Shrimp Ceviche

Chadley25's Note:

This is my twist on the traditional Mexican ceviche (which differs from that of South American cuisine). It's a very colorful and appealing appetizer dish, and is exceptionally low in calories. The shrimp is "cooked" chemically by the acid in the lime juice, rather than physically (with heat). You may substitute a good-quality white fish, such as halibut or mahi-mahi, for the shrimp, if desired. Depending on how fast and skilled you are with your knives, and whether you use fresh-squeezed or bottled lime juice, the initial prep for this ceviche can take anywhere from 15 to 60 minutes.

• Total Time: 18 hrs 40 mins
• Prep Time: 40 mins
• Cook Time: 18 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 10

• 2 medium cucumbers
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 1 large orange bell pepper
• 1 large yellow bell pepper
• 1 medium poblano chiles or 1 medium serrano chili pepper
• ½ large red onion
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro
• 1 cup lime juice (fresh preferred, bottled okay)
• 1 ¼ lbs raw shrimp , butterflied and deveined (21-30 count)

Directions:

1. Slice the ends off the cucumbers, then slice four strips lengthwise. The goal here is to get strips of cucumber with no seeds. Cut each strip into smaller (approximately 1/4") strips using a small, sharp knife.
2. Using a chef's or santoku knife, dice the cucumber strips into 1/4" cubes.
3. Place diced cucumber into a large, sealable bowl. Discard the center portion of the cucumbers.
4. Dice each of the three bell peppers similarly, using as much of the flesh as possible. Add to bowl.
5. Cut a large red onion in half, peel it, and place the flat side down on a cutting board. Cut off the top and bottom, then using your small knife, make a series of parallel cuts 1/4" apart, perpendicular to the top/bottom cuts. The use your chef's knife to cut perpendicularly to THESE cuts and you'll have perfectly diced onions. Add to bowl.
6. Finally, dice the chili pepper. Care should be taken not to add seeds to the ceviche.
7. If using fresh limes, zest one or two and add the lime zest to the bowl.
8. Rinse peeled, deveined, and butterflied raw shrimp and put in a large Ziploc bag. Pour in approximately 2/3 c lime juice. You can add a bit of lemon juice here, too, if desired, but lime should be predominant. If using fresh lime juice, you can throw a couple of the juiced lime halves into the bag as well. Seal and lay flat in the refrigerator.
9. Finely chop the fresh cilantro, reserving enough whole leaves for garnish. Add chopped cilantro to bowl.
10. Seal bowl and shake vigorously to thoroughly mix all ingredients. Open and add the remaining lime juice. Reseal and refrigerate.
11. The chemical "cooking" process begins immediately and usually takes several hours. I like the lime flavoring to be fairly pronounced, so I let the process carry on overnight. You'll want to flip the bag and shake the bowl a couple of times during the process.
12. The shrimp can be served whole (as pictured) or chopped into large pieces and incorporated into the ceviche.
13. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve with fresh tortilla chips or thinly sliced, toasted baguette bread.

Reviews

[WokBurner]

Because of all the rhetoric in his recipe, I assumed that Chadley had a clue... I was wrong! If you've tried this, following the receipe, you've come up with raw, unseasoned veggies; horribly overcooked shrimp, and a dollar investment that your cat won't even eat... I recovered partially by stir-frying the veggies; adding enough seasoning to make the mess edible, and throwing the overcooked shrimp in at the end... My lady still won't eat it, even over rice; but we can still keep me fed for a few days... LOL Have tried a couple other Ceviche recipes, and they intrigued me... But this one must be for the "purists", 'cause it sure ain't for us... wokburner

[Shannon W.]

Wonderful ceviche! I used pre-cooked frozen shrimp and drained it well (can't find the nice raw jumbo shrimp here in the UK), then added to the lime juice and chopped vegetables, chilled it for one hour to allow the flavors to mingle, and served. Lovely and low in calories!