Tiradito of scallops and sea bass

The fish in a tiradito is finely sliced like a traditional sashimi, rather than cubed as in ceviche, but, unlike its Japanese cousin, tiradito is seasoned with a zingy leche de tigre (tiger’s milk).

Even if you’re not normally a fan of eating raw fish, you might enjoy this dish thanks to its fresh and citrusy yet spicy flavours.

Ingredients (serves 4)

50g cucumber, deseeded

1 sea bass, skinned and filleted (about 500g)

4 scallops

20g samphire, washed

15g spring onions very finely sliced

Freshly ground black pepper

A sprinkle of Maldon sea salt flakes

For the yuzu leche de tigre:

5mm thick slice of root ginger

1 garlic clove

Juice of 2 limes

4tbsp yuzu juice

Finely grated zest of ½ lime

2tbsp mirin

½tbsp light soy sauce

5g dill (half finely chopped and half in small sprigs, to garnish)

2 tsp caster superfine sugar

½tsp sesame oil

1 green chilli, deseeded and very finely chopped

Method

Start by making the yuzu leche de tigre. To do this, roughly chop the ginger and garlic, add to a bowl along with the lime juice and leave to infuse for 10 minutes.

Strain the mixture into another bowl, add the yuzu juice, lime zest, mirin, soy sauce, chopped dill, sugar, sesame oil and the chopped chilli, and mix well. Refrigerate until needed (this combination will keep in the fridge for up to eight hours).

Peel the cucumber lengthways, leaving alternating strips of peeled and unpeeled flesh. Cut the cucumber in half lengthways and, using a teaspoon, scoop out the seeds and discard them. Cut the cucumber into 2mm-thick slices. Set aside.

Slice the sea bass and scallops into thin diagonal slices. Carefully place them on a clean plate, cover them with clingfilm and refrigerate until needed.

Before serving, scatter the slices of cucumber in a frying pan and dry-fry for a couple of minutes until it’s lightly charred.

To serve, spread out the slices of charred cucumber on a shallow serving plate, scatter half of the samphire and half of the sliced spring onions around the cucumber. Top with slices of sea bass and scallops and the remaining samphire and spring onions. Spoon a few tablespoons of the yuzu leche de tigre over the fish and greens until all the fish is in contact with this dressing.

Leave the fish to ‘cook’ for two minutes. Meanwhile, scatter a few sprigs of dill around the plate along with some freshly ground black pepper and Maldon sea salt flakes. Then serve.

Recipe and image extracted from Nikkei Cuisine: Japanese Food the South American Way by Luiz Hara. Photography by Lisa Linder. Published by Jacqui Small (£25)