Gourmet Dorm: Ceviche

I was trying to get a little inspiration today by looking at the lists that most colleges and universities put out on banned appliances. The lists vary, but they cover most things. If you are going by the list, you are allowed to have a mini fridge and sometimes a microwave.

It didn't occur to me right away that there is a delicious meal that you can 'cook' using only the fridge - ceviche.

If you don't know, ceviche is a traditional Peruvian dish made with seafood that is sort of like sushi, minus the rice. While it is not really raw, the cooking process allows the fish to maintain the freshness that is much like sushi.

Things you'll need:


1 large bowl (as large as you can fit into your mini-fridge)
1 cutting board
1 knife
1 mini fridge
1 strainer
aluminum foil or plastic wrap

Ingredients:


These will vary, depending on your tastes, but most seafood works. I will post what I usually use.

12 oz peeled, deveined shrimp
3-4 small tilapia fillets
3 medium onions, sliced
6 limes (at least) you need these for juicing. If that's too difficult to come by, get the pure lime juice at the grocery store - usually comes in a 16 fl oz bottle.
1 bundle fresh cilantro
3-4 small tomatoes, diced
2 avocados, diced (optional)
salt and pepper
2 tsp garlic powder


Step 1:
Rinse the seafood in the strainer. If it is froze, thaw it out. If you put frozen seafood in your ceviche it will not turn out right.

Step 2:
Cut the tilapia into bite-sized chunks. Put the cut up tilapia and shrimp into the bowl.

Step 3:
Slice the onions and dice the tomatoes and avocados and put them into the bowl.

 Step 4:
Finely chop the cilantro and add it to the bowl.

Step 5:
Squeeze the lime juice into the bowl. You need enough juice to cover the seafood. This is because the acidity of the lime juice "cooks" the seafood. So you want to make sure the seafood is covered so that it cooks properly.

Step 6:
Add the salt, pepper and garlic powder and mix the contents of the bowl.

Step 7:
Cover the bowl with tin foil or plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for about 30 minutes. With this particular mixture, I do a shorter cooking time. Other people prefer around 4 hours. It all depends on how you like it cooked. If you are using something like raw scallops, do 4-6 hours.

Step 8:
Remove the bowl from the fridge and serve in bowls.

What I like about this dish is that you can serve it up fairly quickly, but if you are going to be gone for a while, you can leave the ceviche in the fridge and it will be ready for you when you get home. If the flavor comes out a little bland, be sure to add a little more salt, pepper and garlic powder.

 Enjoy!