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Shrimp Ceviche Recipe

Filed under Appetizer, Low Carb, Mexican and Tex Mex, Seafood, Seasonal Favorites: Summer, Wheat-free

Shrimp Ceviche

With the warm days of summer upon us, a great way to cool off is with ceviche. Ceviche is typically made with red snapper that is "cooked" by the acidity of lime and lemon juice (see this ceviche recipe.) This version is prepared with shrimp, which is first lightly cooked, and then marinated in the citrus juice. My father, who generally doesn't really like shrimp that much, loved this ceviche. (Gotta love it when they eat it up and ask for more.)

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Shrimp Ceviche Recipe

Ingredients

1 pound medium-small shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 Tbsp salt
3/4 cup lime juice (juice from 4-6 limes)
3/4 cup lemon juice (juice from 2-3 lemons)
1 cup finely chopped red onion
1 serrano chile, ribs and seeds removed, minced
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 cucumber, peeled diced into 1/2-inch pieces
1 avocado, peeled, seed removed, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

Method

shrimp-ceviche-2.jpg shrimp-ceviche-3.jpg

1 In a large pot, bring to a boil 4 quarts of water, salted with 2 Tbsp salt. Add the shrimp and cook for 1 minute to 2 minutes max, depending on size of shrimp. (Over-cooking the shrimp will turn it rubbery.) Remove shrimp with a slotted spoon and place into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.

2 Drain the shrimp. Cut each piece of shrimp in half, or into inch-long pieces. Place shrimp in a glass or ceramic bowl. Mix in the lime and lemon juice. Cover and refrigerate for a half hour.

3 Mix in the chopped red onion and serrano chile. Refrigerate an additional half hour.

4 Right before serving, add the cilantro, cucumber, and avocado.

Serves 4-6.

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Posted by Elise on Jun 1, 2006 and indexed Ceviche, Seafood, Shrimp

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Comments

I use your original ceviche recipe regularly, and it's wonderful. I made both fish ceviche and shrimp ceviche (by adapting your other recipe) for some friends recently and they loved it. I'm excited to try this one!

Posted by: beckiwithani on June 2, 2006 2:52 AM

Your photo is just astonishing (once again), and the ceviche recipe looks great. I was going to make shrimp ceviche for a wedding shower recently, then, to my disappointment, discovered that several of the shower-goers wouldn't eat shrimp, so changed the menu. I'll have to make it just for myself and my husband. He'll eat shrimp, but it's not his favorite thing, so I'm heartened by your comment about your dad liking this ceviche so much. Cheers, and thanks!

Posted by: Lisa Morgan on June 2, 2006 8:57 AM

This looks great! I hope to try it and post my results soon.

It sort of reminds me of http://www.beaskitchen.com/blog/2006/04/06/millefeuille-davocat-et-pamplemousse-avocado-and-grapefruit-millefeuille (shrimpy, avocado, citrus goodness!)

Posted by: Josh on June 2, 2006 8:37 PM

Posted by: Josh on June 4, 2006 9:49 AM

I made this using the jiuce from only 2 1/2 limes and one lemon (that's all I had) and that was more than enough. I also added Old Bay seasoning (1 tbsp) to the water when I cooked the shrimp - it adds just a little bit more flavor.

It occurred to me while eating the leftover ceviche last night, that this is a very well rounded dish from an ayurvedic perspective. It has all six rasas:

http://www.naturalhealthmag.com/health/48

The shrimp is sweet, the citrus is sour, the salt is (obviously) salty, the cilantro is bitter, the red onion is pungent, and the cucumber and avocado are cool - very balanced. For me, cutting back on the citrus was helpful as I prefer less acidity in a meal.

Thanks Elise! The photo is mouth-watering.

Posted by: SAS on June 5, 2006 10:29 AM

I'm from India and can't find serrano chile here.Could you tell me what I could substitute it with?

Posted by: Nidha on March 1, 2007 11:37 PM

Substitute any spicy chile such as jalepeno or habanero for the serrano. Shouldn't be hard to find something in india ;-).

Posted by: joe on March 3, 2007 1:38 PM

Does it matter if I use only lemons, not lime or vice versa?

Posted by: Nidha on March 6, 2007 11:35 PM

Used this recipe earlier today, but it came out incredibly sour because of the lemon juice. Ended up trashing the entire thing. Perhaps I made a mistake, although I am pretty sure the recipe was followed correctly...

Posted by: Victoria on April 1, 2007 9:08 PM

Hi Nidha - you can use all lime or all lemon if you want. Lime juice in particular has a lovely flavor for ceviche. I like the mix of both.

Hi Victoria - if the ceviche was too acidic, you probably needed to add more avocado to it. The fat in the avocado cuts the acid in the lemon/lime. A balance of flavors is what you are after. Though on the whole ceviche does tend to be acidic because of the fact that the fish "cooks" in the acid of the lemons and limes.

Posted by: Elise on April 1, 2007 9:24 PM

I know you blanch the shrimp to save time, but the whole idea of ceviche is to cook the fish in the acid of lemons and limes.

Note from Elise: The acidic lime and lemon marinade cures the shrimp, but it doesn't kill the bacteria that seem to love raw shrimp. For that you need to cook the shrimp first. It's a food safety thing.

Posted by: Lorraine on May 5, 2007 3:15 PM

I followed the recipe and for simple shrimp ceviche it came out great! Only thing I did was drain some of the juice off after marinating, I did not want it coming out sour.

Posted by: Matthew Jordan on May 26, 2007 5:27 PM

How long will ceviche remain good refrigerated?

Posted by: Nancy Young on June 16, 2007 9:52 AM

Ok, Ok, For all of you who felt the lime/lemon created too much acidity to your plate. Here is the clue.
You have to balance it with salt, just the same way you have to balance the HOT (spicy)of a hot pepper with salt. Yes it enhances the flavor and allows you to tolerate the spicy flavor of hot pepper by adding salt, just before you eat it. Trust me.

Posted by: Eduardo Arciniega on July 15, 2007 4:09 PM

I followed this recipe but added steamed halibut to it, subtracted the chile (I don't like anything spicy), used 2 teaspoons of salt instead of 2 tablespoons and 3 limes + 3 lemons. It came out great. Everyone at my dinner party loved it and it was my husband's first time trying ceviche ever (he said it was darn good).

Posted by: Gail on August 5, 2007 8:37 PM

i wholeheartedly enjoy reading everyone's comments and suggestions. being 19 weeks preggers, it IS best to cook the shrimp first. thanks for this recipe, elise. i can't wait to make it for my b/day get together this friday. and...i get to eat nearly as much as i want! you rock!

Posted by: SHAKIRA on February 4, 2008 7:38 PM

I am making this tonight and I already know it will be fantastic because I've been sampling it... Thanks for another great recipe!

Posted by: Ellen on February 25, 2008 5:29 PM

This is a simple but delicious recipe! My friend from Mexico also adds tomato and pimiento and it's great too. Just by looking at the picture I'm getting hungry :)

Posted by: Joanne on March 16, 2008 3:40 PM

Can anyone tell me what's a good drink to serve with ceviche?

Posted by: jessica on May 10, 2008 8:39 AM

Perfect version: Take the recipe above, nix the cucumber. Half the lemon juice; add 1 tbsp. white vinegar, 1 tbsp. good quality olive oil. Now THAT's ceviche!

Posted by: Harry on May 10, 2008 1:09 PM

I also use white vinegar and a little olive oil - it really enhances the flavor. The salt keeps it from getting too bitter. I'm having it tonight as it's been marinated for almost 24hours. I used white fish, shrimp, squid, red onion, red bellpepper, cilantro, & avacodo. I can't wait to get home and dive in.

Posted by: Carl on May 13, 2008 1:27 PM

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