Becci Tomasek

Sea Bass Ceviche

Becci Tomasek
Sea Bass Ceviche

Marinating fish in lime juice is a type of “cooking”. It’s not real cooking since heat isn’t applied, but lime juice denatures the proteins in the fish and make it firmer and more opaque as if it had been cooked with heat.

Marinating fish in lime juice doesn’t destroy pathogens or parasites like cooking with heat does, so make sure you use sushi grade fish. You can also freeze your fish for several hours before thawing again to make ceviche, or blanch the fish for a few minutes as well.

For my ceviche, I used a sushi-grade flash frozen sea bass that I had thawed to make this recipe. I purchased it at Wild Fork where all of their foods are flash frozen at -40 deg, and wonderful quality.

Fish Marinade

  • Zest of 1 lime

  • 1 cup fresh lime juice

  • ½ teaspoon salt

  • ½ teaspoon cane sugar

  • ½ teaspoon Mexican hot sauce ( like Cholula)

  • 1 small clove garlic, pressed

Ceviche

  • 12 ounces sushi-grade sea bass (fresh or previously frozen and thawed), cubed approx 3/4 inch

  • 1 ½ cup peeled, seeded, and chopped cucumber

  • 1 cup halved grape tomatoes

  • 2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro minced

  • 1 Tablespoon minced chives

  • 1 avocado, diced + more for garnish (use a ripe but firm avocado that's not too soft)

  • Salt, pepper, and Creole seasoning, to taste

  • Hot sauce to taste, (skip if using fresh hot peppers)


Instructions

  • Prepare the fish marinade by mixing together the lime zest, lime juice, salt, sugar, hot sauce (or minced hot peppers), and garlic in a ziploc bag.

  • Cube your sea bass into cubes about ¾-inch each and place in the bag with the marinade. Mix together well so everything is coated, and let rest in the fridge for 30-45 minutes (marinate your fish less time if you like it softer and more rare, more time if you prefer it more firm and opaque).

  • While the fish is marinating, prepare the cucumber, tomatoes, cilantro, and chives and place in a large bowl.

  • Once the fish is done marinating, place the fish in the bowl along with a few Tablespoons of the marinade liquid.

  • Toss together the veggies, the fish and a little marinade (as little or as much marinade as you prefer), the avocado, additional salt, pepper, Creole seasoning, and hot sauce to taste.

  • Serve immediately. You can serve this with tortilla chips or by itself. Store this in an airtight container 1 day, best if consumed on the day it's made.