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Welcome to the second installment of Qu'est-ce que c'est? In our first showing, we tackled duck confit. This week, we're going to take a look at ceviche.
Ceviche (seh-vee-chay or seh-vee-chee) is raw fish which has been marinated in lemon and/or lime juice. The fish is typically cut into small cubes. The proteins in the fish are broken down by the acid in the juice marinade just as heat would have, had the fish been cooked. When it comes to the table the fish, more or less, looks cooked and essentially, it has been.
The acidic-based marinade normally contains salt, pepper, various other spices and herbs (cilantro, parsley), some avocado (adds just the right touch of fat and smooth texture to the dish), onion and some source of heat (jalapeño or some other chile). Tomato is also a popular ingredient. Ceviche is normally served with chips or crackers. Let's see how it is described on one Chicago menu:
Tepatulco: Tostaditas de Ceviche Tepatulco - Crisp little tortillas piled with lime-marinated marlin, manzanillo olives, tomato, chile serrano, tomatillo salsa, avacado and cilantro.
Manzanillo olives are a cultivated type of olive known for their rich taste. Tepatulco serves their ceviche on tortilla triangles. You can see a picture of the ceviche in the second picture in this entry, near the back of the plate.
This popular dish was found on many Chicago restaurant menus. Look for it specifically at Mexican or Latin American restaurants.
If you have a food item or method you'd like to read about in Qu'est-ce que c'est? Let us know!
Tepatulco is located at 2558 North Halsted Street.
Photo by wEnDaLicious
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being mexican, i'm embarrassed to say that i only had a vague idea of what ceviche was. thanks for the informative post. i won't be afraid to order this next time i'm out!
Hi, Peteypants - I love ceviche so I hope you enjoy it. :) Any other foods you'd like us to cover?
-L.
Man, Ceviche rocks. Maybe you guys could do some Indian food covering or something. I know Drive-Thru did a cover on it, but still, Indian food will always be a mystery to me.
I am Korean, so maybe you could also do some Korean BBQ (I can help) too.
Ceviche...Y U M M Y!
L.Stolpmann -- where is your favorite place for ceviche? Is it Tepatulco?
I'm loving the "Qu'est-ce que c'est?" series on food. Maybe you can do a piece on the variety of steak choices (i.e., NY Strip, rib eye, porterhouse, etc.)? Or, maybe the variety of meats offered in a churrascaria?
The Meteorologist - I'm 1/2 Korean! I was wondering if I should do bibimbop or kalbi. Mmmmm, Korean food.
I think Indian food is a great idea. I'll put that on the list!
-L.
Hi, frp,
Hmmm, I'm not sure where my favorite place for ceviche is. I used Tepatulco as an example only because I knew had an actual picture of it and so I could pair it with the menu description. I really like El Barco Mariscos (1035 N. Ashland) but honestly, I have yet to have bad ceviche (I hope I'm no tempting the gods with that one...).
I'm really glad you're liking the series. Thank you! I think cuts of meat is a great idea - as well as the meats covered in a churrascaria.
Now I'm starving.
-L.
Actually Laura, I think it'd be pretty easy to do a rundown of a bunch of stuff, from Kimchi to Kalbi, the typical BBQ stuff you get at a restaurant. Just quick one-liners.
South Korea's got SEOUL, baby.
Any of the Las Islas Marias locations make an excellent ceviche, among their many pesce options. Admittedly I had to come around to like their version as it looked like they used mayonnaise, but was assured they didn't.
The Meteorologist - That's an excellent idea. I was also thinking about compiling a list of Korean places that weren't on the far North end of town. Any and all places you know that qualify, please let me know!
-L.
I too have always wondered what a Ceviche consisted of since seems to make a regular appearance on Top Chef.
L -- Cho Sun Ok on Lincoln and Berteau. It's got a big, yellow sign that says Korean food (and presumably, the name in Korean, I'm not Korean and don't read it, so I don't know). But I've never been disappointed when I've gone there. The sides are great, the beef and octopus cooking at your table are great. The soups are great.
Although not exactly fitting the "Qu'est-ce que c'est?" articles, could Chicagoist review some cooking classes?
xlprg - I'm writing that one down. Thank you. :)
-L.
Hi there, Grandma,
Very cool idea. I'll pass it along to the head cheese, Chuck Sudo, and see if he has any insight on this. I was just thinking about taking a knife skills class so I'm interested in this, too.
-L.
Chuck! You see this suggestion?
I do see it, and it's a good idea. My one concern with that is that there are so many specialized classes happening that we tend to overlook the basic ones, like knife skills.
We'll get the ball rolling on that and work our way from there.
What a coincidence, as i was about to sign up for the same knife skills course. I smell staff outing.
There really aren't many Korean places that aren't way the hell up north that I can think of. There's one lone place I know of on Van Buren called Seoul Food Cafe, I think. It's not bad, the menu is decent.
I did not mean to hijack your ceviche thread!
Anthony - Would you take a knife class with me? I know my co-worker wants to. Let's do it!
The Meteorologist - No worries. :) It's all in the name of food. And Korean food - even better!
filmmakingfiasco - You're right - it does get featured on Top Chef a lot. What's his name, the crazy one - he won with grilled/charred octopus ceviche which, I don't mind telling you, confused me slightly as I assumed the octopus must have been raw. Maybe he just did a quick char to get some flavor. Thanks for chiming in! I dig knowing that people are reading these things. :)
-L.
L. -- TCB has an evening knife skills class on April 29 (1900 - 2130)! Do you get to eat anything during these classes? Because, if not, they have a "Food and Wine of Napa Valley" class that same evening at the same time!
frp - Hm, I would imagine maybe. But it might be a bunch of chopped up raw vegetables and what's the fun in that?
Take a class, frp! If you do, I might take it with you. E-mail me if you decide to bite the bullet. :)