Shrimp ceviche tostadas

Shrimp ceviche tostadas may be a little messy to eat, but it's definitely worth it. Fresh, citrusy shrimp and salad vegetables over crunchy corn tortillas is a delicious, and easy, combination.

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If you're a regular here, you might know I have a bit of a soft spot for ceviche. I've already shared a fish ceviche with potato and pea shoot salad and scallop ceviche, both of which I loved.

Shrimp ceviche appears to be more common in the US, for whatever reason, and it was only a matter of time before I made it as well. And as a topping for tostadas, it's a fresh and delicious snack.

I don't know about anyone else, but I sometimes find myself spending way too much time on Facebook scanning videos. Often it's to find things to share on my own page, in fairness, but it's not always the easiest to find good content.

Some things are 'meh' at best if not a bit of a waste of time to watch. Yes, I have been down that rabbit hole of time disappearing on me. Now and then, though, I find things that are interesting and have me hooked.

One such video not so long ago was about a small market stall in Mexico that specialized in tostadas. There was a wonderful selection of toppings ready to pile on top, with one of the most popular being ceviche. I instantly knew I needed to make my own version soon.

Unlike the other ceviche I have made, which are more based on what I had in Peru, this has a bit of a chunky salad mixed through. It works so well to give a nice mix of textures, especially with the crunchy tostadas.

Is ceviche raw?

If you're not familiar with ceviche, then it's not cooked in the usual sense with heat, but instead the citrus juice gets into the seafood and 'denatures' it to look similar to how it would cooked. It also gives it a great flavor.

The citric acid doesn't kill off quite as much as cooking with heat, so this is still something to avoid if you would normally avoid raw seafood. Though it is generally considered safer than raw so it's a good introduction to be part-way on the theme if you are new to it.

One thing is also still true - you want to source the freshest, best quality seafood for ceviche.

How to know when shrimp ceviche is ready

Shrimp, especially when diced, is a little quicker to denature/cure denser fish and you can see the lime juice getting to work after only a minute or two (as in above photo).

It's ready when it's no longer translucent and you'll see what was darker grey on the outside turned pink (as above). The shrimp will feel a lot firmer to touch, too - more like the feel of cooked shrimp.

Then drain off the excess juice, add in the remaining ingredients and top the tostadas. I often like to mix most of the ingredients in apart form the avocado and mix that after to help avoid it getting broken as you mix, but as you prefer.

These shrimp ceviche tostadas are a tasty way to enjoy ceviche, with a lovely balance of fresh, citrus shrimp, crunchy vegetables and even crunchier tostadas. It might fall off and seem a little tricky to eat, but believe me, it's worth it.

Try these other raw (or almost raw) seafood ideas:

• Tuna tataki (lightly dressed Japanese seared tuna)
• Salmon poke bowl
• Salmon tartare
• Plus get more Mexican recipes in the archives.

And if you like shrimp/prawns, try these:

• Jerk spiced shrimp tacos
• Nyonya shrimp and pineapple curry
• Sesame shrimp toast
• This shrimp carpaccio from Fathom also sounds wonderful.

See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store. 

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