My grandmother’s ceviche is ideal for large occasions

For Hispanic Heritage Month, as a Black and Mexican American woman, I wanted to duplicate my grandmother’s ceviche dish.

Ceviche was my grandmother’s go-to dish when she was the primary cook in my household as a child.
Pauline Villegas/

My grandmother was born in Mexico and emigrated to the United States with her mother and two brothers when she was a little girl. She prepares a range of Mexican cuisine for large family gatherings. My family prefers ceviche with taquitos, carne asada, or tacos during the summer.

Ceviche originated in Peru, but the fish dish is popular throughout Latin America.

In Mexico, ceviche is prepared with a shrimp foundation, chopped veggies, and tomato-lime juice marinade. The famous summer dish can be served as a main course or a side dish.

Ceviche is a traditional Mexican seafood dish, and I chose to prepare it by myself for the first time.

This ceviche dish is loaded with fresh vegetables, making it an ideal summery appetizer.

To make this ceviche in the Mexican way at home, you will need:

1 cucumber
3 tomatoes
1/4 of an onion, red
1 jalapeño
12 limes (can substitute with bottled lime juice)
a half bunch of cilantro
2 avocados
1 kilogram of frozen shrimp
1/2 cup of tomato juice from Clamato
1 tablespoon of ketchup
1 tbsp salt and pepper hot sauce (optional)
tostadas or tortilla chips (optional)

For cooking utensils, this recipe requires:

1 chopping block 2 substantial bowls

I placed the frozen shrimp in a bowl of cool water and allowed it to defrost for thirty minutes.

To preserve the flavor, thaw the shrimp in cool water, not warm or hot water.

The main ingredient in Mexican ceviche is shrimp, but you may also add crab or squid for a heartier dish.

For this recipe, frozen shrimp from the store works just fine. You may also use raw shrimp and boil it with lime juice to intensify the flavor.

I began cutting 12 limes and peeling the cucumber for the ceviche as the shrimp defrosted.

The most laborious step of an otherwise simple recipe is chopping each ingredient.

At this point, I cut the limes in half to extract as much juice as possible. My grandmother suggests using fresh lime juice because it imparts a more natural flavor to ceviche.

After peeling the cucumber, I placed the diced cucumber in a large basin.

Next, I diced a quarter of a large red onion, three roma tomatoes, a half bunch of cilantro, and a jalapeo and placed them in a bowl.

Ceviche is best prepared with veggies that have been finely chopped.

Pauline Villegas/Insider

If you like spicy food, you can leave the seeds in the jalapeo to add heat. I removed half of the seeds from my jalapeo to make it milder.

Nearly any vegetable can be added to Mexican ceviche, although cucumber, tomato, red onion, cilantro, and jalapeo are the most common.

Once the shrimp has defrosted, remove the tails and slice the shrimp into smaller pieces.

Since the shrimp is still cold, the tails should come out without difficulty.

Once the shrimp have been diced, they can be returned to their original bowl.

Now, squeeze the juice of twelve limes into the bowl of shrimp to marinade the fish.

Fresh lime juice enhances the flavor of the shrimp while it marinates.

My grandma uses a citrus juicer when preparing particularly large quantities of ceviche, although hand-juicing is sufficient. In a pinch, you can also use lime juice from a bottle for this step.

After allowing the shrimp to marinade in the lime juice for approximately ten minutes, add the chopped vegetables to the same bowl and thoroughly combine.

After the shrimp has marinated, the vegetables can be added.

Be sure to combine all the ingredients with the lime juice so that the flavor is properly distributed.

Finally, add 1/4 cup of Clamato tomato juice and approximately 1 teaspoon of ketchup to the mixture.

Clamato and ketchup give the dish a sweet and salty flavor.

Clamato tomato juice and ketchup add sweetness to the dish. Clamato is used in many Mexican dishes and has a distinct tang that pairs nicely with seafood, so I would recommend searching for it.

You can also use tomato concentrate, clam juice, and a pinch of sugar as an alternative.

Before allowing the ceviche to marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour, add 1 tablespoon of salt and pepper.

Salt and pepper are the finishing touches before ceviche is allowed to settle.

Mix your ceviche one more after adding the salt and pepper before storing it in the refrigerated to marinade. I used aluminum foil to cover my bowl, but a plastic bag or plastic wrap would also work. 30 to 60 minutes should be sufficient time for the flavors to settle.

When the time has expired, your ceviche will be ready for service. I recommend eating ceviche with avocado and hot sauce on a tostada.

Ceviche can be consumed alone or atop an avocado-topped tostada.

I was astounded by how straightforward the ceviche-making procedure was once I had completed it. My rendition of this childhood favorite tasted nearly identical to my grandmother’s.

This ceviche dish is ideal for a summer day since it is light, citrus-laden, and fresh. It is also the ideal appetizer for a party with a large number of guests. I am certain that I will bring ceviche at the next family BBQ.