This jicama citrus salad from the Yucatan is known as “Xec” or “Xe’ec”, which comes from the Mayan word for “Ensalada” (salad). It is also known by other names, like “check” and “sheck”. It is a healthy, quick, and easy to prepare dish, and is a classic side dish during the Day of the Dead.
Xec, Jicama and Citrus Salad
This citrus salad is also sold by street vendors and in local markets, when the fruit is in season. In Mexico, jicama is in season from November to January. One of the ingredients used in Yucatan to make the Xec Jicama and Citrus salad is the Bitter Seville orange, which is really hard to find here in the USA. I usually substitute it with a mix of orange and grapefruit, with a little squirt of lime juice.
How to make Xec Jicama and Citrus Salad
DIRECTIONS:
- Peel the jicama using a paring knife or by pulling the skins off and placing the knife on the top part of the jicama and pulling down the skins. Remove any excess skin with a potato peeler. Dice the jicama into small bite sizes, place in a large bowl, and squeeze half of the lime juice over it to prevent browning and add flavor. Set aside.
- Peel the oranges, slice them, and then cut the slices in four. Add them to the jicama.
XEC, JICAMA AND CITRUS SALAD PROCESS
- Peel mandarins with your hands, separate into segments. To remove the seeds, cut along the edge of the side column of the segment, as shown in the picture. Once you cut it, the seeds will come out easily. Place all your deseeded mandarin segments in the bowl with the rest of the fruit.
- Now, in a smaller bowl, mix orange juice, grapefruit juice, the rest of the lime juice, ground pepper, cilantro, and salt. Mix well and pour over fruit. Gently stir all the ingredients of your Xec Jicama and citrus salad. You can refrigerate this salad for a couple of hours to allow the flavors to blend, or you can eat it immediately.
Enjoy your Xec Jicama and citrus salad!
Provecho!
Xec, a Jicama and Citrus Salad
Xec, a Jicama and Citrus Salad, It is a healthy, quick, and easy to prepare the dish, and is a classic side dish during the Day of the Dead. This citrus salad is also sold by street vendors and in local markets, when the fruit is in season.
Print Pin Rate Add to CollectionPrep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 179kcal
Ingredients
- 1 medium-size jicama About 1 pound
- 4 small oranges or 3 medium
- 3 mandarins
- 1 lime
- ¼ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup grapefruit juice
- 1 teaspoon ground Piquin pepper*
- 1/3 cup cilantro leaves chopped
- Salt to season
Instructions
- Peel the jicama using a paring knife or by pulling the skins off and placing the knife on the top part of the jicama and pulling down the skins. Remove any excess skin with a potato peeler. Dice the jicama into small bite sizes, place in a large bowl, and squeeze half of the lime juice over it to prevent browning and add flavor. Set aside.
- Peel the oranges, slice them, and then cut the slices in four. Add them to the jicama.
- Peel mandarins with your hands, separate into segments. To remove the seeds, cut along the edge of the side column of the segment, as shown in the picture. Once you cut it, the seeds will come out easily. Place all your deseeded mandarin segments in the bowl with the rest of the fruit.
- Now, in a smaller bowl, mix orange juice, grapefruit juice, the rest of the lime juice, ground pepper, cilantro, and salt. Mix well and pour over fruit. Gently stir everything. You can refrigerate this salad for a couple of hours to allow the flavors to blend, or you can eat it immediately.
Notes
You can use any powdered pepper, like cayenne pepper powder, to spice up the salad. I’ve seen people in Yucatan even add chopped habanero peppers to this salad. One teaspoon of ground pepper will not render a very spicy salad for the amount of fruit used in the recipe, adjust the spiciness to your own personal taste. I like to add a little bit more of the pepper to my serving. If you don’t find fresh mandarins, you can use the ones sold packaged in their own juice in small containers. Other additions to this salad include grapefruit pieces and chopped cucumber.
Nutrition
Calories: 179kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 3g | Sodium: 9mg | Potassium: 675mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 1110IU | Vitamin C: 137.9mg | Calcium: 102mg | Iron: 1.4mg
Have you made this recipe? Let me know on InstagramTag @mexicoinmykitchen and hashtag me #mexicoinmykitchen!
Recipe in spanish https://www.mexicoenmicocina.com/ensalada-xec-de-jicama-con-naranja/
Provecho!
Mely,
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I like this, we just did a jicama slaw last week but I like the citrus in this even better.
Just discovered your blog. Love the recipes, but love your writing style even better. It's as though we're at a family dinner with you. I'm a Girl Scout troop leader in Texas & one of our favorite things to do is try international cuisine & learn about different countries. We just wrapped up Japan where we got to try eel AND durian. Thank you, not only for the recipes, but the stories behind them. We can't wait to kick off Mexico!
Hello Wendy,
I hope you have lots of fun cooking Mexican food!
Love this salad! As a kid, we had a Seville orange tree in the front yard, so we had this salad often (As well as lots of orange marmalade). My dad made this salad, something he learned to love while living in Yucatan. I just made some to eat as a snack during the week. Brings back good memories!
Would it be ok to make this salad a day before eating?
You could chop the jicama, orange, and tangerine, and tehn add the rest of the ingredients before serving.