Shrimp boiled briefly, then dressed with red onion, tomato, cilantro, tomato sauce and the juice of lime and orange, and left twenty minutes for it to come together.
Cooked, not cured
Ceviche in Peru means raw fish cured in citrus juice. Ceviche on the Colombian coast usually means something else: the seafood is cooked first, then dressed.
That is what this recipe does. The shrimp are boiled for a few minutes, cooled, and then mixed with onion, tomato, cilantro, tomato sauce and the juice of lime and orange.
It is worth knowing before you start, because someone expecting a Peruvian ceviche will be surprised by both the pink colour and the texture.
Watch the shape of the shrimp
The recipe gives times by size and they are good, but the shrimp itself is the better guide.
A raw shrimp is straight and translucent. A cooked one turns opaque and curls into a loose C. An overcooked one curls right round into a tight O and the texture goes rubbery.
Aim for the C and take them out the moment you see it, regardless of what the clock says.
Cool them immediately
This is the step that most often goes wrong. Shrimp carry a great deal of heat and keep cooking in it for several minutes after they come out of the pot.
Drain them and get them cold straight away, under running water or in a bowl of iced water. A batch that looked perfect coming out of the pan can be rubbery by the time it reaches the bowl if it was left to cool on its own.
The twenty minutes matter
The last step leaves everything to sit for at least twenty minutes, and the recipe card used to leave that out of the total time entirely, promising a ten minute dish.
In that time the onion softens slightly, the citrus works into the shrimp, and the tomato sauce, lime and orange stop being three separate things. An hour in the fridge is better still.
It is served cold, with saltines or patacones.
More seafood
- Pescado frito — the whole fried fish.
- Coconut fish soup — the other coastal one.
- Bagre en salsa — from the rivers.
- Patacones — what you scoop it with.
- Octopus with plantain purée — the other cold seafood plate.
Shrimp Ceviche FAQ
Cooked. This is the Colombian style, not the Peruvian one: the shrimp are boiled briefly and then dressed, rather than cured raw in citrus juice.
About 3 minutes for small, four and a half for medium, six for large. The shape is a better guide than the clock: a cooked shrimp curls into a loose C and turns opaque.
Cool them the moment they leave the water, under cold running water or in iced water. Shrimp hold a lot of heat and carry on cooking for several minutes after draining, which is where most overcooked ceviche comes from.
It went too far. A loose C is cooked, a tight O is overcooked, and the texture will be rubbery.
Because this is the coastal Colombian version. A cup of tomato sauce goes in with the lime and orange juice, which gives the pink, slightly sweet dressing you see on the coast.
Twenty minutes at minimum, which is what the recipe says, and an hour in the fridge is better. That resting is now counted in the total time, which it was not before.
Saltine crackers or patacones, cold, straight from the fridge. It is a starter or a beach dish rather than a main course.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds shrimp (washed and cleaned)
- ½ cup red onion (thinly sliced)
- ½ cup tomato (diced)
- ¼ cup cilantro (chopped)
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- Juice of 1 lime
- Juice of 2 oranges
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
Notas
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to the boil. Meanwhile, wash and clean the shrimp. Once the water is boiling, add them and cook: about 3 minutes for small shrimp, 4 and a half for medium, about 6 for large. They are done when they turn opaque and curl into a loose C. Drain them and cool them straight away.
- Chop the onion and the tomato, chop the cilantro, and squeeze the juice from the orange and the lime.
- Mix everything in a large bowl with the tomato sauce, the juices, salt and pepper. Stir gently until combined.
- Let it sit for at least 20 minutes so the flavours come together, then serve cold.
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