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The fusion of flavors in this tropical ceviche-style tuna taco is the unique fish taco you’ve been missing out on! The creamy ginger soy sauce adds an unbeatable finishing touch, giving this a fresh, raw sushi spin on fish tacos.
Ceviche is a citrusy seafood dish typically made with shrimp “cooked” in lime or lemon juice, then tossed with red onion, cilantro, and chili. It’s light, refreshing, and all about letting fresh ingredients shine—perfect as an appetizer or a summer dish with a Margarita or Paloma.
Table of Contents
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Tuna: look for fresh yellowfin or bigeye tuna. You can alternatively stick with the classic recipe and use shrimp.
- Lime juice: used to marinate the tuna. You can also use lemons.
- Fresno or jalapeño pepper: Fresno peppers are red and much hotter than your typical jalapeno. Use the seeds for extra heat or remove them for milder heat. One pepper in the entire dish wasn’t overpowering.
- Cilantro: if you don’t like cilantro, use parsley for added color or simply omit.
- Corn tortillas: for best flavor, toast your tortillas directly on a gas burner, the grill, or pan fry in a little oil to help crisp them so they aren’t brittle.
- Mayonnaise: mayo is used in the creamy soy sauce. You can also use sour cream as the base.
- Fresh ginger: use a microplane for very fine ginger. You can also use ground ginger in a pinch. You can alternatively blend with the other ginger soy sauce ingredients.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities below.
How is Fish Cooked with Citrus?
When raw fish is soaked in citrus juice, the acid changes the structure of the proteins in the fish, similarly to heat. The flesh turns firm and opaque, giving it that ‘cooked’ texture, even though there’s no actual heat involved. It’s important to use very fresh fish since there’s no high heat to kill bacteria, just the acid.
Also, check out seared tuna with cilantro lime aioli or my sesame crusted tuna with creamy ginger sauce!
What to Look for When Buying Fresh Tuna
Both bigeye and yellowfin tuna fall under the “Ahi” tuna nomenclature. Yellowfin tuna tends to be dark red (almost maroon), whereas bigeye tuna is more red/pink. Regardless, look for tuna that is vibrant in color and slightly shiny. Tuna that appears dull, matte, or browning is likely not as fresh. Color is not always going to be an indicator of freshness, but hopefully, it points you in the right direction.
Fresh tuna should smell like salty ocean air and virtually have no smell at all. Any offputting aromas are a bad sign. Always buy from trusted sources.
More Seafood Recipes
Enjoy this recipe? If you made this recipe, please leave a ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ star rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments!
Tuna Ceviche Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 pound ahi tuna, cubed
- 2 limes, juiced
- 1 mango, chopped
- 1 avocado, chopped
- 1 Fresno or jalapeno pepper, diced
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 red onion, finely diced
- salt, to taste
- Corn tortillas, toasted, for serving
- limes, optional for serving
- cilantro, for topping
Creamy ginger soy sauce
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1-2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
Instructions
- Combine the tuna and fresh lime in a large bowl. Season with salt and stir to mix. Optionally, let “cook” (marinate) in the citrus for about 30 minutes. Since this dish is typically made with raw shrimp, this step is not 100% mandatory with quality fresh tuna.
- Combine the ginger soy sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Mix until creamy. If you grate your ginger, it should be fine enough to mix into the sauce with minimal lumps. You can optionally blend.
- Add mango, red onion, cilantro, chile, and avocado to the tuna. Toss to mix everything together.
- Serve ceviche over toasted corn tortillas topped with extra cilantro and a drizzle of creamy ginger soy sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
