The weather is starting to get nicer up here in Ottawa, and as the sun starts to stick around more, all I want to eat is fresh, tangy, spicy seafood. It must be the promise of summer and warmer weather that gives me the yearning for this kind of food.
Enter this light and flavourful aguachile. I have posted another recipe for a black aguachile made with steak (check it out, it’s delicious!), but I love this one because of the seafood. The literal translation for aguachile is chile water, and a runny spicy liquid it is. This one relies on the citrus and chiles, but adds the umami of soy sauce, Worcestershire and Maggi seasoning.
If I lived on the coast and I had fresh-out-of-the-water seafood, I would not marinate this aguachile for more than 5 minutes, but since all I have available is frozen/thawed shrimp and scallops, it is best to let them chill in the sauce for about 30 minutes before assembling the finished dish. Regardless, you will have a stunning and delicious plate of goodness that needs to be consumed posthaste.
Try it out for yourself and let me know what you think. It may become one of your go-to seafood appetizers. Serve with corn tostadas and a beer. Perfectly perfect.
Aguachile Negro de Camarón y Callo de Hacha
Black Shrimp and Scallop Aguachile
1 1/3 cups freshly squeezed lime juice
3 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
3 Tbsp liquid Maggi seasoning
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1-2 Serrano or Jalapeño chiles, chopped
1-2 arbol chiles, crumbled
A few piquín chiles
A bit of water to tone down the acidity of the sauce, if needed
250g 31-40 shrimp, thawed, peeled, deveined and butterflied
250g sea scallops, thawed, muscle removed and sliced in thirds horizontally
1 large avocado, peeled and sliced thin
1/2 English cucumber, sliced thin
1/4 red onion, sliced very thin
2-3 radishes, sliced very thin
Cilantro leaves for garnish
Salsa macha for garnish (optional)
Corn tostadas for serving
Place lime juice, soy sauce, Maggi seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, Serrano, árbol and piquín chiles in blender container. Process until completely smooth, and season with salt to taste. It should taste good on its own. If it’s too tangy, add a bit of water to tone the citrus down.
Place butterflied shrimp and sliced scallops in glass or non-reactive dish. Pour black sauce over seafood, stir, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
While seafood is marinating, slice cucumber, red onion, radishes and avocado.
When the half hour has passed, grab a pretty platter and arrange cucumbers and avocados overlapping around edges. Place seafood and juice in the centre and garnish with red onion, radishes and cilantro leaves. Drizzle with salsa macha, if using.
Serve with corn tostadas.
Serves 2-4.