Last year when we were visiting the Daintree Rainforest in Australia, we stayed at the fabulous Silky Oaks Lodge. The setting is beautiful, located in the Daintree Rainforest on the Mossman River.
We took some walks through the forest with Aboriginal guides of the Kuku Yalanji tribe and learned a lot about the local flora and many things poisonous. We were also treated to a koala viewing.
Except for seeing a koala up close, my favorite part of our visit was dining at the lodge’s restaurant. This was a starter called tiradito. Thinly sliced kingfish with vegetables, sauced right after serving.
It was at this point that I discovered finger limes grow red as well as green! I had to have a gin and tonic with the pretty finger lime “caviar.” But I digress.
I found a lovely recipe for tiradito on the blog Sippity Sup, and also a huge amount of information. Greg Henry, a traveler and published author, who refers to himself as a gastrotourist, had just visited Peru in 2015, and in his post he explains the differences between tiradito and ceviche, the biggest being that ceviche fish is “marinated” and with tiradito, the fish is sauced right before serving.
According to Greg, “Good Tiradito embraces its fusion roots and is influenced by Japanese Sashimi and Italian Crudo.” Furthermore, he reveals that tiradito likely came about by the immigration of Japanese to Peru. Such a fascinating fusion concept.
Tiradito de Pescado
2–3 tablespoon yellow aji pepper paste (or more to taste, see note)
½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon mild flavored oil
3 thin slices fresh ginger
clove garlic (peeled and lightly smashed)
1 pound very fresh white fish (such as sea bass, mahi mahi, or flounder)
¼ cup fresh raw corn kernels (or cooked Peruvian choclo if you can find it, both are optional)
2 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro (or to taste)
In medium bowl whisk together aji paste, lime juice, lemon juice, orange juice, and oil. Drop in ginger slices and smashed garlic clove; set aside in the refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes, then remove and discard ginger slices and garlic clove. The sauce may be made up to 3 days ahead of time to this point. Store covered and refrigerated.
When ready to serve, thinly slice the fish on a slight bias against the grain. Make the slices as thin as you can manage, no more than 1/4 inch thick. Lay the fish, barely overlapping, onto a chilled serving platter.
Pour enough tiradito sauce over the fish slices to thoroughly coat; you might not use all the sauce, use your judgment. Let the platter sit no more than 15 minutes.
Garnish with corn kernels (if using) and chopped cilantro. I added some black sesame seeds and a scant few cayenne pepper flakes.
Serve immediately.
Obviously the dish that I had in Australia was more involved, but this gave me a good idea what tiradito is. I can’t wait to have it again!
Just a note – Peruvian corn is different from American corn in that the kernels are much larger. It’s called choclo when served on the cob, typically as a street snack. (There are other varieties of Peruvian corn as well.)