Tiger Milk Scallops

Serves 4

Takes 60 minutes

We really had no idea what this Peruvian dish would be like when we first came across the recipe; it is, after all, quite an odd set of ingredients. It is, however, absolutely delicious, the two sauces in perfect harmony flavour and enhance the sweet potatoes and ceviched scallops to make a gorgeous, sophisticated dish that amazes and delights. Tiger Milk - Leche de Tigre in Spanish - is a classic part of Peruvian cuisine. They love their ceviched fish there, and the recipe can be adapted and changed to suit all sorts of other fish. Therre are a lot of meanwhiles in this dish. It does have a flow, but it is one of those recipes that you need to read through and keep an eye on.


300g the very finest sushi quality scallops, corals removed

The Tiger Milk marinade:-

½ shallot, finely chopped

1cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

1 large celery stick, chopped

5g coriander leaves, chopped

½ a small hot chilli, deseeed and very finely chopped

juice of half a lime

3 passion fruits

The sweet potatoes:-

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm dice

40g soft brown sugar

1 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

To serve:-

3 small/baby courgettes

1 teasp finely chopped dill

finely chopped coriander to garnish


  • For the sweet potatoes, put 500mls of water, the sugar, star anise and cinnamon into a medium sized saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the sweet potatoes and simmer till only just cooked. This takes about 8 minutes. Remove them from the cooking liquor, whizz a third of them to a fine puree (you may need to add a spoonful or two of the cooking liquor), and set aside. Bring the rest of the cooking liquor back to a boil, and bubble till it’s reduced to a thin coating syrup, about 20 minutes. Remove the star anise and cinnamon

  • Meanwhile, halve the passion fruits, scoop the flesh inside out with a teaspoon into a sieve over a bowl. Press the flesh with a spoon so about 30mls of juice comes out. Set aside .

  • Meanwhile, Put the shallot, ginger and celery into a blender and add 75mls of water. Whizz till completely smooth, and strain through a sieve into a medium sized bowl. Add the 5g of chopped coriander leaves and the chilli, then add the passion fruit juice and about two thirds of the lime juice - and check whether you need to add any more. The mixture should be quite acid but well balanced between the passion fruit and lime. This is your Tiger Milk or Leche de Tigre marinade. With a very sharp knife, carefully slice each scallop horizontally into three slices. Add to the Tiger Milk and set aside to ceviche for 30 minutes

  • Carefully slice the courgettes as thinly as you can. Mix with the dill and set aside

  • Heat your oven grill to 200C. Put the unblended sweet potato cubes into a baking tin in a single layer, and grill, turning occasionally till golden and crispy. set asi

  • Reheat the sweet potato puree. Use a palette knife to put a neat smear of a quarter of the it across one side of each of four dinner plates. With a slotted spoon, put a neat pile of the cubed sweet potatoes on top. On the other side of each plate, put a neat pile of a quarter of the sliced courgettes, and a neat pile of the scallops. Sprinkle with a little chopped coriander and serve, with any remaining cooking liquor syrup and Tiger Milk into two little sauce boats or bowls on the table