Cebiche is a wonderful combination of raw seafood and citrus juices of some kind like lemons, limes, oranges, etc… Heat is not applied and the seafood is “cooked” via the juice. Oh, the only heat added is a heat from a hot pepper of some kind.

Here are some basic instructions on preparing cebiche:

1. Use fresh ingredients.
2. Don’t marinade too long…not more than 3 hours.
3. Make your cuts identical sizes.

My favorite recipe is the one I use in my Octopus Ceviche.

Is it cebiche or ceviche? I’m not really sure. My guess is cebiche is used mostly in South America while ceviche is used everywhere else.

Now where do I go for cebiche when I don’t feel like making any? I head to La Mar in the Embarcadero in San Francisco. They serve a variety of cebiches. On your first visit, I recommend doing the cebiche tasting. The tasting serves their Clásico, Mixto, Chalaco, and Nikei cebiches. From there you can move on to more complex types.

I should add that La Mar is a Peruvian restaurant and has many more delectable foods that represent Peru.

La Mar
Pier 1.5 Embarcadero
San Francisco, CA 94111
415-397-8880