Our Vegan Peruvian Ceviche is a journey to the heart of Lima in a bowl. Sampling this Peruvian treasure, you need only close your eyes to hear the waves crashing on the beach and smell the salt of the Pacific.
Ceviche is a source of tremendous pride in Peru. Not only is it the national dish, it was also named part of the Cultural Heritage in 2004. One taste and you’ll instantly know why it is nearly ubiquitous on every restaurant menu throughout the country. It’s light, exploding with flavor, and totally unforgettable.
We learned how to make ceviche from a vegan chef when we traveled to Cusco in 2019. In our version we use oyster mushrooms in place of fish, and add nori to our Leche de Tigre for that ocean flavor. We also use plant-based milk in place of dairy milk. The chili pepper traditionally used is difficult to find here in the U.S., so our chef teacher suggested using a Fresno or jalapeño pepper instead.
This recipe comes together in 10 minutes with just a handful of ingredients!
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🇵🇪 WHAT IS CEVICHE?
Likely originating nearly 3,000 years ago in the beach town of Huanchaco on the Pacific, ceviche is a dish consisting of raw fish cured in fresh citrus juice. It is served with thinly sliced red onions, boiled veggies like potatoes, carrots, and Peruvian corn—a massive variety of white corn, with juicy kernels the size of pennies. It is all topped with the famed Leche de Tigre (Tiger’s Milk)— a spicy mix of citrus, chilis and aromatics. Leche de Tigre is the key ingredient—simultaneously acting as the sauce, main flavor profile, and curing element. It’s tangy, it’s spicy, and when tossed back as a shot, it’s said to instantly cure any hangover!
🐠 OTHER VARIETIES OF CEVICHE
Now, if you are even somewhat familiar with Mexican food, you may be familiar with another dish—usually an appetizer—also called ceviche. That variety is served in a cocktail glass and consists of different seafoods, like fish, shrimp and octopus. They are tossed in a tomato-based sauce and served with tostadas. Additionally, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and some Caribbean islands have their own version of ceviche. Peruvian ceviche is an entirely different but extremely delicious experience!
📝 INGREDIENTS
- Oyster mushrooms: Used to emulate the texture and flavor of seafood.
- Red onion: An aromatic element that adds freshness and texture.
- Sweet potato and corn: The classic starches served with Peruvian ceviche.
- Fresno pepper: An element of heat for the leche de tigre.
- Celery rib: Add freshness and crunch to the leche de tigre.
- Ginger and garlic: Aromatic elements for the leche de tigre.
- Nori: Used to recreate fishiness in the leche de tigre.
- Lime juice: The acid in both the marinade and the leche de tigre.
- Cumin, salt and pepper: Spices for the leche de tigre.
- Plain unsweetened plant milk: The “leche” in leche de tigre.
- Cilantro: A garnish with a fresh, vaguely citrusy flavor.
🔪 STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
***Check out the recipe video we made below!***
- Create the marinade.
- Marinate the mushrooms.
- Make the Leche de Tigre.
- Pour the Leche de Tigre over the mushroom mixture.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro.
- Serve with boiled sweet potato and corn.
❤️ WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
- Spicy
- Tangy
- Light
- Refreshing
- Easy to make
💡 RECIPE TIPS
- The longer you let the red onions sit in the leche de tigre, the more the acid will break down and mellow out the onion.
- If you can’t find fresno peppers, you can use jalapeños instead.
- You can use any mushroom with a meaty bite. We like oyster, but you can also try king trumpet mushrooms.
DID YOU MAKE OUR VEGAN PERUVIAN CEVICHE?
Did you make this recipe? We’d love to hear about it! Please comment and leave a 5-star🌟 rating below. Share your dish with us on Instagram and tag us @plantbased.passport. We would love to seeing your delicious creations! Still hungry? Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest for more global vegan recipes and travel tips!🍴✈️
💕 MORE SOUTH AMERICAN RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE:
👩🏽🍳 RECIPE
VEGAN PERUVIAN CEVICHE
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup + ½ cup lime juice divided
- 2 cups oyster mushrooms sliced
- Salt to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- ½ medium red onion sliced very thinly
- 1 Fresno pepper julienned and divided in half (or substitute jalapeño pepper)
- ½ cup plain unsweetened plant milk
- 1 tablespoon nori torn into small pieces
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 celery rib chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic about 2-3 cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon cumin
- Cilantro chopped, to garnish
To serve:
- 1 sweet potato sliced into ½-inch rounds and boiled.
- 1 ear corn husk removed, sliced into 1-inch rounds and boiled.
Instructions
- Marinate the mushrooms: Pour 1 ½ cup lime juice over the mushrooms. Stir in the onion and half of the Fresno pepper, and season with salt and black pepper. After 2-3 minutes, drain the lime juice.
- Make the Leche de Tigre (Tiger’s Milk): Blend the plant milk and ½ cup of lime juice with the nori, the remaining half of the Fresno pepper, ginger, celery, garlic, cumin and a pinch each of salt and black pepper.
- Then pour the Leche de Tigre over the mushrooms. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve with boiled sweet potato and sliced corn.
Notes
- The longer you let the red onions sit in the leche de tigre, the more the acid will break down and mellow out the onion.
- If you can’t find fresno peppers, you can use jalapeños instead.
- You can use any mushroom with a meaty bite. We like oyster, but you can also try king trumpet mushrooms.
Mushrooms is such a smart idea!
This was really easy to make and the flavors were 🔥
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Good job, cheers
Such an easy recipe and the leche de tigre punched me in the face….in a good way!