I love fish, and I love fishing. One of the wonderful aspects of life in Huatulco is the abundance and variety of fresh fish available. I am particularly lucky because I have great friends who love to fish, are great fishers (the new PC term for fishermen and women);they are great friends who take me fishing, and when they have had their fill, give me fish.
I also have a new hobby. I smoke fish, here in Huatulco, mostly billfish. This past season I have smoked blue marlin, striped marlin, sailfish and Dorado. The most popular by far has been the striped marlin, with the sailfish coming last in popularity. That I have a smoker in my courtyard is yet another of those miracles of circumstance that occur while living in Huatulco. I literally put my request into the Universe, and poco a poco, an unused Little Chief smoker was unearthed.
Experiments with a variety of marinades has resulted in one clear winner – equal amounts of soya sauce and brown sugar, add enough water to cover, a bit of Chinese five spice, a handful of peppercorns, and a few star anise. Marinate for 24 hours, smoke with Jack Daniels flavoured chips for about 8 hours. We have been serving it with cream cheese and crackers for a handy hors d’oeuvre. I have also chopped it into mashed potato, added some finely chopped onion and fresh parsley, shaped into patties and fried to a golden brown, marlin hash patties, a wonderful supper with a poached egg on top. But the hands down favourite has been a quirky recipe I found on the smoked fish forums, a quirky place for quirky smokers. Here is the recipe for
Smoked Fish Dip (aka sailfish “crack” – so good you’ll get addicted!)
- 6-8 ounces smoked fish, skin removed, meat chopped in coarsely (so as not to burn out the motor on your food processor!)
- 1/2 block (4 oz)cream cheese (most Mexican cream cheese comes in 190 grams (6.5 oz)packages vs the northern size - 225 grams (8 oz))
- 2 jalapenos (I often use rajas)
- juice of one lime
- 1 tablespoon old bay seasoning
- 1/4 cup light mayo (or less, depending on how wet your mixture is and how well it is blending)
- salt, pepper to taste
Puree ingredients in a food processor until well blended. I like to make mine almost whipped so as to easily spread on crackers.
Smoked or fresh, there is little of any fish that is not used by local cooks. Even the prize billfish that are caught during fishing tournaments are donated to local kitchens, or in some coastal cities, auctioned for charity to high end restaurants. But it is the fish market that is of most interest to most people who live here for any length of time, and the fish palapas on Huatulco’s beautiful beaches. What to buy? What to order?
This month I have included a guide to Mexico’s most popular eating fish. There are others that are eaten, others divers get to enjoy, and some that get away! But these are the ones most often found in the market and on the menu.
To buy fish in the market, apply the old adage of appearance and smell. If the eyes are clear, flesh firm, and there is no “fishy smell” then buy it. I like mahi mahi best of all, and usually treat it like halibut or sablefish- marinated or simply seasoned, then grilled. Make an Argentine style chimichurri and drizzle it over to take the fish to a completely different level. Combine some salsa with cream and spoon over the fish – delicious. A chipotle mayonnaise makes a great dip, or baking sauce. (Try it at Ay Caray! on the beach at Maguey). A whole Sierra or Red Snapper split and grilled with lime and butter and garlic, zarandeado style, is one of the coolest ways to entertain your friends.
But the quintessential test of fresh fish is ceviche. As many ocean states as there are in Mexico, there are styles of ceviche. Almost all of them share the same basic list of ingredients –raw fish “cooked” in lime juice, salt, onion, cilantro, tomato, and chile. Jalisco style ceviche is usually very finely chopped, and includes the usual cast of characters, but often with the addition of grated carrot. The Oaxaca/Guerrero style is “tiritas” with the fish cut into long strips, marinated, and then dressed with a healthy amount of chile, onion and cilantro. My favourite ceviche is a cross between recipes from Rick Bayless and my good friend Guadalupe Dipp, owner of the eco-resort Los Arroyos Verdes in Puerto Vallarta.
My Ceviche
About 1 kg of fresh white fish – sierra or mahi mahi - cut into ½ inch dice.
Lime juice to cover.
At this point, mix it around a bit, and put into the fridge to marinate for a few hours. When the fish becomes “cooked”, no longer raw-looking, strain and add the other ingredients which you have prepped.
About a kilo of tomatoes (around 5), chopped about the same size.
A small red onion, chopped or sliced (I tend to slice it thinly – easy to pick out if you don’t like it)
A chopped bunch of cilantro.
One or two jalapenos, stemmed, seeded and chopped.
Juice of one orange.
Salt to taste, about ½ to 1 tsp.
Optional ingredients: chopped avocado, sliced manzanillo olives.
Serve with tostadas or saladitas.
All of these ingredients can be adjusted to your personal taste.
Buen provecho! Eat more fish.
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