It was delicious! Now, it is one of my favorite dishes to eat here in Panama.
Ceviche is made with raw fish and soaked in an acidic liquid like lemon juice or lime juice. The acid “cooks” the fish to make it to safe to eat without using any heat to cook it! Usually, the fish is soaked in the juice for about two hours or more depending on how much fish you have. Even though the acid in the lemon/lime juice “cooks” the fish, it doesn’t kill any bacteria that cooking with heat would. If you and your family ever want to make ceviche, make sure it is very fresh fish. After the fish is “cooked,” you can add tomatoes, onions, chili, cilantro, olives, olive oil, salt, pepper or any other veggies or fruits you would like! We did not have many ingredients on the boat, so it was a simpler ceviche with just onions and tomatoes. You usually eat ceviche with tortilla chips or saltine crackers as an appetizer.
Ceviche is connected to the environment in Panama. Seafood is very popular here because fishing is a large part of the economy. The most fishing activity takes place on the Pacific Coast of Panama. There is a big fish market in Panama City, too, where hundreds of fishermen sell their daily catches. Ceviche is one of the most popular fish dishes. However, we must be careful about over-fishing. If too many fish are taken out of the sea, some people who rely on fish as their main source of food, like island communities, won’t be able to feed their families.
