Acapulco-Style Shrimp Ceviche

Ceviche de Camarón estilo Acapulco

Ceviche is one of the most loved seafood dishes in Mexico and this is one of the infinite delicious variations. An Acapulco style shrimp ceviche prepared with whole shrimp, lime juice, orange juice, and avocado.

What makes this dish so easy to prepare is that you use precooked shrimp. I know if you are a traditionalist this may ruffle your feathers. To prepare real ceviche you use uncooked shrimp or fish and you use the acidic lime juice to “cook” them but I’m from Cuernavaca, Morelos which is not on the coast and where it is more common to use pre-cooked shrimp.

This is the safer option too. Lime juice doesn’t fully kill all of the potentially stomach distressing bacteria that may be on raw seafood.

How to Make Step-by-Step

Start by gathering your ingredients. Get the ripest reddest tomatoes you can. You’ll need the following:

2 ¼ lb. small shrimp

1 medium white onion

Juice of 6 limes

Juice of 4 oranges

4 medium plum (Roma) tomatoes

2 tablespoons Mexican oregano

12 sprigs cilantro which will make approximately 1 cup loosely packed chopped cilantro

1 cup catsup

1 avocado

1 package saltine crackers

Place the shrimp in a large mixing bowl and then squeeze the juice of 4 limes on the shrimp.

Do the same with the oranges.

The shrimp should be nearly covered in citrus juice.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to marinate and “cook” the shrimp. The acid from the citrus juice softens the texture of the shrimp.

While the shrimp is marinating you need to prep the tomato, onion, and cilantro. Start by removing the pulp and seeds from the tomato.

The easy way to do this is to slice the stem end off the tomato then slice the tomato in half lengthwise. Use a teaspoon to scoop out the seeds and flesh and discard.

Chop the tomato into ⅜ inch pieces, the onion into ¼ pieces, and chop the cilantro finely.

Remove the shrimp from the fridge and then add all of the remaining ingredients except the avocado. You will add the avocado just before serving so that it maintains its bright green color and shape.

Mix all of the ingredients together gently so that the tomato maintains its shape.

How to Serve

Just before serving very gently add the sliced avocado to your ceviche.

Don’t forget the saltine crackers

Seafood in Mexico is always served with saltine crackers. It’s almost unthinkable to serve it without them. In fact, my wife refuses to eat seafood without them because the food doesn’t taste right.

Think of the combinations of peanut butter and jelly, baseball and apple pie, or Penn and Teller. They’re just better together, the same as seafood and saltines.

Provecho!

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 generous servings

Notes

Substitutions:

If you like your ceviche spicy, add 1 very finely chopped serrano chile. Remove the seeds and veins before chopping.

1 cup of chopped cucumber, mango or pineapple is a nice addition but don’t add all at the same time. That’s flavor overload.

You can prepare it without cilantro if you prefer. Not everybody likes the taste of cilantro.

Ceviche is also great served on a tostada.

Storage

It will last for one or two days in the fridge but is best eaten immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 392kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 47g | Fat: 6g | Sodium: 1597mg | Sugar: 21g