Aguachile

Aguachile is a Mexican dish of raw shrimp cured in a chilli and lime juice mixture, served cold. It comes from the Pacific coast of northwestern Mexico, especially Sinaloa and Sonora.

What it really is

Aguachile is built on raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, which is laid in lime juice and left for a short time until the flesh turns opaque. The marinade is blended with fresh green chilli, often serrano, and sometimes garlic, coriander and salt. The shrimp are then arranged on a plate with thin slices of cucumber, red onion and avocado, and the chilli liquid is poured over the top.

The name comes from the Spanish words for chilli water, and the dish is a close relative of ceviche, but the shrimp spend only a few minutes in the acid, so the texture stays firm and the flavour is sharper and hotter. Ceviche is usually made with chunks of fish left longer in citrus, and aguachile is typically served with the marinade still liquid rather than drained.

How it's served

• Served cold on a flat plate or in a shallow dish, with the chilli liquid spooned over the shrimp.
• Eaten with tostadas, tortilla chips or saltine-style crackers.
• Often accompanied by cold beer or a michelada.
• Eaten at once, as the shrimp continue to cook in the acid and soften if left standing.

How to write it on the menu

• Name the main ingredients: raw shrimp, lime juice, green chilli, cucumber and red onion.
• Flag crustaceans (shrimp) as the allergen that matters, and note that the dish is served raw.
• State the chilli level and whether the dish is served as aguachile verde (green chilli, cucumber) or a red version with dried chilli.