Tucume Museum - Food Area

Chef Ernesto teaches us how to make ceviche in the traditional way.

The traditional Peruvian preparation is made with a white seawater fish, like sea bass, which is then cured in freshly squeezed lime or bitter orange, and mixed with sliced onions, chili peppers and salt. Accompaniments are typically a medley of giant Peruvian corn, slices of cooked sweet potato, and some crunchy chifles (plantain chips) and cancha (corn nuts).

The Food Area is in front of the museum

Chef Ernesto at the workbench

Ingredients to prepare and accompany the ceviche

Chef Ernesto gives us a brief history of ceviche

Ceviche originated on the Pacific coasts of Peru nearly 2000 years ago.
The Moche civilization, who inhabited the area, prepared fish with the juice of a local passionfruit known as tumbo. There is also evidence of coastal civilizations of Peru preparing fish with aji (pepper) and salt.
Ceviche was later enjoyed by the Incas throughout the Andes mountains of Peru. However, it was instead marinated with chicha — an Andean beverage made from fermented corn.
The preparation of ceviche as it’s known today came to fruition when the Spanish arrived. They began importing mediterranean ingredients like lime and cilantro some 400 years ago. Thereafter, the popular and widely-consumed dish was modified; and lime or orange replaced the tumbo or chicha and it was topped off with fresh cilantro.
It then went through yet another phase of modifications with the influence of the Japanese. The ingredients remained the same, but the method was altered. Before, the fish was “cooked” (without heat) in the juices for hours. The Japanese, being so well-versed in raw fish by way of national dishes like sashimi and sushi, switched to plating immediately after cutting and smothering in the juices. As a result, it is now commonplace in Peru to serve immediately, and skip the cooking phase.

Fresh grouper
A firm or semi-firm lean white fish is the best choice as the base for making your ceviche.

Some common examples of this type of fish include bass, grouper, rockfish and sole.

Filleting the fish
To fillet a fish, lay it on its side on a flat surface. Filleting fish requires you to cut the fish behind its gills and pectoral fin, but only to the rib cage.