Aguachiles is a Mexican dish that consists of seafood or other ingredients cooked in a sauce made from either fresh tomatoes, lime juice, and chiles (usually serrano peppers), or tomatillos. In today's recipe, I will be showing you how to make authentic shrimp aguachiles in mango-habanero salsa- just like they make it in Mexico!
I am so excited about today's post.
This mouthwatering recipe comes from my guest today on the blog: Renown Mexican Chef Julio Ortega!
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Julio is a graduate of the Mexican Superior Culinary Institute in Mexico City. During his professional life, he has represented Mexican Gastronomy many times, either by working as a chef or attending seminars and culinary events around the world in places like Switzerland, Germany, Spain, and Indonesia.
Nowadays, besides managing his own culinary shop “OJ” in Monterrey, NL (where he teaches courses and workshops to professional and aspiring chefs), he travels around the country giving conferences about the new cuisine trends, sharing his passion for food presentation and the experimental and sensory food trends.
Today, he shares with us this mouthwatering dish of shrimp aguachiles that is so popular in our coastal towns, but with his own unique presentation and combination of flavors!
History Behind Mexican Aguachiles
The name aguachile is the combination of two words; "agua," meaning water, and "chile", meaning pepper. This combined word means something like water-pepper if you were to translate it literally.
Aguachiles, a popular shrimp cocktail from the state of Sinaloa, is made in a similar way as a ceviche/cebiche, with the difference that the shrimp is "cooked" or marinated for some time with lime juice. On the contrary, the lime juice is added to the shrimp almost at serving time.
In Sinaloa, it is made with slices of cucumbers, red onion, and fresh chiltepin peppers or serrano peppers.
The locals like to make this dish with fresh (never frozen) shrimp and add the lime-pepper marinade just before serving!
Frequently Asked Questions about Mango Habanero Shrimp Aguachiles
Before I share this recipe, here are a few questions I've been asked and I wanted to answer.
What's the difference between ceviche and aguachile?
Ceviche is normally made with raw fish while aguachiles is made with shrimp.
Aguachile is almost "raw" and served "in its juices." Ceviche is cooked while marinated with lime and includes more ingredients than aguachile does.
The main difference between the two dishes lies in the time the process takes (one is marinated longer than the other).
What can I use in place of shrimp?
Although, the Traditional Aguachile is made with shrimp, nowadays there are recipes that use other seafood as a main ingredient. This recipe for aguachiles can be made with:
- Shrimp
- Octopus
- Crab
- Fish
- Clams
Do I have to make fresh tostadas?
No! If you don't have time to make your own tostadas, you can use store-bought ones instead!
How long can you leave aguachiles in the fridge?
Aguachiles are best eaten the day they're made, this is not a dish that you can make ahead of time. However, you can get all your ingredients ready one day in advance, and store them in a Tupperware or plastic container, and place them in the refrigerator to hand them handy at the time you want to prepare it.
How many people does this recipe serve?
This recipe will make about six servings but feel free to double or triple as you need!
Shrimp Aguachiles In Mango-Habanero Salsa
This recipe for shrimp aguachile in mango-habanero salsa is a traditional Mexican dish that so many people love.
Here is the list of ingredients you will need to make this at home:
For The Aguachile:
- Lime juice, use fresh lime juice.
- White vinegar
- Habanero pepper, you can also use serrano o jalapeño
- Manila mango (a little bit unripe)
- Fresh ginger, preferably
- Raw shrimp (peeled)
- Salt and pepper
For The Tostadas:
- Corn flour masa-harina, the brand Maseca is easily available
- Lard, if you don't find it use vegetable oil
- Warm water, this helps to spred the dough easily.
For The Garnish:
- Red onion (finely sliced)
- Green onion (finely chopped)
- Cilantro (chopped)
- Avocado oil or Olive oil
Please note: For exact measurements of the ingredients listed above, scroll down to the recipe card located at the bottom of this post!
How To Make Aguachiles: Step By Step Tutorial
To make things easier for you, I am going to break down the directions to this recipe into sections.
Make Mango Habanero Sauce
- Add the lime juice, vinegar, habanero peppers, chopped mangos, ginger, salt, and pepper into the blender.
- Blend everything together until you have a very smooth sauce. Place this sauce in a bowl and add in the shrimp to marinate.
Make The Tostadas
While the shrimp is marinating, prepare the tostadas.
- Mix the masa-harina with the lard and warm water until you form a smooth dough.
Tip: If it needs more water, add a few teaspoons at a time.
- Divide the dough into 8 small balls, and form the tortillas.
- Cook over a hot griddle, turning twice. Let them dry on the griddle until they are crispy.
- Remove and place on the serving plates.
What to serve with spicy shrimp aguachiles recipe
To serve this dish, divide the marinated shrimps over the crispy tostadas and garnish them with chopped red and green onions. You can also add some chopped cilantro for a fresh herby bite as well as a few drops of avocado oil to bring the whole dish together.
NOTE:
This is not the traditional way to prepare Aguachile, this is Chef Julio Ortega's recipe.
Sometimes, instead of tostadas, I like to serve the shrimp aguachile with homemade tortilla chips!
More Authentic Mexican Recipes To Enjoy
If you enjoyed this recipe for aguachiles, take a look at some of these other authentic Mexican recipes:
- Seafood Cocktail
- Shrimp Cocktail With Habanero Sauce
- Tequila Shrimp Recipe
- Camarones A La Diabla
- Mexican Shrimp Soup
I hope you make this Mexican shrimp aguachile in mango habanero sauce! If this recipe was of any help to you, come back to let me know your experience. Please leave us a comment done below and tell us all about it!
Note: To know more about Chef Julio Ortega courses and future presentations, visit his Facebook page HERE.
¡Buen provecho!
Mely
📖 Recipe
Shrimp Aguachile in mango-habanero
Ingredients
FOR THE SHRIMP AGUACHILE:
- 3 limes juice only
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 habanero pepper
- 1 manila mango a little bit unripe
- 1 piece of fresh ginger about 1 teaspoon
- 7 oz. raw shrimp peeled
- Salt and pepper
TO MAKE THE TOSTADAS:
- 3.5 oz. corn flour masa harina
- 1 teaspoon lard
- 10 2.5 ounces warm water
GARNISH:
- ¼ medium red onion finely sliced
- 1 green onion finely chopped
- ⅓ cup chopped cilantro
- Avocado oil
Instructions
- Place lime juice, vinegar, habanero pepper, chopped mango, ginger, salt, and pepper in the blender. Process until you have a very smooth sauce. Place this sauce in a bowl and add the shrimp to marinate. (The shrimp will cook with the lime and vinegar acidity)
- While the shrimp is marinating, prepare the tostadas. Mix masa-harina with the lard and warm water until you form a smooth dough. If it needs more water, add a few teaspoons at a time.
- Divide the dough into 8 small balls, and form the tortillas.
- Cook over a hot griddle, turning twice. Let them dry on the griddle until they are crispy. Remove and place on the serving plates. (You can also use regular store-bought tortillas and toast them on the griddle.)
To serve, divide the shrimps over the tostadas and garnish with the red and green onion and chopped cilantro, as well as a few drops of avocado oil. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can use store-bought tostadas.
LA FONDITA DE MARI
¡Se ve delicioso! La foto está de 10! ;D
Kate
Yum! Love the flavors here with ginger and mango and shrimp, delicioso!!
Maggie Unzueta
This looks incredibly delicious.
Debbie
First time making agua chile of any kind but my son requested it for his birthday so I tried it out. Everyone really liked it! Thank you for the recipe. I follow your blog so I was confident in trying something of yours.
Tomás G
Delicious!