Name: Piura family-style ceviche with cooked prawns
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Peruvian cuisine
Ingredients: 480 g corvina or another firm white marine fish fillet — skinless, boneless, previously frozen under supplier-controlled raw-fish parasite procedures; fully thawed and kept at 4 °C or below; 160 g red onion — peeled, sliced paper-thin; 175 ml fresh lime juice — just squeezed, strained; measured juice, not whole fruit; 18 g ají limo — deseeded and finely chopped; handle with clean utensils; 14 g fresh coriander leaves (culantro) — washed, dried and finely chopped; 3 g fine salt — measured; 200 g cooked peeled prawns — fully cooked, promptly chilled and kept at 4 °C or below; 200 g cooked zarandaja (hyacinth beans; Lablab purpureus) — drained and chilled ready to eat; 160 g cooked choclo kernels (large-kernel Peruvian maize) — drained and chilled ready to eat

Piura family-style ceviche with cooked prawns — measured ingredients, clear preparation and safe seafood handling

Yield 4 complete ceviche plates

Prep 25 minutes

Cook 0 minutes

Passive 0 minutes

Total 25 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Piura family-style ceviche with cooked prawns — measured ingredients, clear preparation and safe seafood handling

Northern Peruvian ceviche has many versions, including seafood mixtures. This Piura family-table adaptation combines raw white fish with fully cooked chilled prawns and offers zarandaja and choclo alongside. It is explicitly a serving choice, not evidence that every Piuran family uses prawns.

Using cooked prawns keeps the method manageable in a home kitchen; they still need careful refrigerated storage and a clean utensil. The fish is cut into small even pieces, while the cooked prawns are folded through just before service so they retain their shape. The bean and corn accompaniments are fully cooked, cold and ready to plate.

A mixed seafood dish has more cross-contact points than fish ceviche alone. Use one clean board for the prepared garnishes, a separate cleaned surface for raw fish, and hold the ready-to-eat prawns cold until combining. Lime juice seasons the fish but does not guarantee safety of the raw seafood component.

Ingredients

Main

480 g corvina or another firm white marine fish fillet — skinless, boneless, previously frozen under supplier-controlled raw-fish parasite procedures; fully thawed and kept at 4 °C or below
160 g red onion — peeled, sliced paper-thin
175 ml fresh lime juice — just squeezed, strained; measured juice, not whole fruit
18 g ají limo — deseeded and finely chopped; handle with clean utensils
14 g fresh coriander leaves (culantro) — washed, dried and finely chopped
3 g fine salt — measured

Seafood

200 g cooked peeled prawns — fully cooked, promptly chilled and kept at 4 °C or below

To serve

200 g cooked zarandaja (hyacinth beans; Lablab purpureus) — drained and chilled ready to eat
160 g cooked choclo kernels (large-kernel Peruvian maize) — drained and chilled ready to eat

Method

Check the cooked accompaniments.Arrange cooked zarandaja (hyacinth beans; Lablab purpureus), cooked choclo kernels (large-kernel Peruvian maize) in separate piles on four clean cold plates. All cooked components must already be thoroughly prepared and cold. Leave crisp garnishes dry, off the lime-dressed fish. Allow 4 minutes for this step. The cooked accompaniments are cold and separate, and any crisp garnish remains dry. Safety: Use ready-to-eat cooked starches and legumes from refrigeration, not raw beans or cassava.
Prepare the vegetables.Use a clean vegetable board to slice the red onion into thin feathers and finely chop the ají limo and washed coriander. Measure the fresh lime juice in a separate cold bowl; avoid bitter pith and pips. Allow 5 minutes for this step. The onion strips are thin enough to bend and the chopped pepper and coriander are evenly fine. Safety: Wash hands and tools before moving to the raw fish.
Dice the refrigerated fish.On a separate, freshly cleaned board cut 480 g of chilled boneless white fish into even 1.5–2 cm cubes; transfer to a cold non-reactive bowl. Keep it at 4 °C or below until all plates and seasonings are ready. Allow 4 minutes for this step. The cubes have even edges, no visible bones and a firm texture. Safety: Use only professionally sourced raw-use fish; previously frozen fish still carries microbial risk and must stay at 4 °C or below.
Bring in the cooked prawns.Open the ready-cooked chilled prawns, weighing 200 g. Move them directly into a separate cold serving bowl with a clean spoon; never place them on the raw-fish board. Allow 3 minutes for this step. Each prawn is fully cooked and cold, with no off odour or slippery film. Safety: Keep fully cooked prawns at 4 °C or below; if they were sold raw, cook separately to 63 °C before chilling them completely, outside the stated quick-assembly schedule.
Season and toss.Sprinkle the fish with 3 g fine salt, fold through the ají limo and coriander, then add 175 ml measured lime juice and the sliced red onion. Turn gently so all the cubes are wetted. Allow 3 minutes for this step. The fish cubes are evenly coated with juice without crumbling, and the onion is dispersed throughout. Safety: Citrus is seasoning, not a validated control of fish parasites or harmful bacteria.
Finish with prawns and plate.Fold the cold, fully cooked prawns through the fish mixture once, then distribute all the seafood and its juice over four plates, keeping the prepared side dishes separate. Allow 3 minutes for this step. Each plate has both fish cubes and intact prawns; cold sides have kept their shape. Safety: Serve immediately; do not let the finished raw-fish dish sit unchilled.

Practical

Keys to success

Keep ready-to-eat prawns away from the raw-fish preparation board until final mixing. Use a retailer who understands and can document seafood intended for raw consumption.

Serving and practical guidance

This is a practical family-table mixed seafood variation. Its distinguishing service detail is raw fish plus precooked chilled prawns, beans and corn. The accompaniments are ready-cooked, chilled or packaged as described in the ingredient list; starting from dry beans or raw cassava would require a separate, additional cooking session, not included in the 25-minute assembly schedule. For advance preparation, refrigerate measured lime juice and separately packed washed vegetables, cooked sides and raw fish at or below 4 °C. Keep crisp chips or toasted maize sealed and dry. Once the lime reaches the fish, plate straightaway; a longer marinade is not required for flavour and cannot guarantee microbial or parasite safety. Discard any raw fish that arrives warm, smells sour or ammonia-like, or shows signs of poor handling. Never use a cooked-side preparation board for raw fish without washing and sanitising it. Do not store dressed raw-fish leftovers for a later meal. For diners at higher risk of foodborne disease, prepare a fully cooked fish option instead of this raw recipe. The prawns are explicitly precooked and refrigerated: raw prawns cannot simply be folded into the mixture on the assumption that lime will cook them. Keep them cold in their own clean dish until the final toss. This extra seafood ingredient means the finished plate contains both fish and crustacean shellfish allergens.

Control points

Texture issueFish becomes chalky or ragged if left too long in the acidic dressing; mix just before serving.
Serving issueA damp garnish loses snap; keep fried or toasted garnishes separate from liquid.

Nutrition per 1 of 4 full plates including all listed accompaniments

Serving size1 of 4 full plates including all listed accompaniments
Calories299 kcal
Carbohydrate29.4 g
Protein42.1 g
Fat3.2 g
Fibre5.1 g
Sodium452 mg

Allergens and food safety

Allergens: Fish and crustacean shellfish. Check packaged accompaniments, cheese and supplier practices for additional cross-contact where applicable. The nutrition figures are estimates for the quantities listed; the stated sodium total includes the measured salt and inherent sodium in the foods. Use fish supplied specifically for raw preparations, with documented suitable parasite-control freezing or equivalent supplier controls. Previously frozen fish is not free of all microbial risks. Cooked prawns are a crustacean allergen; hold them separately from raw fish until assembly and keep chilled. Keep all seafood and cooked accompaniments refrigerated at 4 °C or below, and clean hands, tools and worktops after handling raw fish. Fresh lime acid changes fish texture; it does not reliably kill parasites or bacteria. Serve immediately, do not hold at room temperature, and do not save leftover dressed raw seafood for later service. Pregnant people, children, older adults and those with weakened immunity should avoid raw or undercooked seafood; a fully cooked fish meal is a safer alternative.

Closing

Result: Raw fish plus precooked chilled prawns, beans and corn, served cold with clearly differentiated seafood and accompaniments.
Critical control: Keep ready-to-eat prawns away from the raw-fish preparation board until final mixing.