Aguachile will transport you to the beaches of Mexico with every refreshing, citrusy bite. Aguachile is a traditional Mexican dish with raw seafood, lime, and fresh toppings like cucumber, red onion, and avocado. While it might look like a ceviche, it’s not because the shrimp can be eaten raw like a crudo.
Aguachile literally translates to spicy water, but this recipe doesn’t turn up the heat — it helps you beat it. When it’s too hot to fire up your burners or turn on the oven, this aguachile will cool you down. It’s the perfect dish for a hot summer day.
This recipe skips the spice and chiles, but you can add Serrano peppers or salsa verde to make it spicy.
Make this aguachile as an appetizer for a group gathering or split it with a friend as your main dish. It’s a great addition to your spread for a Mexican dinner night, and you can have it on the table in less than 30 minutes.
The shrimp
Get fresh shrimp from the seafood market or counter at your grocery store. The dish is supposed to be fresh, so frozen shrimp doesn’t hit the same.
Jumbo or large shrimp are best. The larger the shrimp, the fewer shrimp per pound, which means you won’t spend all afternoon peeling, deveining, and butterflying shrimps. Even though it’s fewer actual shrimps, it’s still one pound, which yields 4 servings.
Because you’ll be butterflying your shrimp, you might as well save money and get unpeeled shrimp since you’ll need to take off the tail anyway, but if you’re short on time, peeled and deveined shrimp is totally fine.
Adding extra toppings
Avocado
Thinly sliced avocado is a great addition to this dish; just arrange it on top of your shrimp.
Serrano peppers
To add more spice, thinly slice Serrano peppers and add them on top. Soaking the sliced Serrano peppers in the lime juice will temper their heat a little bit — it’s like a quick pickle.
Salsa verde
This fresh salsa verde is the perfect accompaniment to the aguachile. Put a few drops on top of your aguachile for more spice. Even if you don’t put it on your aguachile, you can serve it on the side with chips.
Serving your aguachile
Aguachile is best enjoyed with tortilla chips. Scoop up the shrimp with a chip and enjoy.
Simple Shrimp Aguachile
Ingredients
- 1 lb jumbo or large shrimps
- 6 limes about 3/4 cup
- 1/2 cucumber
- 1/8 red onion
- salt
Instructions
- Squeeze the juice out of 6 limes until you have 3/4 of a cup of lime juice.
- Peel, devein, and butterfly 1 lb jumbo or large shrimps.To butterfly the shrimp, first peel it by taking off the shell and removing the legs. Then, carefully cut down the middle of the shrimp with a sharp knife while being mindful to not cut all the way through. Devein the shrimp by taking out the dark gray vein in the back (it’s the digestive track aka poop duct <3). Your shrimp should lay flat after butterflying it.
- Rinse the shrimp after you’ve butterflied it to make sure it’s clean.
- Put the butterflied shrimp in a bowl and pour in the lime juice.
- Thinly slice 1/2 cucumber and 1/8 red onion.
- Arrange the cucumbers on the rim of your serving plate.
- Place the shrimp on a single layer on the plate.
- Season the shrimp with salt.
- Add thinly sliced red onion on top.
- Pour the lime juice over the plate.
- Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy.
Note: Aguachile is not cooked. The lime doesn’t need to cook the shrimp to eat it. Consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness.
There is always a risk in eating raw or undercooked proteins, but if you typically feel comfortable eating sushi, you shouldn’t worry about eating aguachile at home. If you are worried, allow your shrimp to sit in the lime for a least 15 minutes for the shrimp to “cook” like a ceviche.
Looking for a more traditional ceviche recipe? Check out this simple lime ceviche.
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