Rocoto pepper.
This looks like a small bell pepper but it's not. They have black seeds and are a little spicy. The ceviche called for a Rocoto Pepper Paste, which was the pepper blended with vegetable oil, and it was so fragrant, it made me cough. According to the interwebs, you can substitute a habanero pepper for this one. I took a pic of the rocoto pepper because it's so unique!
Yellow pepper.
This pepper looks similar to a banana pepper but like the rocoto is way spicier. They didn't smell spicy so I didn't wash my hands after removing the seeds and membrane. Big mistake. Big. I scratched my nose and applied lip balm and very soon after, I felt the burn.. Luckily I've done this enough after chopping jalapenos that I know to wash the affected area with hot water and dish soap but it was still uncomfortable. My hands and lips were still burning an hour later, which was the best feeling ever. Heat wise, a serrano pepper will match the yellow pepper but again, the habanero is supposed to be a better bet because the flavor is more nuanced.
Onto the ingredients:
Crab Ceviche
12 oz large crab, cleaned. You can use any variety of crab.
Juice of 20 lemons. I used 2.
5 tbsps rocoto chili paste, which is rocoto pepper blended with veggie oil.
2 tsps chopped limo chile. I couldn't find this pepper and couldn't find recommendations for a substitute so I eliminated this.
1 tsp chopped cilantro. I went ahead and used cilantro since it actually was for flavor and not dumb garnish.
1 medium celery stalk, chopped
1 1/2 oz fresh yuyo seaweed. I also couldn't find this so I didn't use it.
1 1/2 cups Tiger Milk. I'm not going to make a Charlie Sheen joke here because that would be too easy. Tiger Milk is a Peruvian marinade. This citrus based marinade is what cures the seafood in ceviche. It's made by blending lemon juice, fish stock, celery, red onion, salt, cilantro, and limo chile. Instead of limo chile, I used a small yellow pepper.
1 red onion, thinly sliced.
1 corncob, cooked and kernels removed, and 2 sweet potatoes, boiled and sliced, to serve.
Clean yo crabs! Here's a pic of mine. Ugly little effers!
Keep the meat from the head separate. I don't know why you do this, an explanation is not given. If you know, please share. In a bowl, mix the lemon juice, rocoto chili paste, limo chile, cilantro, celery, and seaweed. Season with salt. Pour this mixture and Tiger Milk over the crab meat. Add the head meat and mix together well. Add the onion and let this sit with ice cubes. Instead of using ice cubes, I put my bowl in the refrigerator for about thirty minutes.
I was introduced to ceviche over ten years ago but it was a
white fish ceviche. When they explained how the fish was "cooked" by
the citric acid, I didn't get it. Like, you cook with heat, not juice! I
was never good at chemistry...when I finally got over it and tried it,
it was delicious! I've had it numerous times since then but I've never
actually made it myself, until today! And of course I chose crab
ceviche, which involved shucking a crab, another first!
First things first: crabs look gross and they do not sing
and dance like Sebastian from The Little Mermaid. That was a letdown.
Second things second: crabs do not contain a lot of meat, at least not
the blue crabs I used. The recipe called for 12 oz of meat but after
smashing four crabs, I got half that amount. It worked out for us
because only the hubs and I were eating but I tell him I was glad I
wasn't making this for a large group of people
.
This ceviche was also to be served with corn and boiled
sweet potato. Odd but okay. You know, sometimes things are put together
for a reason and this was no exception. The corn was fine, nothing
unexpected there, but the sweet potato was a pleasant surprise. It
reduced the fishiness of the crab and the strong flavor of the cilantro.
The few times I've had ceviche, it's been served with crackers but in
this case, the starches were the potato and corn. I'm sure there's a
science behind this but I'm not going to look into it. Overall it was
really yummy and I'll make this again! But next time I'll just buy crab
meat. I'm still finding crab shell in my kitchen.
Scallop Cau Cau
2 tbsps Yellow Chili, Garlic, and Onion condiment
3 tbsps yellow chili paste. This is made by blending yellow peppers and veggie oil.
4 white potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Since I was making just enough for James and I, I reduced the measurements by a lot.
2 cups fish stock
40 scallops. I used maybe 15 and cut them in half.
3/4 cups fresh peas. I used frozen.
1 tbsp chopped mint leaves
2 cups Peruvian Style white rice to serve
Sweat the yellow chili, garlic, and onion condiment with the yellow pepper paste. If you're using fresh peas, you can boil them at this point for five minutes. If using frozen, move along.
Add the potato and fish broth. Bring to a simmer and cook over low heat for 10 minutes, until they are tender. Add scallops and peas. Once the scallops are cooked, roughly 2 minutes, season with salt and pepper. Stir in the mint and serve with white rice.
Scallops hold a special place in my heart but not because they are delicious; I had scallops on James' and my first date. Scallops will always remind me of that terrible first date. Memories! The mushiness of the potatoes paired well with the chewiness of the scallops but the real delight came from the peas and mint. I also think the rice with the cau cau was unnecessary. I think another veggie would be better because the potatoes are filing on their own. Both of us felt bloated after this meal but it was so good! It's just part of the job, you know...
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