Tiradito

Lima, Peru (nikkei Peruvian-Japanese culinary synthesis, late 19th–20th century)

Tiradito is Peru's Japanese-influenced raw fish preparation — ultra-thin slices of fresh fish dressed in leche de tigre or a creamy ají amarillo sauce, served immediately. Unlike ceviche (which is cubed and marinated), tiradito is sliced like sashimi and dressed à la minute — the acid sauce touches the fish for no more than 30 seconds before service. The Japanese influence (nikkei cuisine) came through the large Japanese-Peruvian community that developed from 19th-century immigration; the thin slicing technique (usuzukuri) and the emphasis on visual presentation and texture are Japanese; the ají amarillo and lime are Andean. Tiradito represents the most refined example of Peruvian nikkei fusion.

• The direct synthesis of Japanese usuzukuri (thin-sliced raw fish) technique with Peruvian ceviche preparation; parallels Hawaiianahi poke in its raw fish-with-acid-dressing format but differs in the ultra-thin slice aesthetic and the ají amarillo heat profile.

Served as a first course before ceviche at Lima nikkei restaurants; the thin, glistening fish slices in the yellow-orange ají amarillo sauce are one of the most visually striking preparations in Latin American cuisine.