Put a taste of Mexico in your plate.
Spice up your week-end with this Spot Prawn Aguachile recipe from How to Cook the Finest Things in the Sea by Ari Kolender (Artisan Books) with photos by Justin Chung.
Spot Prawn Aguachile
Serves 2 to 4
Ingredients:
1 pound (450 g) head-on, shell-on spot prawns (or any shrimp you want to eat raw, like ama-ebi or ridgeback prawns)
2 small or 1 large fennel bulb
1 Persian (mini) cucumber
1/2 small white onion, peeled
1 cup (80 g) packed fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
1 large or 2 small serrano chiles, halved (and seeded if desired, to fit your spice tolerance)
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar Flaky sea salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
Spot prawn roe, for garnish (optional)
Directions:
A traditional aguachile might include the common mix of cucumber, white onion, cilantro, and fresh chiles, but this recipe includes fennel, which lends an extra boost of vegetal freshness. Fatty spot prawns require a decent amount of time in the marinade to be cooked through, but this also allows the vegetables to pickle, bridging the gap between the acidity of the lime and the richness of the prawns.
1 Peel the prawns, then remove the tails and save or freeze them (along with the shells and heads) for other uses, like Shrimp Stock (page 302).
2 Slice the prawns in half lengthwise, through the back. Place the prawn halves in a medium bowl and set them in the fridge to stay chilled.
3 Using a mandoline, cut 20 thin slices off the fennel bulbs (not including the cores) and set those aside. Slice 20 thin coins from the cucumber and set them aside as well. Then cut 20 thin half-moon slices off the white onion. Set aside all of these thinly sliced vegetables.
4 Cut out the core of the fennel bulbs and discard. Roughly chop the remaining fennel and add it to a blender. Roughly chop the remaining cucumber and onion and add those to the blender, along with the cilantro, serrano, lime juice, vinegar, and a pinch of flaky sea salt.
5 Blend on high speed until the mixture is quite smooth, about 20 seconds. Strain it through a fine-mesh sieve into the bowl with the prawns, pressing the pulp with the back of a spoon or a ladle to squeeze the liquid out. Discard the pulp.
6 Add the reserved sliced vegetables to the bowl with the liquid along with the olive oil. Place it in the fridge to marinate for 10 minutes.
7 Lift the prawns from the marinade with a slotted spoon and lay them, cut side down, on a serving plate. Pour the liquid over the prawns, letting the liquid fill the plate but not completely submerge the prawns. Season each prawn with a little bit of flaky sea salt, then use a slotted spoon to lift out any remaining vegetables from the bowl and place them over the prawns. Garnish with spot prawn roe, if you have it.
(*Excerpted from ‘How to Cook the Finest Things in the Sea‘ by Ari Kolender -Artisan Books- © 2025. Photographs by Justin Chung)
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