the liquid that cures the fish is surprisingly a more commonly used method than I thought, it's something I found in Laylita's site and also a pointer I got from chef, Christian Moreno in culinary school.
Hoping I was able to inspire some spunk into you through this post.
Yours Truly,
Mariel
Ingredient
|
Raw
|
Cooked
|
Shrimp
|
X
|
|
Octopus
|
X
|
|
Clams
|
X
|
X
|
Crabs
|
X
|
|
Oysters
|
X
|
X
|
However,
with fish, it requires a mind-blowingly simple step which isn't cooking it in the traditional sense
In other words,
it doesn't use heat
no fire
no steam
no poaching in boiling hot liquid.
Instead, *drums rolling*
In other words,
it doesn't use heat
no fire
no steam
no poaching in boiling hot liquid.
Instead, *drums rolling*
it requires what I like to call:
Cooking with acid.
So technically the fish isn't "cook" but gets cured in acid, yet the transition of texture from
raw --> to --> ceviche is
(personally) perceived as a bigger variation than what you'd get from having a raw chunk of tuna go from raw --> to --> seared.
raw --> to --> ceviche is
(personally) perceived as a bigger variation than what you'd get from having a raw chunk of tuna go from raw --> to --> seared.
Essentially, you let your fish sit in a highly acid concentrate for a couple of hours and c'est tout!
The Recipe
For the fish's acid bed
- fresh, firm, white meat fish (bass is an ideal choice), chopped in medium dice (1.2cm x 1.2cm).
- enough lemon juice to cover the plate/pan you are going to use
- 1 orange (the less ripe the better)
- 1 whole fresh red chili pepper
- milky liquid residue from the fish's acid bed (explained further on)
- 1/2 cup of fish or shrimp stock (what I like to do is as I make fish ceviche, I simultaneously make shrimp ceviche so that I can use the water where the shrimp was scalded as broth for both my ceviches (fish and shrimp)
- extra squeezes of lemon (to taste and adjust as you please)
- salt
For the toppings:
- finely chopped red onion
- finely chopped green bell pepper
- finely chopped tomato (sans seeds)
- 1 tbs of vegetable oil (the milder the fragrance the better)
- finely brunoised cilantro leaves
- a squeeze of a lemon
- salt
What to do:
1) The Fish "Time consuming cooking is different from difficult cooking", is something I hear many cooks say but I think I heard it first from Nigella Lawson. It's a thought that sets a realistically optimistic mindset when cooking- making a three hour process oh-so-doable =) .
So with the above thought in mind, we start out with what takes up most of your time: which is the fish.
First chop up your fish into semi bitesized squares, if the fish is slightly frozen it's easier to shape and cut. Get yourself a long glass or plastic tray (or a plate with high sides) and fill it with freshly squeezed lemon juice and the juice of 1 orange juice. Over this, lay out your fish squares, chop in your chili pepper (remove the seeds). The purpose of the chili pepper is to give it, not a pompouswave of heat, but a beachy warmth that will cause a mini shock to an eater who's expecting a one-dimensional coolness from a cold seafood soup.
Wrap a cling film over your tray and let it sit in the fridge for 3 hours. Every thirty minutes just turn over your fish squares so that the acid does its job on all six sides.
2) The Broth and the Shrimp While the fish is bathing, we get on with the rest of the steps.
In a pot of water add a pinch of salt, pieces of onion and garlic and let it come to a boil (this is to give a breezy extraness to both the shrimp and the broth), discard the veggies and add in the shrimp to scald. Once your shrimpies reaches a pinkish hue from head to toe, take them out of the pot and let them cool. Do not discard the broth, let this cool too (save approximately 1/2 cup each for both the fish and the shrimp ceviche).
3) The Toppings
I'm sure there is a more suiting name for this portion of the ceviche but, I like to call 'em toppings since it reminds me of swirling icecream toppings (gummy worms, colourful sprinkles and caramel syrup) together, and basically that is what you do.
You get your chopped up veggies in a bowl, drizzle in some oil, pinch in some salt mix it all with a spoon. Taste. If you like it this way, you're done, if you'd like to add more salt or sourness let in some droplets of lemon (keeping in mind that the ceviche will already be acid).
Let this veggie mixture sit and make sense of itself- maturing in flavour.
4) The Mingle
When your 3 hours are up, the liquid in the tray where your fish is sitting will have increased. Do not throw away this liquid, pour it in a separate bowl. Get your favourite salad mixing bowl, add in half a cup of the shrimp broth you previously reserved, to this you pour in the acid liquid from the tray (which will be a bit milky both in colour and in taste, nevertheless sour) - go tasting to adjust the acidity to your liking. If you've poured in all the acid liquid and it's still not briny enough squeeze in some more lemon juice or adjust it with more salt. (Some people like adding mustard, more oil and even peanut paste (the latter can be controversial to traditionalists)).
Once the broth is to your satisfaction, dunk in the fish (which will be as white as snow but tougher and perhaps a bit bouncier than before) and half of the toppings (*do not add in the chili pepper*). Mix all ingredients together with a spoon, and there you have it: ceviche, ladies and gents!
5) Extra
As a bonus (and because we already have our cooked shrimp and broth) I share with you the recipe for red shrimp ceviche:
Broth: As before, we add in half a cup of shrimp broth, to this we add a generous 6 heap tablespoons of ketchup, a squeeze of an orange, lemon juice to the amount of acidity of your liking, salt (and if you're feeling a bit daring, a dash of pepper).
Once you feel the broth is sweet but heartwarmingly chilly enough for a day at the beach (just as you did with your fish ceviche), you add in your shrimp and the veggie toppings and mix well with a spoon.
*note: I added more veggies to the shrimp ceviche reason for which they are different is size and feel from those of the fish ceviche*
These are by no means authentic recipes, although in techniques and in theory I have tried to maintain them as similar as possible to what is served traditionally in Ecuador. The chili pepper used for enhancing the liquid that cures the fish is surprisingly a more commonly used method than I thought, it's something I found in Laylita's site and also a pointer I got from chef, Christian Moreno in culinary school.
Hoping I was able to inspire some spunk into you through this post.
Yours Truly,
Mariel