Friday, August 5, 2011

Mahi Mahi Ceviche Ceviche

The last time I posted a ceviche recipe video, I almost had to hire a security detail to protect me from angry Peruvians. I'd done a bay scallop and mango ceviche, and within minutes of uploading, highly annoyed South Americans were demanding I change the name, since what I had made was NOT a ceviche.

It seems as though there are some very strict views on what may and may not go into a ceviche, which is too bad, since the technique begs for accessories. Thankfully, I'm no fundamentalist, so I was free to make this version.

One traditional ingredient I omitted was the sliced onions. Personally, I don't like the sharp bite of the raw onion in this recipe, so I decided to use chives instead. I'm pretty sure I'm in a very small minority, as most people consider the sliced onions an absolute necessity, so feel free to add those in.

This mahi mahi ceviche requires a little bit of knife work, but when you consider the seasonal advantage of not using the stove, and just how tasty this really is, I think it's all worthwhile. You can also use shrimp, scallops, swordfish, and snapper.

By the way, sorry about that extra "ceviche" up there, but it's not often you get the chance to publish a symmetrical post title. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
3/4 to 1 pound fresh mahi mahi
1 tablespoon minced jalapeƱo
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
pinch of dried oregano
pinch of cayenne
2/3 cup equal parts fresh squeezed lime and lemon juice
1/2 cup diced cucumber
1/2 cup orange segments
1/2 cup thinly-sliced red or white onion (or chives instead)
2 tablespoons julienne radish
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

20 comments:

Christie Farrar said...

Chef John you are such a food rebel!

How dare you blah blah blah...

looks good, and I don't even like fish!

PrimeBrit said...

I am doing this, I can get fresh mahi. Chef, did you know it's also called dolphin fish?

Chef John said...

I did not know that!

theo said...

and makes it less naturey...

I remember the orange supreme video.

good show Chef!!

i wish to cook for you one day.
its on my bucket list

Luatica said...

TBH, I fail to see why that wouldn't be ceviche, perhaps it is not the traditional vegetables on it, but there are plenty of countries in South America that do it different. The most popular is the one from Peru but it is not the only one.

But alas, I'm not from south or central America so...

Moiety said...

Going to do it today though am tempted to use tilapia or even salomn

Marie said...

Great post!

Sometimes I add the chopped onions to the lime juice with the fish. The acid kind of softens the sharp bite of the raw onion. But I like the idea of adding chives instead. :)

Linzatart said...

This looks AMAZINNGGG... I think i'll try it out and link you!!

http://itsbestservedhot.blogspot.com

MunatyCooking said...

Like the color combination and I'm sure it tastes good too!

Stephen said...

If I am looking to do a ceviche appetizer for two, martini glass style as in your other videos, would it work to buy the biggest scallop the store has, cube that up, eyeball the citrus juice to the top in a bowl, and then also eyeballing the amounts for the rest of the ingredients?

I guess the important part of the question is if one large scallop is about right for two folks.

Any cautions?

Chef John said...

Yes! Exactly. Just make sure you get fresh dayboat or diver scallops. Sea scallops have additives.

Kir said...

Hi Chef. Have you seen this article on Serious Eats about cheviche?
http://www.seriouseats.com/2011/07/the-food-lab-ceviche-and-the-science-of-marin.html

They recommend to marinate only for 30 mins. Wanted to hear tour thoughts about this.

Angela Andersen said...

I don't seen any complaining Peruvians, so I'll speak up as a chemist and say that denaturing has to do with the proteins in the fish. Protein shape and function are highly related, and that shape is highly dependent on pH, temperature, etc. When you add acid, it lowers the pH environment of the proteins in the fish and causes the proteins to unfold and change shape. The same thing happens when you cook them. That is denaturing. The acid in the citrus juice also messes with the pH in the bacteria that makes you think twice about eating raw meat so much that they die. Thus, "cooked" fish.

But as a person who likes to eat, I will definitely be making this. I was in love with empanadas arabes when I lived in Argentina (empanadas filled with ground beef cooked in lemon juice) and I anticipate these being equally enjoyable, but much friendlier to my diet.

Anonymous said...

Yay, orange supremes!! That was one of my favorite videos :)

By the way, chef, my food wishes are:

* Russian borscht soup
* Baklava

p.s. you're my hero :)

Alec006 said...

when people complain about a dish like this let me say it's all about tradition and how things were made for years and years so it's anoying seing most af the time a recipe detroyed by a "cool modern" chef.
so the complaining about is to preserve something or in the future you may see a chef making dulce de leche boiling a condenced milk can hehe thats for you john!! :) as always a great recipe you made.

Anonymous said...

yes chef,in fla also called dolphin fish, not like the miami dolphins also forget to add avocado to ingredients list,just saying

EDGAR said...

Congrats on a great tasting version of a very traditional South American dish!!! I make it with very fine juliennes of carrot (sorry about the english / culinary terms - I'm not american nor chef) a dash of clamato, little ketchup and soy sauce... yums!! :D

EDGAR said...

Hey! congrats on a great version of a very traditional South American dish! I do it pretty much like that, just instead of jalapenos I use serrano, very fine carrot juliennes, a dash of clamato and a little ketchup mmmmmmm deliciousness on a tostada :D

Unknown said...

I think you forgot the avocado in the recipe list!
I made your scallop ceviche, totally doing this recipe too.

Unknown said...

I will try this for sure..