Ceviche and Peruvian cuisine

A plate of ceviche

The essentials

• el pescado crudo raw fish, which the lime "cooks"
• el jugo de limón the juice of the small green Peruvian lime
• la cebolla roja red onion
• el ají chilli, the Andean and Caribbean word
• la sal salt

On the side

• el camote sweet potato — A Nahuatl word.
• el choclo corn on the cob — From Quechua.
• la cancha toasted corn — From Quechua.

To drink at the end

• la leche de tigre tiger's milk: the lime-and-fish juice, served in a small glass

The three Peruvian chillies

• el ají amarillo yellow chilli
• el rocoto rocoto
• el ají panca panca chilli

• Ceviche is raw fish, lime juice, red onion, ají and salt; the lime cooks the fish, which changes colour in about fifteen minutes.
• It is served with camote, choclo and cancha, and the juice, leche de tigre, is drunk at the end.
• Ají amarillo, rocoto and ají panca are the three Peruvian chillies, and almost no dish exists without them.

Pescado crudo, jugo de limón, cebolla roja, ají y sal.

Raw fish, lime juice, red onion, chilli and salt.

El limón lo cocina. En quince minutos el pescado cambia de color.

The lime cooks it. In fifteen minutes the fish changes colour.

Es la leche de tigre: el jugo del ceviche. Lo toman al final.

That's the leche de tigre: the juice from the ceviche. You drink it at the end.

When and where it is eaten

Ceviche is eaten at midday, never at night: the fish came in from the sea that morning, and cevicherías close in the afternoon. It used to be left for hours in the lime; today it is served almost immediately. It is a main course, not a starter.

In 2023 UNESCO inscribed the practices and meanings of ceviche on its Representative List, describing a dish made at home or sold in cevicherías, where women cooks are especially notable; eaten daily and at festivities, above all the feast of Saint Peter, patron of artisanal fishers; with recipes that differ from region to region and knowledge passed down within families.

• Ceviche is eaten at midday, never at night, because the fish arrives from the sea in the morning; cevicherías close in the afternoon.
• The fish used to be left for hours in the lime; today it is served almost at once, and as a main course rather than a starter.
• UNESCO inscribed "Practices and meanings associated with the preparation and consumption of ceviche, an expression of Peruvian traditional cuisine" on the Representative List in 2023.
• Ceviche is made at home or sold in cevicherías, where traditional women cooks are especially notable; recipes vary by region; it is linked to the feast of Saint Peter, patron saint of artisanal fishers.

Muy bien. Pero recuerden: el ceviche se come al mediodía, nunca de noche.

Very good. But remember: ceviche is eaten at midday, never at night.

Porque el pescado llegó del mar esta mañana. Así es el Perú.

Because the fish came from the sea this morning. That's how Peru is.

Why Lima eats so well

The basis is geography: within a few kilometres Peru goes from cold sea to desert, Andes and jungle, and each level has its own larder. The Andes grow more than four thousand varieties of potato and hundreds of kinds of maize. To that base the colonial period added Spanish pork, rice and onion and the frying of enslaved Africans; in the nineteenth century a hundred thousand Chinese came to work and, when their contracts ended, opened eating houses, which is where lomo saltado and the chifa come from. The Japanese arrived from 1899, and their children transformed ceviche: thinner fish, less time in the lime, ginger and soy, the cooking called nikkei.

For decades Peruvians ate all this at home and in markets while elegant restaurants served French food. That changed with Gastón Acurio, who came back from Paris in 1994, opened a French restaurant, got bored, and began cooking what his grandmother ate. In 2023 Lima's Central was chosen the best restaurant in the world; and in any market a set menu still costs less than a coffee in Madrid.

• More than four thousand varieties of potato and hundreds of kinds of maize are grown in the Andes.
• Spanish pork, rice and onion and the frying of enslaved Africans were added to the Andean base; a hundred thousand Chinese arrived in the nineteenth century and opened eating houses, the origin of the chifa and of lomo saltado; Japanese immigrants from 1899 produced nikkei cooking.
• Gastón Acurio, back from Paris in 1994, turned to cooking what his grandmother ate; Central, by Virgilio Martínez, was chosen the world's best restaurant in 2023.
• Peruvians argue about food the way Argentines argue about football; pollo a la brasa is the most eaten dish, ahead of ceviche.

En los Andes se cultivan más de cuatro mil variedades de papa, de todos los colores, y cientos de tipos de maíz.

In the Andes more than four thousand varieties of potato are grown, in every colour, and hundreds of kinds of maize.

De esa mezcla nació el lomo saltado: carne de res, cebolla y tomate salteados en un wok con salsa de soja, servidos con papas fritas y arroz.

From that mixture was born lomo saltado: beef, onion and tomato stir-fried in a wok with soy sauce, served with chips and rice.

Los peruanos discuten de comida como los argentinos de fútbol, y preguntar cuál es el mejor ceviche de Lima puede terminar una amistad.

Peruvians argue about food the way Argentines argue about football, and asking which is the best ceviche in Lima can end a friendship.

Words at the table

¿Qué lleva?

what's in it?

¿Qué nos recomienda?

what do you recommend?

crudo

raw

el almuerzo

lunch, the main meal in Peru

las papas

potatoes

el ají de gallina

shredded chicken in a yellow chilli sauce

la chicha morada

a sweet purple-corn drink, no alcohol

¿Qué lleva exactamente?

What's in it exactly?

Ají de gallina, como todos los domingos.

Ají de gallina, like every Sunday.

¿Ya? Pero si comiste poquito. ¿Te sirvo un poco más?

Already? But you hardly ate anything. Shall I give you a bit more?