Ceviche: Panamanian -vs-Colombian (and don’t forget Mexican ceviche)
I am willing to eat raw fish in citrus juice regardless of a country’s method of preparation. I have found, however, that ceviche is done a bit differently depending on what country you are visiting. Obviously, individual variations show up from restaurant from restaurant even in the same town or Country but I do there are some distinctive national differences. For example, you will often find that Ecuadorian ceviche has a tomato base and sometimes has a local corn nut sprinkled on the top. I haven’t seen that anywhere else. Most ceviche is service soupy in a bowl but Mexican ceviche can be eaten wet (in a bowl) or dry when put on top of a tortilla. I have a few favorites so here are my takes on Mexican, Panamanian and Colombian ceviche.
Colombian Ceviche
If you look on-line for recipes for Colombian ceviche, you will likely not find any and yet, when I was in Cartagena, my family and I went to a nearby spot called La Cevicheria. We then proceeded to eat every lunch and dinner for multiple days at this same restaurant. It became almost comical when at each meal time we showed up to have our bowls of ceviche. We couldn’t help ourselves as the ceviche was SO DELICIOUS. My mouth is watering just writing these words.. While La Cevicheria had fish, shrimp and octopus ceviche, my favorite was the ceviche made from langoustines. A langoustine is a very small lobster (looks more like a crawfish) and can be found in the frozen section of Costco and Trader Joes. Colombian ceviche is typically marinated in lime juice and has the usual ingredients: serrano or jalapeno peppers (I don’t find Colombian ceviche nearly as spicy as their Mexican or Peruvian cousins’ versions), red onion, garlic and cilantro. That being said, a specialty of Cartagena is to use blood oranges and a sprinkle of dill to the mix. After my visit to Cartagena, I now make ceviche with whatever citrus I might have on stock to include grapefruit and traditional oranges. What to give the Colombian version a try? You will need:
Colombian Ceviche
- 1 1/2 lb. of cooked langoustine meat, coarsely chopped
- ½ cup red onion thinly sliced (red is pretty but any will do)
- ½ to ¾ cup of juiced blood oranges (although any citrus will do)
- 1 tsp crushed dill
- 2 serrano peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped. If you like this spicier, you can substitute 1 habanero chili instead
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
- 2 small cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
Slice the onion into slices into a bowl of cool water and let sit for 5-10 minutes, drain and then place in a glass bowl with the blood orange juice and a sprinkling of salt. Place the rest of the ingredients into the bowl, stir and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. As the langoustines are cooked, you do not need to wait to have them “cook” in the orange juice but you do want the flavors to come together. You will likely need to add additional salt before serving.
Panamanian Ceviche
Panama seems to really like their seabass when it comes to ceviche making. While in Panama City I 
had octopus, squid, conch, black conch and of course, fish (seabass). At the Mercado de Marsicos (Fish Market) the ceviche comes in plastic cups and costs approximately $3.00 a cup. This is a dangerous price because you can eat it all: cup after cup after cup. My daughter, Elena, and I did just that and roller ourselves home to the hotel. Ceviche in Panama is served pretty simply with onion, celery, cilantro and lemon along with hot chilies. They do also have a variety where you order ceviche in a pastry shell. Not my favorite but it is a Panamanian thing. Want to make it at home? You will need:
Peruvian Ceviche
- 1 1/2 pounds of rockfish or other mild fish such as red snapper or seabass cut into small pieces-how large is a personal preference but no larger than bite-sized
- ½-3/4 cup lemon juice-I like mine soupy so I would go with ¾ cup
- 2 teaspoon coarsely chopped cilantro
- 2 small cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 finely diced habanero pepper (for the brave) or 1 finely diced jalapeno pepper. Either needs to be seeded and then finely sliced
- ½ cup diced celery stalk
- ¼ cup diced onion (red is pretty but yellow or white will do)
- Salt/pepper to taste
In a glass bowl combine all of the ingredients. Be sure to not be too generous with the salt as you can add later if you need more. Allow the ceviche to “cook” in the lemon juice for at least 6-8 hours in a refrigerator. I don’t like to leave it longer than this as I think the celery and onion becomes too limp. While you can eat this with tortilla chips, I say right of the bowl is the best method.
Peruvian Ceviche
The real difference with Peruvian ceviche is how it is served. It is eaten accompanied by corn and sweet potato and is usually pretty darn spicy. I will also note that Peruvians (and other Andean nations) grow Ahi which comes in a red and yellow variety. A small amount of ahi Amarillo (yellow) is often added to this but as this is a very difficult ingredient to find so if you can’t find it, skip it. Also they often eat a large kernel of corn they call choclo which looks a bit like hominy but is not the same thing. You can use seabass and mahi-mahi is another substitute. Want to give it a try, Peruvian style?
Peruvian Ceviche
- 1 1/2 pounds of seabass or mahi-mahi cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 cup slivered onion (red is pretty but any onion will do)
- ½-3/4 cup lime juice-I like mine soupy so I would go with ¾ cup
- 1 finely diced habanero pepper (for the brave) or 1 finely diced jalapeno pepper. Either needs to be seeded and then finely sliced.
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 orange sweet potato which has been boiled, peeled and cut into either slices or cubed (I have seen both)
- 1 corn on the cob that has been boiled and cut into 4 pieces.
Rinse the fish and onions in cool water and remove the excess moisture. In a glass bowl combine all of the ingredients. You can eat this after only marinating an hour but I prefer leaving it to marinate (in a refrigerator) for at least 3-4 hours before eating.
Mexican Ceviche
I think the people from my region are most familiar with this variety of ceviche. Shrimp is popular and as has been noted, this is often eaten dry on things like tostada shells. The same key players are used: fish or shrimp, lime juice, hot chilies (jalapeno), and cilantro but hot sauce cucumbers, sliced tomatoes and avocado are often added to the mix. My friend, Sandy, taught me an amazingly easy way to make ceviche and a way to get my more picky friends to eat this wonderful food preparation. She uses canned tuna so the true fish hater will not be convinced but if you can get your friends to eat a tuna sandwich you can get them to eat this. Want to give it a try? One final word about this and my friend, Sandy. She thinks I cut too many things COARSELY and she thinks these ingredients should be cut into small pieces. Think small. Now smaller. Maybe you would pass Sandy’s close scrutiny but it is doubtful.
Mexican Tuna Ceviche
- 1 large can of canned tuna, rinsed and drained
- ¼ cup diced red onion (FINELY DICED, as per Sandy)
- 1 Cucumber, peeled and finely diced (think Sandy)
- 3 Tomatoes finely diced (Remember Sandy says fine)
- 1 Jalapeño diced into spec sized pieces (I mean SPEC-Sized)
- 1/2 cup cilantro finely chopped. You could add more cilantro if you like the taste of cilantro but it all should be (oh, yes, finely chopped)
- 1 cup of lemon juice
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Mexican style hot sauce like Cholula (don’t use tabasco)-quantity depends on how spicy you want it
- 1 Avocado, finally chopped (I know, one more Sandy reference) and sprinkled with lemon juice so they don’t brown
Run cool water over the onions and drain well. Combine with the rest of the ingredients except the avocado and let rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Mix in the avocado and eat with tortilla chips. Or from the bowl. Or from the bowl with tortilla chips.
