Fluke Ceviche with Coconut Milk, Corn, and Tomatoes

In the heat of summer, few things are as delicious as an ice-cold, super-fresh ceviche. While I love traditional Peruvian ceviche, sometimes it’s nice to riff on the classics. As I am a huge fan of Thai flavors, I came up with this ceviche which is made with coconut milk, lemongrass, and a touch of fish sauce. The addition of sweet corn and cherry tomatoes makes this dish feel like a celebration of summer. As long as you have some really fresh fish, this dish is super easy to throw together and will definitely impress your friends.

The Fish

Fish is obviously the most important ingredient in any ceviche. This recipe calls for fluke, but you could use almost any white-fleshed fish that is suitable for consuming raw. I am quite lucky in that I have a Japanese supermarket near me that sells cleaned fillets of sushi-grade fish. If you don’t happen to have a Japanese market near you, talk to your fishmonger and see if they can recommend something. Just make sure that the fish you are using is VERY fresh. The fish should have no odor whatsoever. A few other fish that would work well in this recipe are:

• Halibut
• Snapper
• Flounder (pretty much the same as fluke)
• Striped bass
• Black Bass

Coconut Milk

Using good quality coconut milk is very important to this dish. If the coconut milk you are using isn’t delicious on its own, then the finished ceviche won’t be delicious either. The best quality coconut milk is usually from Thailand. Look for cans that are a product of Thailand and do not contain any guar gum. Guar gum is a stabilizer that I feel gives coconut milk an artificially thick texture. My two favorite brands of coconut milk are Aroy-D and Chaokoh.

Coconut milk that has been on the shelf for a long time can sometimes “split”. A fatty, thick layer may harden at the top of the can. Make sure you shake the can very well before opening it. If you still notice some separation, try warming up the entire can of coconut milk on the stove, giving it a good whisk, and then cooling it back down before using it in the recipe.

Round out the spread:

• Pea Crostini with Ricotta, Mint, and Prosciutto
• Simple Chicken Liver Mousse
• 20 Minute Tomato Gazpacho
• Salt Cod Brandade
• Grilled Calamari and White Bean Salad
• Grilled and Stewed Romano Beans with Garlic, Tomato, and Basil
• Grilled Romaine with Bagna Cauda and Garlic Breadcrumbs

Fluke Ceviche with Coconut Milk, Corn, and Tomatoes

A refreshing and easy-to-make ceviche with a few Thai flavors.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 3 minutes mins

Servings 2 people

Ingredients

  

• 4 oz very-fresh fluke or other white fish fillet Boneless and skinless
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 ear sweet corn
• 2-3 Tbsp very thinly sliced lemongrass
• 1 red Thai bird chili optional
• 4 or 5 cherry tomatoes
• 1 or 2 sprigs cilantro
• 1/8th of an avocado

Coconut "leche de tigre"

• 1/3 cup good quality coconut milk
• 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1/2 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp diamond crystal kosher salt amount will vary if using another type of salt
• 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp finely grated fresh garlic

Instructions

 

Coconut "leche de tigre"

• Use a microplane or fine grater to grate 1 clove of garlic, if you do not have a grater, mince the garlic very finely and "smear" it into a paste using the side of your knife. Measure out 1/2 tsp of grated garlic.
  
• Combine 1/2 tsp grated garlic with the coconut milk, lime juice, sugar, fish sauce and salt. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and set this sauce in the refrigerator until ready to serve. ***if you are using any salt other than diamond crystal kosher salt, you will need to season the sauce to taste as the measurements will not be the same. Season with salt until it is very well seasoned, even a bit salty. This sauce will be "seasoning" the rest of the ingredients in the ceviche***
  

Assemble

• Place a serving bowl in the refrigerator so that it is cold when you are ready to serve.
• Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the corn cob to the water. Let the corn cook in the boiling water for 3 minutes.
  
• After 3 minutes, remove the corn from the boiling water and plunge it into an ice bath until it has completely cooled off.
  
• Make sure there are no bones or skin attached to the fish.
  
• Cut the fish into 1/4 inch thick slices. Keep cold in the fridge until ready to serve.
  
• Cut the cherry tomatoes into rounds and set aside.
  
• Remove the outer, tough layers of the lemongrass and VERY thinly slice about 2-3 tbsp worth of lemongrass. You will need a sharp knife for this. Set aside.
  
• Cut a wedge of avocado (1/8th of an avocado) and peel it. Cut into 1/3 inch chunks and set aside.
  
• Thinly slice about 1/2 of the Thai bird chili (or as much/little as you like) and set aside.
  
• Coarsely chop the cilantro and set aside. You need about 3-4 Tbsp of cilantro.
  
• Cut about 1/4 cup of corn kernels off of the cob and set aside. Save any remaining corn for another purpose.
  
• Place the sliced fluke in a chilled mixing bowl along with 2-3 Tbsp sliced lemongrass, and 1 tsp of olive oil. Stir gently to combine.
  
• Place the cold coconut leche de tigre in the bottom of the chilled serving bowl. Place the fish (that has been tossed with olive oil and lemongrass) in the center of the bowl and arrange the corn, tomatoes, avocado, and chili on top of the fish. Serve immediately and as cold as possible.