Finger Lime Ceviche with Kingfish and Citrus Pearls

Finger lime ceviche is diced raw fish dressed in citrus juice and finished with the pearls of the finger lime, Citrus australasica, a rainforest citrus from the border region of Queensland and New South Wales (Wikipedia). This recipe cures 400 g of kingfish for 10 minutes in ordinary lime juice, folds in cucumber, red onion and chilli, and spoons the finger lime pearls over the top just before serving.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes (10 minutes curing) | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 4

Difficulty: Easy | Calories: ~300 per serving

Why Cure in Ordinary Lime Juice and Add the Pearls Last?

Start with what a finger lime holds. The fruit is a slightly curved cylinder about 8 cm long, filled with round juice vesicles. Wikipedia says they give a burst of effervescent, tangy flavour as they are chewed, and that the juice is acidic and similar to a lime’s (Wikipedia). Kane Pollard’s watermelon and fish ceviche gets around 30 g of pearls from 6 finger limes (InDaily). The 400 g of fish in this recipe cures in 80 ml of lime juice.

Published Australian recipes hand the curing to ordinary citrus. Jack Stein cures thin slices of dhufish for 5 to 10 minutes in a tiger’s milk of lime juice, salt and smoked chilli, then squeezes finger lime caviar over as a garnish (SBS Food). Dan Hong leaves kingfish for 2 minutes in lime juice, coconut cream, sambal and fish sauce, and uses finger lime only to garnish (SBS Food).

Others mix the pearls into a dressing. At Sydney’s Nomad, Jacqui Challinor tosses 1 cm cubes of kingfish with the pearls of one finger lime and a dressing of lemon juice, chardonnay vinegar and olive oil (Gourmet Traveller). Guy Turland stirs the pearls of 6 finger limes into lime and orange juice, olive oil and coconut water, and lets salmon stand in half of it for 2 minutes (SBS Food).

Here the finger lime ceviche follows the garnish route. The limes do the curing, and the pearls go on last, whole, so the burst happens when you bite.

What Does a Finger Lime Look Like, and When Is It in Season?

Citrus australasica is a thorny understorey shrub or small tree of lowland subtropical rainforest. Its fruit is cylindrical, tapered at both ends and about 8 cm long. Wikipedia adds that the finger lime is thought to have the widest colour range of any citrus species, and CSIRO hybrids run from light pink to deep blue-green (Wikipedia).

Growers sell named varieties. Jade King, chair of the Australian Native Fingerlime Alliance, lists Red Champagne, Chartreuse, Byron Sunrise and Emerald as the main ones. Varieties differ in peel thickness and colour, pearl colour and flavour. The same FreshPlaza report gives the usual South East Queensland season as December to July, with year-round supply that runs low from August to November (FreshPlaza).

In the United States, Katie Workman writes that finger limes come mainly from California growers, can cost up to $100 a pound and usually go straight to restaurants. She says they can last up to 6 weeks in the fridge, but the caviar spills out far better while they are fresh (The Mom 100).

Does Lime Juice Make Raw Fish Safe to Eat?

Not by itself. Food Standards Scotland says cooking kills parasites in fish and freezing is the alternative for fish eaten uncooked. Its list of fishery products that must be frozen before use covers sushi and sashimi. It also covers treated products where the processing doesn’t kill the parasites, including some marinated fish products. The freezing must bring every part of the fish to –20°C for at least 24 hours or –35°C for at least 15 hours (Food Standards Scotland).

Those rules are written for food businesses in Scotland. Buy fish your fishmonger sells for eating raw, ask whether it has been frozen, and keep it cold until it goes into the lime juice.

Some guests should skip it. FSANZ tells people who are pregnant, elderly or have a weak immune system to avoid chilled seafood such as raw oysters, sashimi and sushi, because of Listeria (FSANZ). Finger lime ceviche is still raw fish, so serve those guests something cooked.

Ingredients for Finger Lime Ceviche

For the Cured Fish:

14 oz (400 g) skinless, boneless kingfish or other firm fish sold for eating raw
1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh lime juice, from about 3 limes
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes

For the Mix-Ins:

1 Lebanese cucumber, seeded and finely diced
1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced
1 long red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

For Finishing:

6 to 8 finger limes
1 ripe avocado, diced
Corn chips or toasted flatbread, to serve

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Release the Finger Lime Pearls

1Cut each finger lime in half crosswise. Squeeze each half from the closed end, like a tube of toothpaste, so the pearls slide out of the cut end into a small bowl, and pick out any seeds. Cover and refrigerate the pearls. Seed and dice the cucumber, slice the onion, chop the chilli and coriander, and chill them in a separate bowl so everything is cold when the fish comes out of the lime juice.

Two hands squeezing the cut halves of a dark green finger lime so tiny pale green pearls fall into a small white ramekin, with four whole finger limes and a split one on an oak board beside a paring knife — Step 1- Release the Finger Lime Pearls

Step 2: Dice the Fish

2Pat the fish dry and run your fingertips over it to find any bones. Cut it into 1 cm (1/2 inch) cubes with a sharp knife, using long single strokes so the edges stay clean, and put them in a glass or ceramic bowl. Keep the bowl in the fridge until the lime juice is ready.

A hand steadying a skinless fillet of raw pale pink-white kingfish on an oak board while the other slices it with a chef's knife, a row of cubes in front, a glass bowl of cut cubes to the right and a ramekin of finger lime pearls behind — Step 2- Dice the Fish

Step 3: Cure in Lime Juice

3Pour the lime juice over the fish, sprinkle with the salt and stir gently so every cube is coated. Cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes, stirring once halfway. The cubes are ready when the outsides are white and opaque and the centres still look slightly translucent; cut one in half to check.

A hand pouring fresh lime juice from a small glass jug over salted cubes of raw kingfish in a clear glass bowl, with squeezed lime halves, a wooden reamer, a dish of sea salt flakes and the ramekin of finger lime pearls behind — Step 3- Cure in Lime Juice

Step 4: Fold In and Top with Pearls

4Tip off all but about 2 tablespoons of the lime juice. Fold in the cucumber, onion, chilli, coriander and olive oil, and taste for salt. Spoon into 4 chilled bowls, top with the avocado, then scatter the finger lime pearls over each bowl. Serve straight away with corn chips or toasted flatbread.

A hand scattering tiny pale green finger lime pearls from a teaspoon over a pale grey bowl of kingfish cubes, cucumber, red onion, chilli and avocado, the other hand holding a ramekin of pearls beside three whole finger limes — Step 4- Fold In and Top with Pearls

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you cure the fish in finger lime alone?

None of the five published recipes cited on this page does. Each pairs the pearls with ordinary lime, lemon or orange juice. In Kane Pollard’s dressing, 6 finger limes give around 30 g of pearls, mixed with 15 ml of lime juice (InDaily).

Which fish works best for finger lime ceviche?

Kingfish is the usual choice in these recipes. Jacqui Challinor uses sashimi-grade hiramasa kingfish (Gourmet Traveller) and Dan Hong uses sashimi-grade kingfish (SBS Food). Jack Stein’s dhufish recipe notes that any medium white-fleshed fish works (SBS Food), and Guy Turland uses sashimi-grade salmon (SBS Food). Whichever you choose, tell the fishmonger it will be eaten raw.

How long should the fish sit in the lime juice?

Ten minutes in this finger lime ceviche, at the long end of the published versions. Dan Hong (SBS Food) and Guy Turland (SBS Food) stop at 2 minutes, and Jack Stein gives his dhufish slices 5 to 10 minutes (SBS Food). Cubes take longer than thin slices, so go by the colour change described in Step 3.

Is the video recipe the same as this one?

Close, but without finger lime. Sydney Fish Market’s video is Shaun Presland’s Hiramasa kingfish ceviche, and its description says the fish is cured in lime juice, then mixed with chilli, red onion, cucumber and crispy garlic chips (Sydney Fish Market). That matches Steps 2 to 4 here, minus the pearls and plus the garlic chips.