Mexican · Main · Easy
Aguachile
Raw shrimp cured in lime juice with cucumber, red onion, and serrano chile. Like ceviche's spicier, fresher cousin.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Aguachile, in 5 ideas
- Aguachile means chile water, named for the spicy lime bath
- Butterflying the shrimp lets the lime cure them quickly and evenly
- This is Sinaloa street food, best eaten ice cold on a hot day
- The shrimp continue to cure as they sit, so serve within an hour
- Serranos give clean heat; habanero makes a fiery version
What you need
Ingredients
- 1 lb large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and butterflied
- 1 cup fresh lime juice
- 2 serrano chiles
- 1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 1 tsp salt
- Tostadas or crackers, for serving
How to make it
Directions
- Arrange the butterflied shrimp in a single layer in a dish.
- Pour over the lime juice and salt. Refrigerate 20 to 30 minutes until the shrimp turn pink and opaque.
- Blend one serrano with a splash of the lime curing liquid.
- Drain off most of the lime juice and toss the shrimp with the chile mixture.
- Top with cucumber, red onion, and cilantro.
- Serve immediately with tostadas.
Money saver. Limes are cheapest in big bags; you need a lot of juice here so buy the bag, not the singles.