Aguachile

Ingredients

Shrimp

• 500 gvery fresh raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, butterflied
• juice of 8 limes, about 200 ml
• 1 tspsalt

Chile water

• 8–10chiltepin chiles, or 3 serrano chiles
• 1small bunch coriander, stalks included
• ½cucumber, peeled and roughly chopped
• juice of 4 limes
• ½ tspsalt

To finish

• ½cucumber, in thin half-moons
• ½red onion, sliced paper thin and rinsed
• 1avocado, sliced
• tostadas or saltine crackers

Directions

1. Buy shrimp you would be willing to eat raw, from a fishmonger you trust, and keep them on ice until the moment you use them. Lime juice firms the flesh and changes its colour but does not make seafood safe, and this dish is eaten essentially raw.
2. Butterfly the shrimp along the back so they lie flat, and spread them in a single layer in a shallow dish. Season with the salt.
3. Blend the chiles, coriander, chopped cucumber, lime juice and salt to a loose green liquid. Do not strain it — the texture is part of the dish.
4. Pour the chile water over the shrimp so they are just submerged. Leave 5–10 minutes only: the shrimp should turn opaque at the edges and stay translucent at the centre.
5. Scatter over the cucumber half-moons and the rinsed onion, and lay the avocado alongside.
6. Serve straight away with tostadas. Aguachile is assembled to order and does not sit — after twenty minutes the shrimp toughen and the chile water dulls.

Technique

• Rinsing the sliced onion under cold water for a minute takes out the raw bite without losing the crunch.
• Chiltepin are hot and fruity rather than merely hot. Start with fewer than you think and blend more in.
• Anyone pregnant, elderly, very young or immunocompromised should not eat this preparation, in the same way they would avoid oysters.

Substitutions

• Scallops, sliced thin, work in place of shrimp and need only 3 minutes.
• Serrano or árbol chiles stand in for chiltepin, with a slightly greener heat.

Variations

• Aguachile negro, made with a base of soy, Worcestershire and dried chile rather than lime and green chile.
• A Nayarit version with mango or cucumber blended into the chile water for sweetness.

History

Raw shrimp or other seafood, quickly marinated in lime juice and blended chili, developed along Mexico’s Pacific coast, particularly in the state of Sinaloa, as a spicier, more intensely chili-forward relative of ceviche, with its name directly translating to chili water, referencing the pale green, chili-infused lime marinade the seafood sits in. Its marinating time is generally shorter than in many ceviche preparations, intended to leave the seafood barely cooked by the acid rather than fully firmed and opaque, giving aguachile a notably different texture from a longer-marinated ceviche despite the two dishes sharing a similar basic technique and set of ingredients. It remains most strongly associated with Sinaloa and other Pacific coastal Mexican states specifically, prized there for showcasing very fresh, high-quality raw shrimp.

Frequently asked questions

What is Aguachile?

Aguachile is a main from Mexico: raw shrimp drowned in lime juice, chiltepin chile and cucumber. Raw shrimp or other seafood, quickly marinated in lime juice and blended chili, developed along Mexico’s Pacific coast, particularly in the state of Sinaloa, as a spicier, more intensely chili-forward relative of ceviche, with its name directly translating to chili water, referencing the pale green, chili-infused lime marinade the seafood sits in. Its marinating time is generally shorter than in many ceviche preparations, intended to leave the seafood barely cooked by the acid rather than fully firmed and opaque, giving aguachile a notably different texture from a longer-marinated ceviche despite the two dishes sharing a similar basic technique and set of ingredients. It remains most strongly associated with Sinaloa and other Pacific coastal Mexican states specifically, prized there for showcasing very fresh, high-quality raw shrimp.

How long does Aguachile take to make?

Aguachile takes 25 min of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Aguachile?

Yes, within limits. Scallops, sliced thin, work in place of shrimp and need only 3 minutes. Serrano or árbol chiles stand in for chiltepin, with a slightly greener heat.

What is the most important thing to get right in Aguachile?

Blend the chiles, coriander, chopped cucumber, lime juice and salt to a loose green liquid. Do not strain it — the texture is part of the dish.