One of the first meals that I made for my husband when we were dating was tostadas de Jaiva. He had never had them before, and he just loved them! I was thrilled because this was a 30 minutes or less meal, and it costs almost nothing to make. Are you wondering que es Jaiva? Jaiva is imitation crab. Sounds kind weird but I assure you it is yummy!
Food: You will need the following items to serve four people. I do want to note that I’ve never made 2 Jaiva dishes alike, and all ingredients except the Jaiva and lemon are optional or interchangeable.
Tip: Try to have everything come cold from the fridge so that you can eat it as soon as possible!
1 lb Imitation Crabmeat
6-8 Medium Lemons
1 Quarter Raw Onion- Personally don’t like raw onion, but it definitely adds flavor to the dish
2 Medium Tomatoes (Optional) but tastes better with them!
1 cup Cilantro, Fresh (Optional)
1 large Cucumber- If you find yourself without cucumbers shred lettuce finely in exchange. It will give the dish an added crunch.
Salt, Pepper, Tapatio and Avocadoes to taste!
Gather: A large bowl, cutting board, knife, small bowl.
1.Cut the onion and place in a large bowl
2. Juice the lemons in a small bowl and remove the seeds and then add the onion.
3.Cut all remaining ingredients into same size cubes. I used to shred the jaiva by hand, but it was cold, and it would numb my fingertips, so I stopped doing that. Cutting the jaiva in cubes is fine. Once you mix all of the ingredients together, it will shred on its own.
4. Mix all other ingredients in a large bowl.
5. Salt and pepper to taste.
6. Let stand in fridge for 15 minutes or more so that all of the juices mix but if you are really hungry you can eat it right away!
Serve over tostadas and top with lots of avocados and Tapatio sauce. You can also serve with tortilla chips for events like potlucks. Tostadas de Jaiva are a perfect Summer dish that you can have as an appetizer or a full meal with cold cerveza on the side.
Mami’s get thirsty too!
Provecho!
-Ruby
