Coconut Lime Ceviche
One of our first dates between my partner and myself was a trip to New York which we actually didn't plan together - we literally both booked fights for the same week and requested off from work and later realized we both were going to be in New York at the same time. This is really exciting for us as chefs. We just wanted to run around and try all the amazing famous New York things like getting bagels, pizza, donuts and of course go to Per Se, Eleven Madison park and Magnolia Bakery !
It was kind of like a week long bar crawl but with food and we went to a fully vegan restaurant called Planta. It was out of this world and we had an amazing vegan ceviche made from coconut meat which blew our minds. Which is also the inspiration behind this coconut lime ceviche that turned out so amazingly delicious. I never would have thought to use coconut meat to create a faux fish texture but after this I can't wait to share this with the fam and get their reactions. This is for all the folks who have been missing ceviche since going plant based and I promise you won't be disappointed !!
Coconut Lime Ceviche
* Serves 2-4 * Ingredients
8.4 oz drained coconut meat - see note
1/2 cup - lime juice
1/4 cup - canned coconut milk
2 tbsp - soy sauce
1 tsp - red miso paste mixed with 1 tbsp hot water to dissolve
2 tbsp — toasted and crushed nori
1/2 tsp - salt
1/4 tsp - black pepper or to taste
1 tsp - sesame oil
1/4 cup - minced white onion
1/4 cup - small diced jalapenos with some seeds depending on how spicy you like it !
3 - cherry tomatoes cut in quarters
1/4 cup - chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp - Tajin to garnish ( optional )
Notes
For the coconut meat I have realized there is actually a couple of ways one could go about it. I think the most home practical and user friendly is maybe using canned coconut meat which can be found in an Asian grocery store. I have heard of some using frozen coconut meat but I am not sure about how that texture would work out. A very popular method is using young coconuts, draining the water and scooping out the meat before marinating.
Instructions
Step 1 - Gather all ingredients & chop the veg
There is nothing worse than going to make something and realizing you don’t have the stuff ! Mise en place all your ingredients and chop up your onion, jalapeno, and cilantro. Juice the limes and set the juice aside. Strain the coconut meat and just let it sit in some soy sauce to balance out some of the sweetness within.
Step 2 - Prepare the marinade
In a large bowl or left over food container add in the coconut meat and go about building the marinade all within the container. The longer the coconut meat sits in the marinade the better the overall absorption of flavor will be. I like to start with the lime juice since and follow with everything else including the coconut milk, diced onion and jalapeno. Also adding in the salt, pepper, cilantro, crushed nori, red miso, and sesame oil. The only thing I really save for the end is the Tajin as a nice tangy garnish as this ceviche base is really loaded with soo much flavor.
Step 3 - Plate
I recommend letting everything marinate for about 4 hours or so to really let the coconut meat take in that flavor but if you are in a time pinch, this does taste really good when eaten right after making it.
When plating ceviche you could plate it kinda home style in a rustic way by just having it in a large bowl. But if you do want to show off a bit you can pile or layer the coconut meat in the center of a bowl and then ladle the “broth” or “sauce” over the meat and around while garnishing with some of the cilantro and tajin. Check out the video for a visual on some funky plating ideas ! The best way to enjoy ceviche is with some fresh tortilla chips. Which can be done by even frying some store bought tortillas as a time saving hack and they taste so much better than bagged tortilla chips.
