Journey through Peru with four takes on ceviche that highlight the versatility of the dish as well as the diversity of the country’s ingredients
Ceviche is best enjoyed on a summer day – it’s a refreshing combination of citrus and spice bursting with the ocean’s bounty. It’s the dish that first put the spotlight on Peruvian cuisine and is universally loved for its simplicity. The key is to create a well-balanced leche de tigre (tiger’s milk), the base that’s a tangy mix of lime juice, onion, chillies, salt, pepper and the juices of the fish. There’s no standard recipe, insist four of Peru’s top chefs at the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Masterclass in Singapore. In this special session, Gastón Acurio, Virgilio Martinez, Rafael Piqueras and Mitsuharu Tsumura – collectively known as the Leche de Tigre gang – display ingenious ways of elevating the ceviche, all the while showcasing Peru’s biodiversity and cultural heritage in one delicious, mouth-watering mix.
GASTÓN ACURIO, ASTRID Y GASTÓN
With more than 40 restaurants around the world, chef Gastón Acurio is the foremost ambassador of Peruvian cuisine, with an empire stretching from Miami to Lima and on to London. He’s a colossal force in promoting the food, ingredients and influences of his motherland, grabbing you with an intensity that speaks volumes about his country and culture. It’s fitting that Gastón named his version “Ceviche Power”, considering how widespread the dish has become. Gastón’s creation consists of crab, scallop and shrimp in a sea urchin leche de tigre with coral and rocoto. It’s a tribute to umami that highlights the rich resources of Peru – and shows how versatile a ceviche can be.
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RAFAEL PIQUERAS, MARAS
The beauty of a ceviche lies in its simplicity – and chef Rafael Piqueras shows us exactly how it’s done. His creation at the masterclass showcases a classic combination of avocado and acid, which is then paired with premium wild sea bass, sweet river shrimp and juicy scallops. Known for serving sophisticated, minimalist creations at his restaurant Maras, Rafael’s take is satisfying, elegant and a great introduction to the timeless flavours of Peru.
VIRGILIO MARTINEZ, CENTRAL
Highly lauded chef Virgilio Martinez – his restaurant, Central, is ranked number one on the Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants list – is known for presenting Peru’s unique geography on a plate. Sourcing from the sea and the Andes mountains, Virgilio brings the breadth of the terrain and its distinct flavours to his “Pseudo-cereals and white sea bass ceviche”. Highland ingredients such as quinoa, kiwicha (amaranth) and kañihua meet sea bass in an avocado puree. These are married with a tiger’s milk of yellow chilli, onion, celery, garlic, ginger, coriander and plenty of lime juice.
MITSUHARU TSUMURA, MAIDO
Peru’s multicultural landscape is a constant inspiration for chef Mitsuharu Tsumura, who specialises in Nikkei cuisine. At Maido, he takes diners on a cultural journey, infusing Japanese influences with Peruvian ingredients and techniques. What he presented at the masterclass epitomises this: his dazzlingly visual “Smoked yellow chilli tiger’s milk and seafood ceviche” incorporates kombu, katsuobushi and tobiko with two kinds of chilli, creating a ceviche with a bold personality that’s equal parts East and West.
This article originally appeared as Peruvian Odyssey in the July 2015 issue of Home Journal