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📍 Quintana Roo

Tikin xic

· Lunch

Fish marinated in an achiote and sour orange recado, wrapped in banana leaves and grilled.

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Tikin xic: Fish marinated in an achiote and sour orange recado, wrapped in banana leaves and grilled.
Photo: ProtoplasmaKid · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto resized, converted to WebP and cropped for display.
⏱ 55 min🍽 4 servings📊 Intermediate🏷 Commonly associated🌱 Gluten-free🌱 Dairy-free
Preparation
30 min
Cooking
25 min
Waiting and resting
0 min

History

A preparation of Maya origin popular on the coasts of Quintana Roo and Yucatán. Its name means dry fish, and today it is grilled wrapped in banana leaves.

Ingredients

Adjust quantities

Only numeric quantities at the start of an ingredient are adjusted. Descriptive quantities, seasoning to taste and timings remain unchanged; check them when changing servings.

Preparation

  1. 1

    Dissolve the achiote in sour orange juice.

  2. 2

    Rub the opened fish with the recado and let it marinate.

  3. 3

    Place slices of tomato, onion, and bell pepper on top.

  4. 4

    Wrap the fish in toasted banana leaves.

  5. 5

    Grill or cook on the comal on both sides.

  6. 6

    Serve with tortillas and pickled onion.

Cooking tips

  • Use clean, flexible leaves and check 63 °C in the fish, opening the parcel carefully to avoid steam.

Technique and preparation

What to check during preparation

Mix achiote with juice until lumps dissolve and check the paste's salt before adding more. Keep fish refrigerated while marinating. Warm banana leaves until flexible and inspect for tears. Avoid a bundle so tight that juices escape through the seams. Carefully open away from escaping steam to check the fish temperature, then serve with the vegetables cooked inside.

References to consult

References provide information about the dish, its context or a technique. Quantities in this version may differ from those in the source.

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