Overview

Tiradito

Name: Tiradito
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Peru
Ingredients: 500g (about 1.1 lb) Fresh white fish fillet (sea bass or corvina), skinless and boneless; 60g (4 tablespoons) Aji amarillo paste; 60ml (1/4 cup) Lime juice, freshly squeezed; 5g (1 small clove) Garlic, minced; 5g (about 1 cm piece) Fresh ginger, grated; 15ml (1 tablespoon) Olive oil, extra virgin; 30g (1/4 small onion) Red onion; 10g (1 small bunch) Cilantro, leaves; 3g (1/2 tsp) Salt, fine sea salt

Tiradito de Pescado, Peruvian Raw Fish in Aji Sauce

This tiradito recipe lays paper-thin slices of very fresh white fish on a cold plate and pours a fiery aji amarillo sauce over them just before serving. One serving is about 172 g. Unlike Peruvian ceviche, the fish is never marinated — there is no onion in a cure and no lime bath — and unlike aguachile, the sauce is poured over sliced fish rather than curing shrimp in a blended chile water.

Tiradito is Peru's Nikkei-influenced answer to sashimi: Japanese immigrants in Lima began slicing the day's catch thin and dressing it with Peruvian aji chillies instead of soy and wasabi. Unlike ceviche, where cubed fish cures in lime juice with onion, tiradito is sliced thin and the sauce is poured over at serving, so the fish stays essentially raw. The classic sauce is aji amarillo with lime, garlic and ginger; the Nikkei version at restaurants like Maido adds soy and sesame notes.

Pairs well with: Ice-cold beer or a pisco sour, with boiled sweet potato and corn on the side

Provenance

Peru

Peruvian Coastal Classic

Latin America & Caribbean

Time Dedication

25m

25m prep • 0m cook

Batch Yield

4 Servings

170 kcal per serving

1 serving ≈ 172 g

Technical Skill

Intermediate

Medium (Raw Fish & Knife Work)

Meal Timing & Digestive Fit

Breakfast

Not Advised

Lunch

Prime Metabolic Fit

Dinner

Ideal Hearty Main

Snack & Tea

Inappropriate

Occasions: Hot days, seafood lunches, Peruvian coastal dinners, summer starters Cost: Medium — about $5–6 per serving at home

Tags: Fish Spicy Sour Savory Raw

Two tiraditos on a wooden board: thin slices of raw white fish with red aji sauce, prawns and squash

Peruvian Coastal Classic

Photo: franzconde, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Heritage Formulary

Measured Ingredients

Fresh white fish fillet (sea bass or corvina), skinless and boneless 500g (about 1.1 lb)

The star — sliced paper-thin and served raw, never marinated. Substitute: Very fresh sole, flounder or snapper, same weight.

How to choose: Buy sushi-grade fish from a trusted fishmonger on the day you serve it — it should smell like the sea, never fishy, and feel firm and glossy. Tell the fishmonger it will be eaten raw.

How to prepare: Chill the fillet in the freezer for 15 minutes so it firms up, then slice across the grain into thin, even slices about 3 mm thick.

Required
Aji amarillo paste 60g (4 tablespoons)

The golden, fruity-hot chilli paste that defines the sauce. Substitute: Fresh aji amarillo chiles, seeded and blended, or habanero paste for a hotter, less fruity sauce.

How to choose: Look for a smooth, bright yellow-orange paste in a Latin food shop; avoid jars that have darkened or smell fermented.

How to prepare: Measure out; loosen with a spoonful of the lime juice if it is very thick.

Required
Lime juice, freshly squeezed 60ml (1/4 cup)

Brightens the sauce — always fresh, never bottled. Substitute: No substitute — bottled lime juice tastes flat and dull here.

How to choose: Heavy, thin-skinned limes give the most juice; roll each one on the counter before squeezing.

How to prepare: Squeeze and strain out the seeds and pulp.

Required
Garlic, minced 5g (1 small clove)

A whisper of garlic in the sauce, not a shout. Substitute: A pinch of garlic powder, though fresh is much better.

How to choose: Firm, heavy cloves with tight skin and no green shoot.

How to prepare: Peel and mince very finely.

Required
Fresh ginger, grated 5g (about 1 cm piece)

The Nikkei touch — warmth and freshness in the sauce. Substitute: Leave it out for the classic criollo version.

How to choose: Firm, smooth skin with no wrinkles or mould; snap a piece — it should break cleanly.

How to prepare: Peel and grate finely.

Optional
Olive oil, extra virgin 15ml (1 tablespoon)

Silkens the sauce and helps it cling to the fish. Substitute: A neutral oil such as grapeseed oil.

How to choose: Fresh, grassy-smelling oil; rancid oil smells like crayons and will ruin the dish.

How to prepare: Measure out.

Optional
Red onion 30g (1/4 small onion)

Paper-thin slivers scattered on top as a garnish only — never in a marinade. Substitute: Thinly sliced spring onion, same weight.

How to choose: Heavy for its size with tight, papery skin and no soft spots.

How to prepare: Peel and slice paper-thin; soak in ice water for 10 minutes, then drain well.

Optional
Cilantro, leaves 10g (1 small bunch)

A fresh green scatter over the finished plate. Substitute: Flat-leaf parsley, though the flavour will be milder.

How to choose: Bright green leaves with no yellowing.

How to prepare: Rinse well, shake dry, and pick the leaves.

Optional
Salt, fine sea salt 3g (1/2 tsp)

Seasons the sauce — taste and adjust. Substitute: None.

How to choose: Fine salt dissolves evenly in the cold sauce.

How to prepare: Measure out.

Required

Estimated cost: Medium — about $5–6 per serving at home (USD)

True tiradito is sliced, never cubed, and sauced at the table, never marinated — the fish must stay raw and the sauce must be poured over, not cured in.

Execution Methodology & Culinary Technique

Step-by-Step Cooking Guide

Active 25m

Prep Stage: Chill Everything and Make the Sauce

25 Mins • Slice & Blend

Chill the plates in the fridge and the fish in the freezer for 15 minutes so it slices thin and stays cold. Blend the aji amarillo paste, lime juice, garlic, ginger, salt and olive oil until smooth, then taste — it should be fiercely sour, salty and hot. Slice the onion paper-thin and soak it in ice water.

Maestro Tip: Food safety first: this dish is never cooked, so only use very fresh, sushi-grade fish from a trusted source, keep it chilled at all times, and serve the tiradito within minutes of saucing. Raw fish carries a risk for children, pregnant women, older adults and anyone with a weakened immune system.

1
Chill the Fish and the Plates

15 Mins Chilled, about 4°C (39°F) — no heat

Put the serving plates in the fridge and the fish fillet in the freezer for 15 minutes. Cold fish slices thinly and cleanly; warm fish tears and turns mushy under the knife.

Do not freeze the fish solid — 15 minutes just firms the outside so the knife glides through.

Done when: The fish is firm and cold to the touch, the plates ice-cold.
2
Blend the Aji Amarillo Sauce

5 Mins No heat — blend cold, about 4°C (39°F)

Blend the aji amarillo paste, lime juice, garlic, ginger, salt and olive oil until completely smooth, about 1 minute. Taste and adjust the salt — the sauce should be bright, fruity, hot and well salted, because it is the only seasoning the fish gets.

If the sauce is too thick to pour, loosen it with a spoonful of cold water — it should flow in a ribbon, not sit in a lump.

Done when: The sauce is smooth, vivid orange-yellow and pourable.
3
Slice the Fish Paper-Thin

5 Mins Sliced cold, about 4°C (39°F) — no heat

With a long, sharp knife, slice the chilled fillet across the grain into thin, even slices about 3 mm thick. Lay the slices in a single layer on the cold plates, overlapping them slightly like roof tiles.

Draw the knife through the fish in one long stroke — sawing back and forth shreds the slices. Wipe the blade clean between cuts.

Done when: Even, translucent slices in a single neat layer.
4
Sauce, Garnish and Serve at Once

2 Mins Served cold, about 4°C (39°F)

Spoon the aji sauce over the fish in a thin, even layer — enough to coat, not to drown. Scatter over the drained onion slivers and cilantro leaves, and serve immediately. The fish is not marinated: the sauce meets the fish at the table, and the plate should be eaten within minutes.

Sauce at the last possible second. If the sauce sits on the fish, the acid starts to cure it and the tiradito turns into ceviche.

Done when: Glossy orange sauce over pale fish, cold plate, ready to eat now.

Finishing Touches & Plating

Serve the tiradito ice-cold with boiled sweet potato and corn on the side if you like, and eat it within minutes — this is a dish of the moment, and the contrast between cold raw fish and hot, sour sauce fades fast.

Nutritional Physiology & Benefits

Nutrition

Energy

170

kcal / serving

Protein

24g

Complete AA

Carbs

Complex

Fats

Healthy

Per serving (4 servings · 1 serving ≈ 172 g)
Energy	170 kcal
Protein	24 g
Carbohydrates	4 g
Fat	6 g
Fibre	0.5 g
Sugar	1.4 g
Sodium	379 mg

Per 100g
Energy	99 kcal
Protein	13.7 g
Carbohydrates	2.4 g
Fat	3.5 g
Fibre	0.3 g
Sugar	0.8 g
Sodium	220 mg

Nutrition values are estimated — calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for the listed ingredients.

Vitamins & minerals: Vitamin D and selenium (sea bass), vitamin C (lime, aji), vitamin A (aji amarillo). Nutrition is estimated.

Lean Protein, No Cooking

At about 23.6 g of protein and 170 kcal a serving, tiradito is a light, high-protein lunch — the fish is sliced, never fried or buttered.

Fresh, Raw Ingredients

Fish, lime, chilli and herbs reach the plate raw, so their texture and vitamin C arrive untouched.

Bright Heat, Light Plate

Aji amarillo brings fruity heat with almost no calories, so the dish feels bold and satisfying without being heavy.

Food Pairings

What to Eat With

To optimize nutrient absorption and elevate the sensory depth, pair with these authentic accompaniments:

Sides

Boiled Sweet Potato and Corn

Sweet potato and large-kernel corn are the classic Peruvian balance — their sweetness and starch soften the lime and chilli.

Drinks

Ice-Cold Beer

A cold lager tames the aji heat and matches the chilled fish without competing with the lime.

Pisco Sour

A pisco sour echoes the lime in the sauce and turns the tiradito into a proper Peruvian coastal lunch.

Full Menus

Peruvian Coastal Lunch

Serve tiradito as a starter or light lunch, then follow with grilled fish or arroz con mariscos — the same coastal register, from raw to cooked.

Complete menu

Serve tiradito as a starter or light lunch with boiled sweet potato, corn and an ice-cold beer, followed by arroz con mariscos.

Digestive Guardrails

What NOT to Combine

To prevent digestive distress, sluggishness, or palate clash, avoid pairing the dish with these elements:

Eating It Warm or Late

Raw fish must stay chilled and be eaten promptly — warm or long-stored raw fish raises the risk of foodborne illness. This is general information, not medical advice.

Using Fish That Is Not Very Fresh

Because nothing is cooked, any staleness in the fish cannot be fixed by heat — only use fish you trust, and skip the dish if it smells at all fishy.

General information only, not medical advice — consult a doctor for personal dietary decisions.

Who Should Eat It

Who Should Eat

General adultsA light, high-protein lunch at about 170 kcal a serving — enjoy it freshly made and ice-cold.
ChildrenRaw fish is not recommended for children — their immune systems are more vulnerable to foodborne illness, so serve children a cooked fish dish instead.
ElderlyRaw fish carries a higher risk for older adults — choose a cooked version of the dish instead.
Pregnant womenRaw fish is not recommended during pregnancy — the risk of foodborne illness is higher, so enjoy a cooked fish dish instead.
Breastfeeding womenRaw fish is not recommended while breastfeeding — choose cooked fish to be safe.
AthletesA lean, high-protein lunch, but keep portions moderate — the salt and chilli can be a lot after a hard session.
Weight gainToo light to drive weight gain on its own — add sweet potato, corn and a second helping for more calories.
Weight lossAn excellent weight-loss choice: high protein, low calories, and only about 170 kcal a serving.

Health Conditions — Adjust or Avoid

Conditions

DiabetesVery low in carbs and sugar, which helps; keep the salt modest and ask your clinician about a suitable portion.
High blood pressureWatch the salt — about 379 mg of sodium a serving — and ask your clinician about a suitable portion.
Kidney diseaseHigh in protein, so keep portions modest and ask your clinician.
GoutFish is a source of purines, so keep portions small and occasional; ask your clinician if you are unsure.
Stomach issuesThe raw chilli and lime can irritate a sensitive stomach — eat a small portion and ask your clinician about your triggers.
Cardiovascular diseaseLow in saturated fat and high in lean protein, which fits well; the main concern is the salt, so ask your clinician.
Fatty liverLow in fat and sugar as written; keep the portion moderate. Ask your clinician.
Food allergiesContains fish — a major allergen. Free from gluten, egg, milk, peanut and tree nuts.
Special therapeutic dietsNot suitable as written for diets that require fully cooked fish; ask your clinician or dietitian before adapting it.

If you have a medical condition, consult your doctor before changing your diet.

Storage & Use

How to store: Tiradito is best eaten the moment it is made. If you must hold it, keep the sliced fish and the sauce separate in the coldest part of the fridge, covered.
In the fridge: Unsauced sliced fish: up to 4 hours, chilled. Once sauced, eat within 15 minutes — the acid starts to cure the fish.
In the freezer: Do not freeze the finished dish. Raw fish for tiradito should be bought fresh, not defrosted.
How to reheat: Do not reheat — this dish is served cold. The 63°C (145°F) minimum for cooked fish does not apply to a raw dish; instead, rely on sushi-grade sourcing, freshness and chilling.
Freezing recommended: No — tiradito does not freeze well.
Signs it has spoiled: Any fishy or ammonia smell, slimy fish, or cloudy sauce — discard at once.

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