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Health Benefits of Aguachiles – Mexican Dish Recipe

Mexican cuisine is popular and very well-liked by various people across the world. The rich flavour in every dish with simple preparation is also one key to the success of Mexican cuisine. Many are also familiar with the names of several of its iconic dishes, ranging from burritos, tortillas, tacos, nachos, quesadillas, fajitas, and so many others.

However, on top of all those there is a hidden gem dish relatively unheard of outside of Mexico, and that is none other than aguachiles. What are some of the key health benefits of aguachiles?

What is Aguachiles?

Aguachiles is Spanish for “water chile”, which is also a dish primarily made out of shrimps submerged in a seasoning liquid made of chili peppers, lime juice, salt, cilantro, cucumber slices as well as onion slices.

They are a product of ancient Mexican cooking, originated in the province of Sinaloa of Northern Mexico. Aguachiles on its own is already pretty fresh and good, whereas it tastes even better when used as a seasoning for beef jerky!

What are its Health Benefits?

  1. Cucumbers Have Low Calories but High Nutrients

A 300 g cucumber may only contain 45 calories, but in return it has lots of vitamin C, vitamin K, manganese, magnesium and potassium.

  1. Shrimps are a Source of Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3 fatty acids are the “good fats” that help achieve various purposes for the body, such as reducing cancer, heart disease, mental health, and blood clots.

  1. Chili Peppers Contain Capsaicin

Chili peppers are full of capsaicin and vitamin C benefits, which is the one that causes its hot flavour, and also withholding appetite for a better weight management.

  1. Lime Helps Digestion

Health benefits of Spanish lime is a good solution to improve one’s digestion, because they contain compounds that help to stimulate digestive secretion in the stomach, and also stimulating saliva production too. On the other hand, lime water is also recommended for those who are on a diet but are in a mood for flavoured water, or simply just want to find a healthier alternative to sugar.

  1. Onions are Filled with Antioxidants

Onions, particularly red onions contain anthocynanins, which are powerful plant pigments that shields the body from cancer, diabetes symptoms and heart diseases.

Studies show that men and women who have decent anthocyanin intake could reduce their risk of heart diseases by 14% and 32% respectively.

How to Make Aguachiles

Ingredients

Steps

  1. First, one must realize that aguachiles involve the use of raw shrimps, therefore it is very much suggested for one to pick the best quality frozen shrimps.
  2. Clean the shrimps before use.
  3. Rinse the shrimp and peel them.
  4. Do not forget to slice it open and clear off the black lining on its back.
  5. Rinse the seafood once more, and place it on a bowl and toss it 1 teaspoon of with salt. Add a decent amount of lime juice into the mixture afterwards.
  6. Store them into the fridge for 2 hours.
  7. Once done, cut and peel all the remaining ingredients. Blend them all to form a marinade.
  8. Place the marinade and the shrimp into another bowl, and store it for another 1 to 2 hours on the fridge. The seafood is done when it gets white and firm, similar to how it is boiled.
  9. Finely slice the onions and cucumbers, and combine it with the other vegetables and salt to taste.
  10. Aguachile is now ready to be served!