Salpicón de Pescado (Spicy Citrus-Marinated Fish)

By Rick A. Martínez

Published March 26, 2025

Salpicón de Pescado (Spicy Citrus-Marinated Fish)
Mark Weinberg for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Michelle Gatton.
Total Time
40 minutes
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Rating
5(447)
Comments
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In Mexican cooking, salpicón is a dish of fish, shellfish or meat mixed with chopped vegetables and tossed in an aromatic dressing. In the Yucatán, salpicones are flavored with sour orange juice and habaneros. In this version, quick-roasted fish fillets are tossed in lime and orange juice to mimic that tropical flavor. The fattiness of the fish and avocado tame the heat of the habaneros, but if you are sensitive to spice, use half of a habanero or look for habanadas, a chile that tastes just as sweet and floral as a habanero but with zero heat! You can serve this dish right away while the fish is still warm, or refrigerate the fish and pico de gallo separately for a few hours — the flavors only get better. Then mix together cold for parties, picnics or a day at the beach.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 4(6-ounce) boneless, skin-on fish fillets such as snapper, salmon or cod, about 1-inch thick
  • 1 to 2habanero chiles, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
  • 2garlic cloves, finely grated
  • ¼cup fresh lime juice, plus more if desired
  • ¼cup fresh orange juice
  • 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 2large Roma tomatoes, chopped
  • ¼medium red onion, chopped
  • 2large radishes, trimmed, halved, and thinly sliced
  • ½avocado, peeled and pitted, chopped
  • ¼cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves with tender stems
  • Tostadas or warm tortillas, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

272 calories; 12 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 10 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 32 grams protein; 705 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or foil. Arrange the fish fillets on the sheet pan skin-side down.

  2. Step 2

    In a large bowl, whisk together the habanero chiles, garlic, lime juice, orange juice and oil until combined. Pour ¼ cup of the habanero mixture into a small measuring cup (reserve the rest for the pico de gallo) and brush it over the tops of the fillets, gently massaging it into the flesh. Generously season the fillets with salt and pepper. Let sit at room temperature to absorb the flavor while the oven comes to temperature. Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 450 degrees.

  3. Step 3

    Bake the fish until it is opaque in the center and easily flakes apart when pressed with a fork, 8 to 12 minutes — it will depend on the thickness of your fish and how many times you open the oven to check it. (The key here is to check your fish often; you don’t want to over- or undercook it!) When the fish is cool enough to handle, flake the fish apart into 1-inch pieces and transfer to a plate, leaving the skin behind.

  4. Step 4

    While the fish cools, finish the pico de gallo: Add the tomatoes, onion, radishes, avocado, cilantro and 1 teaspoon salt to the bowl with the reserved habanero mixture and gently stir until combined; taste and season with more salt and lime juice if desired. Let sit about 10 minutes, uncovered, for the flavors to meld. (If desired, refrigerate the fish and pico de gallo separately for up to 3 hours.)

  5. Step 5

    When ready to serve, gently toss the fish in the pico de gallo and serve on tostadas or in tortillas to make tacos.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
447 user ratings
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Comments

Roberto Cipriano

This was absolutely delicious and easy to make. i used snapper and erred on the side of slightly undercooked. The citrus juices in the sauce blend really nicely with the fish. SO GOOD!

Mel L

Made this recipe exactly as written using cod, with the exception of using a jalapeño in place of the habanero (husband has a low heat tolerance). This was incredibly easy and delicious. I think it would be equally great with shrimp as well. I took another reviewer’s tip to spread a little sour cream on the tortilla before adding the fish and pico. SO good!!

Cindy S

Delicious with home-fried tortilla shells. Apply a thin layer of sour cream to the taco before adding the fish. This was really fresh-tasting, and the citrus combo was spot on. I used the Chub tomatoes. Fast and easy to make.

Mary Young

I made this exactly as written with one habanero. It was fruity with the right amount of heat for me. But I make ceviche like recipes many times a year and have Rick’s cookbook. So what did I learn? Radishes are better than jicama. And 50/50 lime & orange works very well too. I can incorporate some of the lessons from making this into future seafood ceviche.

Tim Dutton

pretty straight forward recipe. Great flavor - citrus was just right and Habanero gave it a good kick. We'll make it again.

dginil

One of the few things NYT Ingredient Substitution Guide doesn't provide any guidance for is peppers. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has trouble finding a particular kind of pepper, aside from bells and jalapenos, whether they are not in stock or simply too poor in quality/freshness to want to use. While this recipe mentions the even less available habandas as a non-spicy alternative, I frequently find I'm wondering what are the best subs for habaneros, or thai chiles or even poblanos at times

Dashmore

@dginil I have baby-mouth when it comes to chili so I just googled a Scoville (spiciness scale) chart and refer to that for substitution. You really can’t get much milder than poblano/anaheim in chili. If that is still too spicy just stick to bell pepper or mix it with a teeny bit of poblano until you build up tolerance.

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