Aguachile Blanco
This creamy, coconut-based aguachile blanco cures fresh shrimp in bright lime juice before bathing them in a silky leche de tigre blended with habanero, ginger, garlic, and cucumber. It's flavorful, tropical, and just the right amount of heat. Serve cold with tostadas and enjoy!
Equipment
- Serving dish
- Citrus juicer
Ingredients
- 1 lb large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and butterflied
- ½ cup fresh lime juice, about 5-6 limes, plus more to taste
- 1 cup coconut milk
- ½ English cucumber, half peeled for blending into the leche de tigre, half thinly sliced for serving
- ½ – 1 whole habanero, remove seeds if less heat is desired
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¼- inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- ½ tsp fish sauce
- Pinch of sugar
For serving:
- Thinly sliced red onion
- Thinly sliced cucumber
- Thinly sliced serrano
- Fresh cilantro
- Tortilla chips or tostadas
Instructions
- Butterfly the shrimp by slicing them down the back almost all the way through so they open flat. Place in a small, shallow dish, season lightly with salt, and pour the lime juice over them, ensuring they’re submerged as much as possible.
- Let them sit for about 10-15 minutes. The acid will start to lightly cure the outside while keeping the center tender.
- Once done, transfer about half of the lime juice to a blender and discard the rest.
- Add the coconut milk, cucumber, habanero, garlic, ginger, pepper, salt, fish sauce, and pinch of sugar to the blender as well. Blend on high until completely smooth, about 1–2 minutes. Taste and adjust as needed.
- Arrange the shrimp in a single layer in a shallow serving dish. Pour the leche de tigre over the shrimp. Refrigerate for about 5-10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld and for the shrimp to finish curing.
- Top with thinly sliced red onion, serrano, the remaining cucumber slices and cilantro leaves.
- Serve cold with crispy tostadas or tortilla chips on the side.
Notes
- Butterflying the shrimp isn’t just for looks, it increases the surface area so the lime juice cures them more evenly and quickly.
- Start with half a habanero if you’re heat-sensitive. You can always blend in more, but you can’t take it back once it’s in.
- Don’t discard all the curing lime juice, that acidic, shrimp-infused liquid is what gives the leche de tigre its depth and complexity.
- Serve this immediately after pulling it from the fridge. Aguachile is meant to be eaten cold and fresh, it doesn’t hold well once plated.
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