Name: Tiradito al ají amarillo
Prep time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Cuisine: Peruvian cuisine
Ingredients: 480 g very fresh boneless white fish fillet — skinless, purchased from a trusted supplier specifically for raw service with documented parasite controls; 2 g fine salt — for fish, separate from sauce salt; 65 g ají amarillo paste — cooked, plain, seedless; 120 ml fresh lime juice — strained, chilled; 80 ml cold fish stock — previously cooked and rapidly chilled; 25 g red onion — chopped; 5 g fresh ginger — peeled, chopped; 4 g garlic — peeled; 12 g cilantro leaves — washed, plus stems removed; 1 g fine salt — for sauce; 1 ají limo chile — small, deseeded, very thinly sliced; 10 g cilantro leaves — washed, finely chopped

Lima-style raw fish tiradito with ají amarillo

Yield 4 starter plates

Prep 35 minutes

Cook 0 minutes

Passive 15 minutes

Total 50 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Lima-style raw fish tiradito with ají amarillo

Tiradito is a raw-fish presentation associated with coastal Peru and Japanese-influenced knife work: thinly sliced fish lies on the plate rather than being diced and mixed in a bowl. In this Lima-associated preparation, ají amarillo colours and flavours an acidic, chilled leche de tigre sauce.

Leche de tigre is not dairy. It describes a sharp citrus-based mixture used in Peruvian raw-fish dishes; this sauce gains its texture from thoroughly blending the yellow pepper paste with lime, chilled fish stock and aromatics. Straining leaves a smooth dressing that clings to the delicate slices rather than covering them with chopped vegetables.

Raw fish demands stricter sourcing than ordinary cooked fish. Lime changes the outside texture but does not reliably destroy parasites or bacteria. Even properly controlled freezing reduces certain parasite hazards rather than every pathogen. The fish is kept refrigerated through slicing, and the dressing is added immediately before serving.

Practical

Ingredient characterRaw-seafood dish only; cooking or pan-searing the fish would produce a different preparation. This one omits fish bits in the sauce to limit handling complexity.
The point to watchCold-chain control and dressing immediately before service define both texture and risk management.
Result to look forThe plate shows thin raw white-fish slices beneath a smooth, spicy yellow citrus dressing.

Ingredients

Fish

480 g very fresh boneless white fish fillet — skinless, purchased from a trusted supplier specifically for raw service with documented parasite controls
2 g fine salt — for fish, separate from sauce salt

Ají amarillo leche de tigre

65 g ají amarillo paste — cooked, plain, seedless
120 ml fresh lime juice — strained, chilled
80 ml cold fish stock — previously cooked and rapidly chilled
25 g red onion — chopped
5 g fresh ginger — peeled, chopped
4 g garlic — peeled
12 g cilantro leaves — washed, plus stems removed
1 g fine salt — for sauce

To finish

1 ají limo chile — small, deseeded, very thinly sliced
10 g cilantro leaves — washed, finely chopped

Method

Set up a raw-fish station.Sanitise the board and knife, chill four serving plates and keep the 480 g raw-service fish covered at 4 °C or below until ready to slice. Wash hands thoroughly before and after raw fish handling. The knife and board are clean and dry, the plates are cold and the fish remains firm. Use only professionally sourced fish with supplier-documented raw-service suitability; citrus cannot make unsafe fish safe.
Slice the fish thinly.With a long sharp knife, cut the chilled boneless fillet across the grain into thin, slightly angled slices, arranging 120 g on each of four cold plates. Return the plates immediately to the refrigerator. The slices lie flat without torn edges and remain cold and translucent. Keep raw fish at 4 °C or below; avoid cross-contact.
Blend the yellow-chile sauce.Place all 65 g cooked ají amarillo paste, 120 ml cold lime juice, 80 ml cold cooked fish stock, 25 g onion, 5 g ginger, 4 g garlic, 12 g cilantro and 1 g sauce salt into a sanitised blender. Blend 2 minutes, then strain through a fine sieve into a chilled bowl. The sauce is smooth and vividly yellow-orange, with an even pour and no coarse fibres. The sauce contains citrus and chilled stock, not a heat treatment for raw fish.
Balance and hold briefly.Stir the cold sauce and place it at 4 °C or below for 10 minutes, just while slicing the ají limo and finely chopping the remaining 10 g cilantro. Do not let this holding period extend beyond the planned service. The sauce remains pourable and cold, and the chile slices are thin without large seeds. Do not leave raw fish or the sauce sitting on a warm counter.
Dress and serve immediately.Sprinkle all 2 g salt over the four fish plates, then divide the entire chilled ají sauce evenly among them. Finish with the sliced ají limo and remaining 10 g cilantro and serve straightaway. The bright sauce lightly coats every fish slice without burying its outline. This remains raw fish; do not serve to pregnant or immunocompromised people, older adults or young children.

Practical

Practical guidance

Plate on cold ceramic just before people are ready to eat. Leave the slices spread flat so every piece receives a little sauce. Do not prepare this dish for next-day consumption. The raw fish is best sliced and dressed immediately before eating; discard leftovers rather than saving mixed raw fish and sauce. If verified raw-service fish is not available, do not substitute ordinary supermarket fillets and rely on lime or a household freezer. A fully cooked fish dish can be made separately, but it is not this tiradito.

Control points

Issue 1If the dressing tastes harsh, the lime may be unusually acidic or the ají paste concentration different; check the measured ingredients and use a smooth, balanced unsweetened paste in the next preparation rather than adding unlisted sugar.
Issue 2If slices tear, the fish or knife may have warmed. Refrigerate the fillet and use a clean, long knife with single strokes rather than sawing.

Nutrition per 1 of 4 plates

Serving size1 raw-fish starter plate, approximately 200 g
Calories155 kcal
Carbohydrate5 g
Protein25 g
Fat4 g
Fibre1 g
Sodium310 mg

Allergens and food safety

Contains fish. The fish remains raw: buy only product intended for raw consumption from a supplier who can confirm appropriate parasite-control handling; keep it at 4 °C or below, prevent cross-contamination and serve immediately. Citrus juice does not make raw fish safe. People at higher risk of foodborne illness, including pregnant people, young children, older adults and immunocompromised people, should avoid raw fish.

Closing

Result: The plate shows thin raw white-fish slices beneath a smooth, spicy yellow citrus dressing.
Decisive control: Cold-chain control and dressing immediately before service define both texture and risk management.

Lima-style raw fish tiradito with ají amarillo

Practical

Ingredients

Fish

Ají amarillo leche de tigre

To finish

Method

Practical

Practical guidance

Control points

Nutrition per 1 of 4 plates

Allergens and food safety

Closing

Peruvian National Dishes

Adobo arequipeño dominical

Llunca cashqui

Cuchicanca