How to achieve a perfect Peruvian ceviche

Shelome Bouvette has been dreaming of opening a Peruvian restaurant for years.

Bouvette and her partner Kumiko Umeno own Chicha restaurant on Broadway in Vancouver.

​Bouvette says she just can't get enough of the flavour of Peru.

"I love the chillis and all the fresh vegetables, avocados, potatoes — they use a lot of potatoes and a lot of corn — I just love Latin food so this is just kind of where I decided to take it."

Umeno says the country has so much diversity in its traditional dishes.

"It's very multicultural in Peru, similar to Vancouver, and they have a lot of nice fusion food."

Bouvette showed Our Vancouver host Gloria Macarenko how to prepare salmon ceviche with an Asian flavour profile.

She cuts salmon into pieces and then tosses them in a passion fruit ponzu sauce, with ginger, onion, cilantro and rocoto, a Peruvian chilli paste.

The lime juice cures the exterior of the fish.

"We make them to order. In Peru, they cook their ceviche for no longer than 12 minutes," she said. "It's just cooked on the outside a little bit and raw on the inside,"

Then Bouvette piles the dish onto a plate with pea shoots and avocado, topping it with lotus chips and serving it with a side of wasabi flavoured aoli.

Even the drinks at Chicha are Peruvian, like Kimiko Umeno's version of the popular Pisco Sour, a Peruvian brandy.

It's mixed with fresh lime juice, simple sugar, egg white and a couple drops of angostura bitters.

Watch the women behind Chicha show their food and drink to Gloria Macarenko on Our Vancouver or watch it here.