ceviche

I made up this recipe for ceviche. Three limes and two lemons turned out to be not enough and I didn't want to use the vinegar, so I used three oranges instead. Still I was a little short of liquid so I added about a cup of water, so my ceviche was a little diluted. Also, I used canned jalapeños instead of fresh because that was an impulse and it's all I had. I also added grated ginger which I've never seen in any recipe but turned out to be a great idea. It is delicious, all except for the catfish. Ya know, my instincts told me that wasn't a good idea, and my instincts turned out to be right. Catfish is entirely the wrong texture for this. Ick. Gross. I picked it out, dusted it with flour and fried it in oil. BANG! Perfection. The combination of cold nearly raw ceviche along with hot crusty but delicate catfish is fantastic, even with both of them using the same dipping sauce. The tomato was added separately.

All of the seafood was soaked in cold brine for about 1/2 an hour before being submerged into the acidic liquid where it absorbed for a few hours.

For the dipping sauce, I used about 1/2 cup of liquid surplus from putting the ceviche in jars. I added soy sauce, mirin for sweetness, fish sauce, and wasabi powder, real wasabi, not fake horseradish wasabi, and a few drops of habanero sauce, because I'm insane!