At Del Mercado, Sandoval led us to the chef-favorite pescaderia Todo Fresco Abel pointing out corvina (sea bass), mero (grouper), enormous shrimp, scallops and an epic conger eel, explaining that the Humboldt Current, a sort of cold-weather cousin of El Niño, brings algae-rich water to the coast, providing for particularly succulent and abundant seafood.
Back at his restaurant, he started with a fat ojo de uva (literally "grape eyes") fillet and described what makes a great Peruvian ceviche: "Our limón," — explaining that the small, green native citrus fruits are more acidic than North American lemons or limes —"and our cooks." As he artfully mixed the sliced fish with just five simple components-onion, lime, salt, cilantro, peppers-he explained how the leche de tigre (literally "tiger’s milk") —the complex sour, milky liquid left after making a ceviche is a considered to be a hangover cure, aphrodisiac and all-round national cure-all. It can also be added to pisco to make a potent drink that "brings the dead back to life".