Leche de Tigre

Leche de Tigre (Peruvian Tiger's Milk)

The sharp, cold citrus marinade at the heart of Peruvian ceviche, served on its own in a small glass. Everything depends on fish that is sushi-grade fresh and limes squeezed the moment you mix.

Prep

25 min

Total

25 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •300 g (10½ oz) raw white fish fillet, sushi-grade corvina, sea bass or flounder; must be fresh enough to eat raw
• •150 ml (5 fl oz) fresh lime juice, about 8–10 limes, squeezed just before mixing
• •100 g (3½ oz) red onion, thinly sliced, plus a few reserved slivers for garnish
• •2 whole aji limo or aji amarillo chili, serrano or habanero is the closest substitute outside Peru
• •15 g (½ oz) fresh cilantro, leaves and tender stems
• •1 stalk celery, about 30 g / 1 oz, roughly chopped
• •1 clove garlic, small clove, peeled
• •1 tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
• •1 tsp sugar, optional, to round the acidity
• •100 ml (3½ fl oz) ice-cold water, or reserved fish stock, to thin
• •1 pinch ground black pepper, or rocoto pepper if you have it

Steps

1. 1 Chill 4 small glasses or a serving jug in the freezer for 15 minutes.
2. 2 Rinse the sliced red onion in cold water and drain; this takes away its raw bite while keeping the crunch.
3. 3 Cut 100 g (3½ oz) of the fish into small dice for garnish and keep it cold. Cut the remaining 200 g (7 oz) into rough chunks for blending.
4. 4 De-seed the chilies (keep the seeds if you want more heat) and roughly chop them with the celery, garlic and cilantro.
5. 5 In a blender, combine the fish chunks, lime juice, chili, celery, garlic, cilantro, salt, sugar and half the cold water. Blend on high for 30–45 seconds until completely smooth and frothy.
6. 6 Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing on the solids; discard the pulp. You should have a cloudy, pale liquid.
7. 7 Stir in the diced raw fish and the drained onion slivers. Taste: it should be sharply sour, well salted and clearly spicy. Adjust lime, salt or chili now.
8. 8 Chill for 5 minutes so it is properly cold, then ladle into the chilled glasses, dividing the fish and onion bits evenly.
9. 9 Serve immediately, in small glasses, sipped like a shot. The fish in the glass is raw: use only sushi-grade fish, and consume within a few hours of mixing.