Aguachile is a unique Mexican menu offering

Aguachile is a Mexican dish made of shrimp that have been submerged in liquid seasoned with peppers, acid in the form of lime juice, salt, plus slices of cucumber and slices of onion. It’s essentially a spicy version of ceviche, but a key difference is the urgency in which they’re served: A ceviche is typically left to marinate in the brine before serving, whereas aguachile is served immediately. It’s growing in popularity with younger consumers who already love Mexican food and are looking for slight variations of dishes they already know and enjoy.

Market research firm Datassential reports that aguachile is found on 0.7% of menus, up 106% over the past four years.

Click through the gallery for more on this Flavor of the Week and see how one restaurant is using aguachile on its menu.