“Cerviche”: Spanish for “How to Impress Your Friends at a Dinner Party Without Really Trying”

By Allie Ferrara / New York City

I’m still on my Los Angeles high so I thought I would share a recipe inspired by a taste bud orgasm I had at the Lazy Ox Canteen in Little Tokyo.

ClassyConti and I decided to split four appetizers, one of which was the dashi marinated yellowtail with avocado, hash brown and tonburi. In the words of Charlie Sheen, this dish was a “total bitchin’ rockstar from Mars.” It lit up every part of my mouth. It was scintillating. The yellowtail was perfectly marinated in an orange-chili-lime juice giving it a bright, clean and slightly sweet punch. The avocado whip and tonburi garnish (I won’t pretend you know what that is. Hint Hint: the white balls) mixed well when spread on the hot hashbrown cake. It. Was. Awesome. I could eat that every day.

So, you’re probably wondering where the nearest Japanese specialty mart is and “what the hell is dashi. You didn’t explain that part!?” Well, relax friends because I’m going to show you an adapted recipe that even the most cuisine challenged individual can pull off: a Peruvian-Japanese influenced tuna and shrimp cerviche with spicy mayo a la Dario Matsufuji.

You will need:
(Serves 4)

½ lb of sashimi grade ahi tuna
½ lb of shrimp, cooked
¼ lb of salmon roe, for garnish
1 avocado, cubed
1 ripe mango, cubed
3 Thai green chilies (a half of a jalapeño works too), seeded and minced
½ cup of fresh lemon juice
½ cup of fresh lime juice
¼ cup of cilantro, washed and chopped
1 TBS of pink salt (table salt works but pink and green rock salts taste best)
¼ of a red onion, diced

Spicy Mayo:
½ cup of siracha sauce
½ cup of low fat mayo

Small tortillas (Mission brand are the best) for serving

Directions:
Cut tuna into 1/2 inch cubes, and place into a bowl. Dice shrimp and add (if you have some canned lump crab laying around, hey! throw that in too.) Add onion, salt, lemon and lime juices (if you have OJ laying around add a splash). Set aside for 15 minutes in the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, grease a muffin pan and fit tortillas for four, and pop into the oven at 300 degrees F for 5 minutes before serving or until crisp.

Remove fish from the fridge and add cilantro, chilies, mango and avocado. Hint: there is a fantastic jicama-mango-red pepper salsa at Whole Foods I love to throw in when I can’t find ripe mangoes. Adjust salt and citrus for taste. Fill tortilla cups with mixture and garnish with salmon roe or some toasted sesame seeds if you can’t find roe. Top with spicy mayo or serve in personal squeeze bottles for some ‘wow’ factor (you can find them at Crate & Barrel).

Cheats:

If you live in New York the Grand Central marketplace, Eataly and Whole Foods all have these ingredients.

Want to amp up the Japanese flavors? Add some fish sauce or soy sauce to your lemon-lime marination. Fresh minced ginger is a yummy addition as well.

Don’t have tortillas? Never owned a muffin pan? Serve in a martini glass!

Tags: Cerviche, Cooking, Los Angeles, Recipe