tantalise your TASTEBUDS

Luiz Hara shares his take on Nikkei cuisine – a merging of Japanese and Peruvian cooking unique to South America

- LUIZ HARA

Nikkei cuisine is a combination of Japanese techniques and styles applied to Peruvian ingredients and dishes. It stems from the Japanese descendants (known as Nikkei) who emigrated to South America in the 20th century to work on plantations. The three recipes that Luiz Hara is showcasing here perfectly demonstrate this unique fusion of flavours.

Nikkei aguachile

Aguachile translates as chilli water and is Mexico's answer to the Peruvian ceviche. I loved this dish when I tried it for the first time at Contramar, an incredibly popular restaurant and a bit of an institution in Roma, one of Mexico City's most fashionable neighbourhoods. I liked it so much I visited the restaurant three times in a week, making copious notes of this dish on every visit. This is my Nikkei version which I developed for the supper club where I added the more aromatic Japanese yuzu juice in combination with the traditional lime, plus a dash of fish sauce and mirin for an Asian take on this Mexican classic. The leche de tigre (marinade/dressing) should be vibrantly green, punchy, spicy and zingy. You can add slices of raw seabass or seabream fillet as well as raw scallop in combination with the prawns - however, the prawns should be the mainstay. If using fresh prawns, they should be shelled, deveined and thoroughly frozen prior to using in this recipe to kill any parasites.

45 MINUTES + MARINATING | SERVES 8 AS A STARTER EASY | GF

frozen raw king tiger prawns 400g, defrosted, peeled, tails removed

AGUACHILE DRESSING

lime juice 160ml (about 4 large limes)