Aguachile Vs Ceviche: What's The Difference?

Try explaining a dish of aguachile or ceviche to someone, and it's more than likely you'll come up with the same description for both: fresh raw seafood served in a lime juice marinade. And as they're served in American restaurants like tartare dishes, this is fairly accurate, though there are some differences.

Ceviche, which hails from Peru, is probably the better known of the two and has become something of a catchall term for this style of dish. It features raw fish or seafood that is "cooked" by marinating in citrus juice for 20-30 minutes, often with onions and peppers. Mexican aguachile, on the other hand, is seafood mixed with lime juice and served immediately, resulting in a different texture in the fish. Aguachile also tends to be spicier.

Travel to the country of origin, however, and you'll find that there's much more that separates aguachile and ceviche. Although there are plenty of regional variations, traditional versions of the dishes might only overlap in that they contain raw, marinated seafood.

Aguachile is considered solely a Mexican dish — a speciality of the Sinaloa region in the northwest of the country. The word aguachile translates to chile water, and that's where one of the distinct features of the recipe comes into play. The original dressing for the fish consisted of a mix of water and crushed chiltepin peppers — no citrus in sight. This chile water is still a core component, now made with other chile peppers like Serranos or jalapeños, which is why you'll find that aguachile tends to be spicier than ceviche by default.

Lime or other citrus juice is now found in most recipes, but it's more about flavoring than cooking the fish. The seafood is tossed in the dressing and served immediately, maintaining an almost raw texture. The seafood in question is traditionally shrimp, either butterflied or thinly sliced to help take on more flavor, but you'll also find versions with octopus, scallops, or fish. The aguachile mix is often completed with slices of cucumber and onion, then served with avocado atop crunchy tostadas.

Ceviche is a popular recipe throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, but it's widely considered to have come from Peru and is claimed as the country's national dish. Just as with aguachile, the original recipe looked a little different. With a history that predates the availability of citrus fruit in South America, the first iterations were made by marinating fish in fermented juice. This served the same role as the now-traditional lime juice — the acidity of the liquid denatures the protein in the fish, giving it a cooked texture without the use of heat.

White fish, particularly sea bass, is a popular choice for ceviche, but this will depend on where and when you're eating it. This is a dish designed to make use of the catch of the day. What goes into the rest of the ceviche will vary just as widely. Simple Peruvian recipes opt for sliced onion and cilantro served with sweet potato or corn on the cob. Head to Ecuador, and the marinade is bolstered by tomato juice and the dish served with toasted corn. In Colombia, you can expect ketchup and mayonnaise in the mix. The term ceviche is more loosely applied to modern menus, where you might be presented with anything from tofu to mango or hearts of palm marinated in a citrusy sauce.