History
Ceviche crossed the border from the Pacific coast of Baja California Sur, where Sinaloa-style and Ensenada-style preparations differ on whether the fish is diced fine or chunked, and whether cucumber and tomato belong. San Diego's Mariscos German truck and Oscar's Mexican Seafood codified the local style in the early 2000s: lime-cured rockfish, cucumber and Serrano on a fried tostada. Blue Water Seafood Market and El Pescador in La Jolla run the Mexican-American fish-counter version.
Common allergens: Fish, Shellfish
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 400g very fresh white fish fillet (rockfish, sea bass, halibut), skinless, boneless
- 8 limes, juiced (approx 200ml fresh lime juice)
- 1 small white onion, finely diced
- 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced 5mm
- 1 firm tomato, seeded and diced 5mm
- 1 Serrano chile, minced
- Half a bunch cilantro, leaves chopped
- 1 ripe avocado, diced
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 8 crisp tostadas, Mexican hot sauce (Tapatio or Valentina), to serve
Method
- Dice the fish into 7mm cubes. Place in a glass or ceramic bowl.
- Pour the lime juice over the fish, stir, refrigerate 25 to 30 minutes until the fish is opaque and firm on the outside, still translucent in the centre.
- Drain off about half the lime juice (keep some for moisture). Stir in the onion, cucumber, tomato, Serrano, cilantro and salt.
- Refrigerate another 10 minutes to let the flavours pull together.
- Spoon onto crisp tostadas. Top each with diced avocado.
- Pass Mexican hot sauce at the table.
Tip from the editors. Lime juice must be fresh; bottled juice tastes like furniture polish. Cure no longer than 30 minutes or the fish goes chalky and the texture collapses.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Where to eat baja-style ceviche
Baja-style ceviche in San Diego
Featured by TableJourney as a signature dish of San Diego. See the San Diego signature dishes guide for the canonical version.
More cities are in research. Want baja-style ceviche covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.