Ecuadorian · appetizer

Ceviche de Camarón Manabita

Name: Ceviche de Camarón Manabita
Prep time: 23 min
Total time: 1 h 43 min
Cuisine: Ecuadorian
Ingredients: shrimp — 800 g; red onion — 180 g; roma tomatoes — 400 g; lime juice — 150 g; orange juice — 150 g; ketchup — 44 g; oil — 27 g; yellow mustard — 5 g; cilantro — 40 g; salt — 5 g; freshly ground black pepper — 3 g; chifles — 200 g; canguil — 100 g; cumin — 5 g

Ceviche de Camarón Manabita reads citrus 7.2, sourness 6.1 and fruity 5.3 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Ecuadorian appetizer, about 1 hr 43 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 4.9 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 6.7 / 10
Sour & Bright — 9.0 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 2.0 / 10
Rich & Fat — 3.4 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 3.7 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Citrus 7.2 · Sourness 6.1 · Fruity 5.3 · Sweetness 4.7 · Salinity 4.2 · Umami 4.1 · Herbaceous 3.3 · Richness 3.3 · Marine & Briny 3.1 · Earthy 1.8 · Allium 1.8 · Floral 1.8 · Warm Spice 1.8 · Bitterness 0.9

What's in it (14)

shrimp — 800 g
red onion — 180 g
roma tomatoes — 400 g
lime juice — 150 g
orange juice — 150 g
ketchup — 44 g
oil — 27 g
yellow mustard — 5 g
cilantro — 40 g
salt — 5 g
freshly ground black pepper — 3 g
chifles — 200 g
canguil — 100 g
cumin — 5 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 43 min (23 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 55.8 kcal, 6.3 g protein, 1.8 g fat, 4 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

The Ecuadorian ceviche is a soup as much as a salad, and the broth is the part that Peruvians find strange and Ecuadorians consider essential. It comes with popcorn and plantain crisps, it is eaten with a spoon, and the shrimp are cooked rather than cured.
Peel the shrimp but keep every shell and head. Simmer the shells in 500 ml of water for 15 minutes, pressing them with a spoon, then strain hard. This shrimp broth is the base of the dish and skipping it leaves a thin, sweet, ketchup-tasting liquid.
Poach the peeled shrimp in the strained broth for 90 seconds to 2 minutes only, until they have just turned opaque and curled loosely into a C rather than a tight O. Lift them out immediately into a bowl of iced water, then drain. Keep 300 ml of the broth and chill it.
Slice the onion paper-thin, rinse under cold water for a minute, then salt it lightly and leave it 10 minutes; squeeze it dry. This is the curtido and it should stay crunchy.
Blend two of the tomatoes with the cooled shrimp broth, then strain it. Whisk in the lime juice, orange juice, ketchup, mustard, cumin, salt and pepper. Taste it as a drink — it should be sharp, savoury, faintly sweet and salty enough to make you want another sip.
Combine the shrimp, onion, diced tomato and cilantro with the broth and refrigerate at least 1 hour, and up to 4. Unlike a Peruvian ceviche, this one improves with sitting because nothing is being cured — the acid is a dressing, not a cook.
Serve very cold in bowls with the broth, and put chifles and canguil on the table. Ecuadorians spoon the popcorn into the ceviche itself and eat it before it goes soft, which is a texture no other ceviche in the region has.
Substitutions: plantain crisps can stand in for the chifles.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Baked Lemon Fish — Greek
Blackened Mahi Mahi with Mango Salsa — American
Sheet Pan Lemon Garlic Shrimp and Asparagus — American
Grilled Cuban Mojo Pork Chops — Cuban
Carne Asada Burrito Bowl with Grilled Corn — Tex-Mex

Keep reading: what citrus, sourness, fruity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.