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FijiFlavors · Sinaloa
Raw shrimp butterfly-cut and cured in lime with chiltepín chile, served with cucumber and red onion. It originated in the mountains of Sinaloa as a meat broth with water and chile and reached the coast, where shrimp took the place of meat. It is presented as the state’s most representative dish.
Traditional dish from Sinaloa
Also known as: aguachile de camarón
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Aguachile — Sinaloa, Mexico
Aguachile is made with raw shrimp, cleaned and split in half, covered with a mixture of lime juice, water and crushed chiltepín chile, with salt. In a few minutes the acid in the lime changes the shrimp’s color and texture. It is served with slices of cucumber and red onion, on a shallow dish or in a molcajete, and eaten immediately after being prepared.
According to the museum at the Sinaloa Science Center, the origin lies in the state’s mountains, where they prepared meat mashed in boiling water with chiltepín, a small, wild and very spicy chile. The name itself, agua y chile, recalls that recipe. Over time it moved down to the coast, and there the shrimp, cured in lime, took the place of meat.
The traditional version remains the simplest: water, chiltepín and raw shrimp. From that came the green aguachile, with serrano chile and cilantro, the red and the black versions, as well as versions with cooked shrimp, octopus, scallops and other seafood.
Aguachile is common along the entire northern Pacific coast of Mexico, but its strongest link is with Sinaloa. In 2023, the national chamber of the restaurant industry (CANIRAC), together with the National Lottery, presented aguachile as the state’s signature dish, printed on a lottery ticket.
Sinaloa
Presented by the Sinaloa Science Center as the state’s most representative dish and chosen in 2023 as Sinaloa’s signature dish by the restaurant chamber, together with the National Lottery.
Raw shrimp; lime juice; chiltepín chile (or serrano in green versions); salt; water; cucumber; red onion. To accompany, tostadas or salted crackers.
Right after being prepared, chilled, with corn tostadas. It is eaten as a starter or snack, often with a cold beer, at seafood restaurants.
All year round, especially on hot days.
Your questions
Water and chile, the two ingredients of the original mountain recipe from Sinaloa, which used meat. On the coast, shrimp came to take the place of the meat.
Yes. It is cured in lime juice for a few minutes, which changes its color and texture, and is served immediately.
The traditional version, with chiltepín chile, is usually quite spicy. Restaurants offer milder versions.
Flavors of Mexico
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White fish taco coated in a light batter and fried until golden, served on a corn tortilla with cabbage, tomato-and-onion salsa, mayonnaise or cream, and lime. It originated around 1960 at the stalls of the Mercado Negro, the fish market at the port of Ensenada.
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Distilled spirit from blue agave named after the city of Tequila, in Jalisco, surrounded by agave fields. It has a designation of origin since 1974, and the agave landscape and the region’s old industrial facilities are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Salad of romaine lettuce leaves with a dressing of egg, lemon, garlic, olive oil and Parmesan cheese, served with croutons. It was created in Tijuana by the Italian cook Caesar Cardini on July 4, 1924, according to Tijuanan historian José Fernando Escobedo de la Torre.
Red snapper cooked in a tomato sauce with olives, capers, garlic, onion, herbs and pickled chiles güeros or jalapeños. A coastal Veracruz dish, from the Gulf of Mexico, considered one of the country's best-known fish recipes.
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