Name: Tumbes-style northern fish ceviche with yuca
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 65 min
Cuisine: Peruvian cuisine
Ingredients: 600 g sweet cassava (yuca) suitable for boiling, peeled, core removed and chopped; 1400 ml water, for yuca boiling; 70 g plain plantain chips (chifles), ready to serve; 650 g firm white fish for raw consumption, boneless, skinless, 2 cm cubes; 140 ml fresh lime juice, strained; 160 g red onion, thinly cut; 14 g ají limo, finely chopped; 10 g cilantro, finely chopped; 5 g fine salt

How to prepare Tumbes-style northern fish ceviche with yuca

Yield 4 main-course plates

Prep 25 minutes

Cook 30 minutes

Passive 10 minutes

Total 65 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

How to prepare Tumbes-style northern fish ceviche with yuca

The warm northern coast of Peru has several distinct ceviche expressions, including fish, shellfish and mixed-seafood dishes. Tumbes is especially associated with mangrove shellfish, but a fish-only ceviche is a useful practical northern-coast interpretation. Here the accompaniment is yuca rather than an assumption that every northern plate is served with the same starch.

The fish stays raw, dressed with lime at service. Red onion provides crunch; chopped ají gives warmth and perfume without becoming a thick sauce. Soft cooked yuca supplies a contrasting gentle texture. There is no claim that this exact fish-and-yuca combination is an exclusively codified Tumbes specialty.

Purchase fish meant for raw preparations and keep it very cold. The yuca should be peeled, have its woody core removed and be boiled until soft. Then prepare the citrus mixture quickly on a clean separate surface so the cold fish and cooked accompaniment never cross-contaminate.

Ingredients

Side

600 g sweet cassava (yuca) suitable for boiling, peeled, core removed and chopped
1400 ml water, for yuca boiling
70 g plain plantain chips (chifles), ready to serve

Ceviche

650 g firm white fish for raw consumption, boneless, skinless, 2 cm cubes
140 ml fresh lime juice, strained
160 g red onion, thinly cut
14 g ají limo, finely chopped
10 g cilantro, finely chopped
5 g fine salt

Method

Soften the cassava completely.Place the 600 g peeled, cored yuca in a pan with 1400 ml water. Bring to a boil then simmer for 30 minutes, until the largest pieces are thoroughly soft. The cassava splits easily when pressed with a fork. Yuca must be thoroughly cooked; never serve it raw.
Cool and portion the side.Cool the drained yuca in a clean container for 10 minutes, then divide it onto four plates with the 70 g chifles. The yuca is warm but no longer giving off steam. Store cooked yuca under refrigeration if serving is delayed.
Cut aromatics neatly.Prepare 160 g onion in thin slices; chop 14 g ají and 10 g cilantro on a clean vegetable board, and measure the 140 ml lime juice. The onion is fine and the lime juice has no seeds.
Season cold fish.On a separate clean fish board check 650 g fish for bones and cut into 2 cm pieces. In a cold bowl combine with 5 g salt and the ají. The fish pieces are firm and evenly seasoned. Keep raw fish at 4 °C or below until mixing.
Dress at the last moment.Add the measured lime juice, onion and cilantro, fold carefully and plate immediately beside yuca and chifles. The fish remains in distinct cubes under a light citrus dressing. Raw fish remains raw after citrus dressing; avoid warm holding.

Practical

Practical guidance

Plate soft yuca beside the fish, not in the lime bowl where it can turn the dressing starchy. Add the plantain chips at service so they remain crisp; the chips are an accompaniment, not an ingredient to marinate. This arrangement keeps the differences in texture intentional. Cooked yuca can be prepared before the fish is handled. Drain it thoroughly and cool it promptly if it is being stored, then keep it refrigerated until service. Do not save the fully dressed raw fish as a make-ahead preparation. Northern coastal ceviche is not a single formula. This dish has no raw black clams, and adding them would require a separate validated sourcing and safety decision. A fish-only plate is best kept simple rather than quietly turning it into a Tumbes shellfish specialty.

Control points

Yuca breaks down into the dressingIt was mixed with the fish instead of plated alongside; keep the starch apart.
Plantain chips lose their crunchThey have been placed in the lime too early; add them only as the plates go out.

Nutrition per serving

Serving size1 of 4 plates
Calories450 kcal
Carbohydrate58 g
Protein34 g
Fat8 g
Fibre5 g
Sodium620 mg

Allergens and food safety

Use only sweet cassava appropriate for boiling; never substitute bitter cassava. Contains raw fish. Citrus is not a safe cooking step. Use controlled raw-fish sourcing, previously frozen fish for parasite-risk reduction where appropriate, clean handling and refrigeration. High-risk guests should not eat the raw fish.

Closing

Result: A northern-coast fish ceviche with lime, ají, red onion and fully cooked cassava on the side.
Key control: Work cold, and add fresh citrus only immediately before service.