The right hot sauce for ceviche

In Southern California, ceviches of all manner grace menus of Mexican restaurants and beyond. From Octavio Olivas’ seafood counter at Ceviche Project to Raul Ortega’s Mariscos Jalisco truck, you can find countless versions of citrus-marinated seafood throughout Southern California.

When I was growing up, though, ceviche seemed less easy to come by. If my family had a craving for the dish, we either made it at home or we ventured out to Colima Mexican & Seafood Restaurant on Fairview in Santa Ana. Named for the coastal state in Mexico my mother hails from and known for dishes traditionally found within that region, it was the one Mexican restaurant she approved of.

As a kid, I wasn’t quite as excited to eat Colima’s. In 1991, my idea of taste involved meals that came with a toy and I am ashamed to admit that my parents smuggled in Happy Meals for my sister and me on more than one occasion. But as I got older, I came to appreciate the consistency of Colima’s and the connection it gave me to my family’s heritage.

Owner Arturo Valencia’s family always operated catering trucks or lunch wagons as he calls them. In 1988, Valencia opened Colima’s and my parents became regulars soon after. Mom and Dad usually began the meal with a ceviche or a shrimp cocktail. No matter which ceviche you ordered, it was always served with a squeeze bottle of ketchup and a bottle of Tapatío, to customize your dish with the right amount of sweet and spicy.

Even when we were munching on contraband chicken McNuggets, my sister and I would ask for a bite, quick to do so before my parents added the hot sauce. As I grew up, my threshold for hot sauce grew just like my appreciation of Colima’s did.

When I make ceviche at home, I always try to channel both my mom’s version and the ones we enjoyed at Colima’s. I make shrimp ceviche the most, though nearly any kind of seafood will do. Most often, my dish consists of diced cucumber, tomato, onion, avocado and a serrano chile or two, all in plenty of fresh lime juice. If my avocado is a dud or I am fresh out of cucumber, I don’t stress about it too much. You’ll still get the essence of the dish.

The ingredient you cannot skip is the hot sauce. Over the years I have had my flings with Cholula and Sriracha and my husband prefers Valentina, but my brand loyalty to Tapatío began at Colima’s.

I still visit Colima’s regularly with my family, with my husband and even on my own. Abstaining from meat on Fridays for the season of Lent, I stopped in for lunch last Friday and ordered a Tostada Mixta. The day felt unseasonably warm and I dreamt of the first cool bite as I sat alone at a table. Valencia himself served me the crispy fried tortilla piled high with extra limey shrimp, fish and octopus, topped with avocado, along with the customary squeeze bottle of ketchup. But this time he included a second unlabeled squeeze bottle.

“What kind of hot sauce is this?” I asked motioning to the unmarked bottle.

“Tapatío,” he smiled.

Ceviche is easy to make at home and can be served with totopos as an appetizer or atop a tostada as a meal. Just don’t forget the ketchup and the hot sauce.

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