Ceviche (Peruvian)

Raw white fish: corvina, lubina, or sole traditionally, often sea bass or halibut in Western settings, cured very briefly in lime juice (the cure is fast, sometimes minutes rather than hours, leaving the fish almost rare in the centre), with red onion, ají limo or rocoto chilli, coriander, and salt, served with leche de tigre (the cure liquid itself, drunk separately or as a shot), and accompaniments of choclo (large-kernel corn), cancha (toasted corn), and sweet potato. Distinct from Mexican ceviche analytically: the cure is shorter and sharper, the fish stays more rare, the chilli has a fierce-fruity quality from ají rather than the cleaner heat of jalapeño, and leche de tigre is itself a star rather than a discarded by-product. Lime is dominant; trimethylamine rules out oak. The fish is delicate. The ají brings serious heat depending on quantity.