This is the best no cooking dish for appetizers. The fresher the fish the better. It relies on the chemical reaction between the citrus, salt and fish to chemically cook the meat. I was a little skeptical at first but after trying it out for the first time it is one of my favorite appetizers. As for the fish, I pull mine directly from the ocean and serve them the same day (or next day latest) Fresh veggies are a must as well. Make sure you get a sweet onion. I’ve found the sweet yellow onions are the best and the flatter the sweeter.
Ingredients:
1/2 LB Fresh Uncooked Fish (I use cod, halibut or white sea bass but any non-oily white meat fish should work)
1/2 Cup Lime or Lemon Juice
1/2 Cup chopped onions
1/4 Cup chopped cilantro
1/4 Cup Chopped Jalapenos (more or less to taste)
1/2 Cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 TSP Salt (I use sea salt but table salt works too)
1/2 TSP Paprika
Slice the fish into small cubes 1/4 inch or so on each side. Place the fish, salt and the citrus juice together in a plastic container or ziplock baggie. Shake vigorously to combine thoroughly and put in the fridge. The fish should be well coated with juice as this chemically cooks the fish. Over the course of a couple of hours you’ll notice the fish will get white as if it is cooked. You can leave it to marinate this way for up to a day (2 hours is the bare minimum and I like to agitate it several times if I’m trying to compress the marinade time) Once your fish is done marinading drain off the excess juice leaving the fish cubes moist, toss in cilantro, jalapenos, tomatoes paprika and onion. Toss these together lightly until just combined. Serve immediately with tortilla chips or warm tortillas. The refreshing zippy flavor is amazing against the fish. You can also mix in other ingredients like mandrin orange slices, whole kernel corn or red/green peppers.(esp if you are particularly wimpy about Jalapenos you can sub green peppers in for the tame variety) Don’t leave out for long or place in a metal dish on a bed of ice.
Very tasty!
