scallop and shrimp aguachile

Prawn

Scallop & Shrimp Aguachile

My first taste of aguachile was in Los Angeles a few years ago, and I was thrilled to rediscover it back in NYC's Jackson Heights at Mariscos El Submarino, a Mexican seafood restaurant specializing in aguachiles, cócteles, ceviche, and other freshly prepared dishes. Aguachile, meaning "chili water," is a dish from Sinaloa, México, is similar to ceviche but with a focus on spiciness. It typically consists of raw seafood, often shrimp (and here I'm using scallops as well), cured in lime juice, and then submerged in a broth made of the marinating liquid, soy sauce or Maggi liquid seasoning, jalapeños, Serranos, cilantro, and garlic. The broth's spiciness can range from mild to fiery, but it typically packs a punch, living up to the dish's name.

Ingredients

½ pounds scallops, thinly sliced
½ pounds wild argentinian red shrimp or large shrimp; peeled, deveined, and halved lengthwise
1 cup fresh lime juice (from about 6 limes)
diamond crystal kosher salt to taste
¼ red onion, thinly sliced
1 radish, thinly sliced
2 cups ice water, for soaking onion and radish
½ jalapeño, thinly sliced
¼ cucumber, thinly sliced
1 hass avocado, thinly sliced
extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
1 cup lime juice, reserved from "cooking" the seafood
1 tablespoon soy sauce or coconut aminos or maggi seasoning sauce
2 garlic cloves
1 bunch fresh cilantro, leaves and stems
1 jalapeño
1 serrano
diamond crystal kosher salt, to taste
½ lime, zest and juice
extra virgin olive oil
flaky salt (such as maldon)
tostadas and/or saltine crackers, on the side

Directions

“Cook” the seafood: Slice the scallops and shrimp in half lengthwise, then slice each scallop half into two pieces, resulting in fourths. Place seafood into a non-reactive bowl along with lime juice and salt, ensuring the seafood is completely submerged. Set aside for half an hour, stirring once halfway through.
Make the garnish: Thinly slice the red onion and radish and place into a bowl with ice water. This takes some of the harsh raw onion bite away from the onions and helps both the onions and radish stay very crisp. Thinly slice the cucumber and avocado and set aside along with a squeeze of lime and a pinch of salt.
Make the marinade: After a half hour has passed, strain the lime juice from the scallop and shrimp and place into a blender along with the soy sauce, garlic, cilantro, jalapeño, serrano, and a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth.
To assemble: Add aguachile broth back into the bowl with the seafood and stir. Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Transfer to a serving plate with high sides to contain the liquid, or to a traditional molcajete. Top with your sliced red onion, radishes, cucumber, avocado, and sliced jalapeño. Finish with fresh cilantro, lime zest and juice, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and a pinch of flaky salt. Serve immediately with tostadas, tortilla chips, or saltine crackers. Aguachile should be consumed within 2 hours of completion, otherwise the seafood will turn mushy the longer it sits.