Ecuadorian prawn ceviche
Ceviche de camarón
Coastal Ecuador's cooked-prawn ceviche in a cold tomato, lime and orange broth — soupy, sweet-sour, eaten with popcorn and chifles.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Ceviche de camarón.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 5 min
- Rest
- 1 hr
- Total
- 1 hr 30 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- Mild
- Cost
- Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
This is not Peruvian ceviche. Ecuadorian ceviche de camarón uses prawns that are briefly boiled, not cured raw, and it is served in a bowl of cold, drinkable juice: the prawn cooking liquid, lime, a little orange, grated tomato and thin red onion, with coriander and a trickle of oil. Many Guayaquil homes add a spoon of ketchup and mustard; it is not a tourist shortcut, it is how it tastes there. You eat it with a spoon, dropping in popcorn and chifles as you go, with rice on the side for lunch. It is sweet, sour and cold, and it takes thirty minutes plus chilling.
What you'll need
13 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
Ingredients
- Prawn, raw, peeled and deveined, shells kept600 g
- Water1 l
- Tomato, 2 grated or blended, 1 diced3 large
- Red onion, sliced paper-thin, rinsed in cold water2 medium
- Lime, juiced5
- Orange, juiced; bitter orange if you can get it1 large
- Coriander, chopped20 g
- Tomato ketchup (optional)30 ml
- Mustard, yellow (optional)4.9 ml
- Neutral oil15 ml
- Fresh chilli, finely chopped (optional)1 small
- Salt9.9 ml
- Plantain, green, for chifles (optional)1 large
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Simmer the prawn shells in the water with a teaspoon of salt for 10 minutes. Strain and bring back to the boil. Drop in the prawns, cook 90 seconds until just pink and curled, and lift them straight into iced water. Keep 400 ml of the cooking liquid and chill it.
15 min
Watch: Ninety seconds. Prawns keep cooking in the acid later.
Step 2
Salt the sliced onion, rub, rinse under cold water and drain. This takes out the raw bite and leaves the crunch.
5 min
Step 3
In a bowl whisk the grated tomato, lime juice, orange juice, chilled prawn liquid, oil, ketchup and mustard if using, and salt. It should taste sharp, a little sweet, and well seasoned; it is a cold soup, not a dressing.
5 min
Step 4
Add the prawns, onion, diced tomato and most of the coriander. Cover and chill at least an hour so the flavours settle and the onion pinks.
60 min
Tip: Taste again after chilling. Cold dulls salt and acid; adjust both.
Step 5
Serve in deep bowls with the remaining coriander, a bowl of popcorn and chifles alongside, and lime wedges. Rice on the side if it is lunch.
3 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 342 kcal
- Protein
- 40.4 g
- Carbs
- 40.1 g
- Fat
- 4.6 g
- Saturated fat
- 0.5 g
- Fibre
- 5.8 g
- Sugar
- 19.4 g
- Sodium
- 1726 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Shellfish
- Pescatarian
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
- Nut-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 13 November.
Substitutions
Prawns → Cooked white fish or a mix with cooked squid
Ceviche mixto is a standard coastal order. Cook each item separately.
Tips
- Grating the tomato rather than blending keeps the juice cloudy-red and light instead of pink and foamy.
- For chifles, slice green plantain paper-thin on a mandoline and fry at 180°C until pale gold. Salt at once.
History & culture
Cevicherías open at breakfast on the coast and are busiest by late morning; a ceviche is a hangover cure, a Sunday lunch and a beach meal. Guayaquil, Manta and Esmeraldas each have a style; prawn is the most common order nationwide. Inland, in Quito, it is a Saturday-market plate with a mountain of canguil, which is popcorn.
Cooked-seafood ceviches are a Pacific-coast tradition that Ecuador and Peru share a root for and argue over. The Ecuadorian tomato-juice style took shape in the twentieth century as tomatoes, bottled sauces and ice became ordinary in coastal cities. The prawn farming boom of the 1980s made camarón the default.
Traditional — Ketchup and mustard are a genuine Guayaquil home habit, listed optional. Bitter orange (naranja agria) is traditional; sweet orange plus extra lime approximates it.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Ecuadorian prawn ceviche take?
1 hr 30 min all in — 25 min prep, 5 min cook, 1 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 4 bowls. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
Mild.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Shellfish. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Pescatarian, Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Nut-free.
7 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Saucepan, Mixing bowl, Chef's knife.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 2 tsp.
What can I use instead?
Prawns → Cooked white fish or a mix with cooked squid. Ceviche mixto is a standard coastal order. Cook each item separately.
What should I watch for?
Ninety seconds. Prawns keep cooking in the acid later.
Any tips from this recipe?
Grating the tomato rather than blending keeps the juice cloudy-red and light instead of pink and foamy. For chifles, slice green plantain paper-thin on a mandoline and fry at 180°C until pale gold. Salt at once.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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