Hot weather and cold food is a winning combination. A cooling and zesty Aquachile Verde (literally “green chile water”) with shrimp or scallops or both is a perfect antidote and a stimulating starter to make when seafood is plentiful and fresh; an excellent opening to a grilled dinner.
Aquachile is a spicy, tart Mexican cousin of ceviche, the national dish of Peru. Ceviche, depending on the Peruvian region, is made either with freshwater fish or saltwater fish and seafood and usually consists of slices or chunks of raw fish (or sometimes shellfish) tossed with a citrus marinade called leche de tigre which firms the fish and makes it appear “cooked.” Ceviche is customarily served dry with only a bit of the leche de tigre, garnished with red onion, sliced sweet potato and corn.
According to the Larousse de la cocina Mexicana (Larousse of Mexican Cuisine), aguachile hails from the northern Pacific coast of Mexico, the states of Sinaloa, Sonora and Nayarit where it is often made with either shrimp or octopus or non-oily fin fish. In aquachile, the seafood is marinated in an icy cold broth of citrus juice (often a mixture of lime and sour orange) with serrano or jalapeno juice added for a spicy kick. Hence, the Spanish name “chile water.”
Aquachile, like ceviche, requires impeccably fresh seafood for flavor and texture. Although the seafood firms up and seems cooked, the marination process is not conventional cooking. Chemically, citrus juice quickly transforms the fish by rearranging its proteins. As the seafood sits in the marinade, citric acid slowly causes the flesh’s proteins to denature in much the same way that heating does. Prepared in this way, seafood becomes opaque with a firmer and drier texture but retains its fresh, zesty taste.
There are different schools of thought on how long to marinate ceviche or aquachile. Peruvians serve ceviche after a few minutes of marination, wary of a tough and rubbery ceviche if left in the marinade too long. In Mazatlan, aguachile depends on the contrast between the super cold, clean flavor of the seafood and the marinade’s bracing heat. To achieve that, Mexican cooks believe seafood should only get a brief, rather than extended stay in the marinade. The quick marination favored by Mexican cooks produces seafood with an almost raw sashimi-like texture, but with a fiery taste.
But I prefer firmer seafood in aquachile which can be achieved through slightly longer citrus juice marination. Shrimp is sufficiently cooked when it turns pinkish white, the flesh is no longer gray and when scallops become opaque. Yet, at this early stage when the color changes, both shrimp and scallops retain their lively, succulent taste.
Preparation Tips:
- Seafood, cut and pounded into uniform, thin pieces for even marination should be kept cold on ice until serving. Vegetables should be refrigerator-cold. Lime juice should be squeezed into a container, also refrigerated. Aquachile-base ingredients should be puréed in a blender and extracted juices should be refrigerated while remaining ingredients are prepared.
- Since seafood in aquachile is not cooked with heat, I like to pre-cure seafood for an hour or so with salt which provides an extra antimicrobial benefit and makes seafood more receptive to marinating ingredients.
- Marinating each seafood used in the recipe separately produces a cleaner fresher aquachile, keeping individual seafood flavors distinct.
- Combining unused lime juice with aquachile-base adds the spicy flavor to the finished dish.
- Aquachile should be spicy. However, the spiciness of the finished aquachile depends on how much of the aquachile-base is used when assembling the dish. A few tablespoons will produce a pleasant heat. Super spicy food lovers use all of the base or put any extra in a pitcher to share at the table with others for an extra kick.
- Aquachile should be served very cold, but not frozen. Refrigerator temperature is not cold enough. I assemble mine in a ceramic bowl, covered tightly with plastic wrap and placed in a larger container packed with ice. A sprinkling of salt on top of the ice increases the coldness of the melting ice, super-chilling the aquachile.
- Leftover, unused aquachile-base can be mixed with vodka for a deliciously refreshing and zingy cocktail.
- Aquachile should be assembled and eaten on the same day for the freshest taste.
- Although cucumber, avocado and onion are the usual elements in an aquachile, the recipe can be readily adapted and personalized with different seafood and vegetables.
Shrimp and/or Scallop Aquachile Verde
1 lb (453.5 g) shrimp, medium (41/50 count) fresh, not previously frozen,
or 1 lb (453.5 g) sea scallops, fresh, not previously frozen,
or ½ lb (226.7g) of each
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups (474 ml) lime juice, 16-18 limes, freshly squeezed
½ cup orange juice, freshly squeezed*
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 green pepper, small
3-4 serrano or jalapeno peppers
3 cloves garlic
1 inch (2.5 cm) piece, fresh ginger, peeled
5 sprigs fresh cilantro, stems and leaves
2 small English cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 avocado, ripe, large, cut in chunks
½ white or red onion, small, sliced paper thin
More salt to taste
Additional cilantro leaves for garnish
Tostadas or tortilla chips for serving
Squeeze limes into pitcher and chill on ice in refrigerator.
Preparation and precuring of seafood: Peel and de-vein shrimp. Slice into ¼ inch pieces. Place shrimp pieces in single layer between two pieces of plastic wrap and lightly pound with mallet or heavy pan to a thickness of ⅛ inch. Transfer shrimp into one layer on a glass or ceramic plate and sprinkle with salt. Cover with plastic wrap. Set plate on ice and refrigerate for an hour or so.
If using scallops, slice each scallop into ¼ inch slices. Follow remaining procedure as for shrimp.
Preparation of aquachile-base: Stem, seed and cut green pepper, serrano or jalapeno into chunks and place in a bowl of blender. Add garlic, ginger and cilantro and process until liquified. Strain mixture through fine sieve. Refrigerate liquid until very cold, discarding solids.
Marinate seafood separately: Place shrimp into a glass bowl. Cover with ⅔ cup (158 ml) lime juice. Reserve unused lime juice. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 to 25 minutes until shrimp outside turns pink and exposed inner flesh turns bright white.
Place scallops in a glass bowl and cover with ⅔ cup (158 ml) lime juice. Reserve unused lime juice. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 15-20 minutes or longer, stirring occasionally, until the scallops just start to turn opaque.
Assembling aquachile: Once seafood has cooked for appropriate times, pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the lime juice each from shrimp and scallops. Combine unused lime juice with orange juice, lemon juice and 3 to 4 tablespoons of the aguachile and pour over seafood. Fold in avocado chunks, cucumber slices and onion. Taste and season with additional salt, if necessary to achieve a salty-sour taste. Refrigerate for 10 minutes for the flavors to blend before serving.
Garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve in one bowl or spoon into individual bowls or glasses with tostadas or tortilla chips. Serve remaining aguachile in a pitcher for added zing.
Makes 6 first-course servings
*Customarily, juice from a Seville orange, which is more acidic than the juice of an ordinary orange, is used in aquachile. Thus, I add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to achieve the requisite acidity.
One year ago:http://www.kitchenepiphanies.com/mile-high-strawberry-pie/
Two years ago:http://www.kitchenepiphanies.com/firemens-chicken/