Nov 26, 2016

Ecuadorian Wahoo Ceviche

Wahoo Recipe

When it comes to a wahoo recipe, there's nothing like enjoying a wahoo ceviche. Wahoo's white firm meat is considered to be one of the tastiest fish in the world. In Ecuador, their ceviches are typically riddled with tomatoes, oranges and peppers, plus a serving of fried plantains!

I got a call from my good fishing buddy Dave and he tells me he got back from a 9 day fishing trip with a lot of Wahoo. And, then he says, do you need any? Boy do I! After picking up a few pounds, I asked Dave to give me a write up and any pictures from the trip. In exchange, I offered to create a special wahoo recipe, Ecuadorian ceviche with fried plantains. That was fine by Dave!

Need more ceviche recipes? Check out my Fisherman's Belly taco and ceviche section. It's packed with easy to make, yummy recipes!

Dave's tale:

In late October I went on a 9-day fishing trip with 20 other anglers on the Spirit of Adventure out of San Diego. At 90'x25', the Spirit is a classic long range boat with a good crew, good food, and a load of lively bait. After two days of motoring south, we started fishing at the top of the Ridge for a few tuna and Wahoo. The skipper soon made the call to move to Alijos Rock in search of better Wahoo fishing. Although we lost many to the sharks, it turned out to be the right decision as we landed approximately 150 wahoo over the next few days.

Leaving on a 9-day trip, the Spirit Of Adventure

My personal highlight was when I hooked a nice fish on the troll that quickly pulled off 100 yards of line against 25# of drag. Off in the distance, it started jumping. Thinking it was a marlin, I started grumbling about having to reel it in for a mandatory catch and release. After much effort to reel it up and get my lure back, it appeared out of the deep and instead of being a marlin it was a very nice Wahoo!

At 52 pounds it was my new personal best for Wahoo and the biggest fish for the trip. Too bad troll fish aren't eligible for the jackpot. After the Rocks, we made the run back to the Ridge to catch lots of school-sized tuna and then up the coast for some nice yellowtail. Plenty of fish to fill my freezer and to share with friends like Yanni.

Wahoo Recipe: Ceviche with Fried Plantains (serves 6-8)

1½ pounds wahoo, diced in ½ inch cubes

½ red onion, thinly sliced

½ lb cherry tomatoes, cut in halves

1 green bell pepper diced

½ bundle of cilantro fine chopped

10 limes juiced

2 tangerines juiced, oranges optional

½ cup ketchup

1 large plantain, sliced into thin discs

Kosher salt

Coarse black pepper

Frying oil

Start Making This Wahoo Recipe

1. First, start by adding 1 ½ tablespoons of salt into 1 ½ cups of water while mixing. Now add the julienned onions and then allow the onions to soak for 15 minutes.

2. In the mean time, add the tomatoes, bell pepper, cilantro, and fish into a mixing bowl, while adding a pinch of salt and pepper.

3. Remember your julienned onions in salt water? Drain the the salt water from the onions and then rinse throughly.

4. In a large mixing bowl, add the tomatoes, bell peppers, cilantro, and then the fish. Now add the juice of the limes and tangerines followed by the rinsed onions, and then the ketchup. Mix and then refrigerate for about 2 hours to create the ceviche.

5. Add your oil in a deep frying pan while bringing the frying temperature, 375F. Fry the plantains until golden brown. Place into a paper towel lined bowl and season with salt.

6. Serve the ceviche in martini glasses with the fried plantains aka, chifles, on the side. Enjoy!