I first had ceviche years ago in Lima, Peru, and was blown away by the simplicity, yet bold and impactful flavors. The act of marinating seafood in acid to cook was new to me, but it made complete sense, the acid from citruses like lime and lemon beautifully denatures the protein to cook the seafood without heat. A variation of this dish is made all along the South American Pacific coast. In Mexico it’s Aguachile, shrimp ceviche along with cucumber, radish, red onion, jicama, lots of citrus, avocado, cilantro, serrano/jalapeño is tossed and served on top of a tostada, a perfect no cook light lunch or dinner for these hot summer days.
Finding super fresh raw shrimp can be a bit of a challenge back home in America. Though raw frozen is easily available and works fine as I did here for convenience, but if you’re concerned about eating or serving raw seafood please go ahead and lightly blanch or stir fry the shrimp in boiling water or frying pan for a few minutes. This will cook and kill any microbes. Once the shrimp is heat cooked, cool, toss it with lime juice and follow the recipe and you’ll have the same result.
For the tostada, I had such a challenge finding already made tostada. An easy solution is to brush corn tortilla with little oil and bake them for a few minutes until they are toasty and crispy. I really hope you’ll give this recipe a try because its perfect for these hot summer days, light, nutritious and so delicious.
Shrimp Aguachile Tostada
Ingredients
- 1 pound raw shrimp** see notes defrosted, deveined and shelled removed
- 2 cups diced jicama, about 8 oz I buy already peeled and cut into sticks for convenience from Treader Joes
- ½ medium red onion chppoed
- 4-5 pieces radishes chopped
- 3 Persian cucumbers finely chopped
- ½ cup cilantro finely chopped
- 1-2 jalapeño or serrano use jalapeño for milder flavor
- ¾ jar mild or medium salsa verde I used one from Trader Joes
- 2 limes, about ½ cup juice
- 2-3 medium avocados diced, 2 large or 3 medium
- 8-10 small corn tortillas
- any neutral oil for brushing or spraying
- sea salt as needed
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil.** see notes. Preheat the oven to375 ° F. Squeeze the lime juice into a shallow bowl and set aside. Defrost the shrimp and pat all the moisture out with a clean kitchen paper towel.
- If you prefer acid cooking, soak the shrimp for 10-15 minutes in the lime juice tossing occasionally so the juice evenly cooks the shrimp. If you prefer to cook with heat, sauté the shrimp for 2-3 minutes in a frying pan or blanch the shrimp in boiling water for a 1-2 minutes until the shrimp turns opaque/white with red pink edges. Drain or lift out of the water and allow it to cool for 5-7 minutes.
- Chop and prep the veggies. Add all the chopped veggies in a large bowl, except cilantro and salsa verde.
- Once the shrimp is cooked and cooled slightly or acid cooked, add it to the veggie bowl. Mix the salsa verde and cilantro.
- Check the salt and lime juice if needed. Serve spooned over tostadas.
To Make Tostadas
- Brush a little oil on the corn tortillas.
- Place them on 2 baking sheets without over lapping.
- Bake for 5 minutes, flip them over and bake for another 5-8 minutes, until the tortillas are crispy like tortilla chips. Use them as suggested above.
Notes
- If you prefer acid cooking, soak the defrosted shrimp for 15-20 minutes in the lime juice tossing occasionally so the juice evenly cooks the shrimp. (be sure of the quality of the shrimp, freshness is key, if you’re unsure use the second method.)
- If you prefer to cook with heat, saute for 2-3 minutes or blanch the shrimp in boiling water for a 1-2 minutes until the shrimp turns opaque/white with red pink edges. Drain or lift the shrimps out of the boiling water and allow it to cool for 5-7 minutes before adding to the salad.
- If possible look for raw Argentinian Red shrimp, theyre naturally red and have lobster like quality, usually sold in the frozen food section. If not regular large shrimps work just as good.Â
This recipe was so good I made this twice already.
Awesome, so happy you loved the recipe, thanks for trying Bryce.