Authentic Wasabi Ceviche based on the dish at Osaka Miami

How This Wasabi Ceviche Recipe Came Together

In June 2025, Lori and I spent a week and a half in the Brickell neighborhood of Miami. Lori had some elective surgery with a specialist in the area and a follow up the next week, so we stayed for both. That’s a whole other story though. Our friend Louie who is a restaurant consultant was working down there so we asked him for some restaurant recommendations.

His first suggestion was Osaka, which was a two block walk from our condo rental. It was so good that we went twice. Our favorite dish there is the Wasabi Ceviche. When I first had it, I said, “I could eat a gallon of this! The wasabi kick was right to the line – the perfect amount, and the lime and super fresh scallops and white fish made this an addicting delight.”

Bringing Osaka’s Wasabi Ceviche Home

At the same time we decided to take a trip to Peru in October 2025. Osaka specializes in Nikkei cuisine, which in short is a fusion of Japanese and Peruvian cuisines that came about from Japanese migration to Peru decades ago. I knew nothing about Peruvian cuisine. I found that Scoolinary.com has several culinary courses on Peruvian cuisine that are video lessons taught by actual professional restaurant chefs. I signed up and took a deep dive as I wanted to understand the food for both trips – Miami and Peru. The original Osaka location is actually in Lima, Peru. We went to both.

The Scoolinary site also has interactive forums. After taking the ceviche lessons, I asked for help in the forums on reverse engineering Osaka’s recipe, and one of the Peruvian chefs helped me come up with this recipe, and to my delight it is nearly the same as the restaurant dish.

To make this, I ordered sushi/sashimi grade Hokkaido scallops and Red Snapper from Browne Trading Co. in Maine.

Print Recipe

Wasabi Ceviche with Hokkaido Scallops, White Fish & Furikake

Nikkei-style ceviche inspired by the Wasabi Ceviche at Osaka Miami, featuring Hokkaido scallops and white fish in a wasabi-infused leche de tigre, finished with furikake and two textures of scallion.

Prep Time1 hour hr

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Nikkei, Peruvian

Servings: 2

Author: Kevin Godbee

Equipment

• Blender

Ingredients

For the fish and seafood

• 120 g fresh white fish like corvina, snapper, or flounder, cut into large dice
• 4 fresh Hokkaido scallops cut into large dice (halved or quartered)
• Shiso leaves optional, for garnish
• Scallions green parts only - thinly sliced crosswise, tossed in sesame oil (for garnish)
• Scallions green parts only - cut into 2 inch thin strips, curled in ice water (for the leche de tigre)
• Fresno chile finely diced

For the wasabi leche de tigre

• 80 ml fresh limon sutil juice or the most aromatic, non-bitter lime you can find
• Kombu one stamp-size piece
• 1 tbsp cold fish stock or iced water
• 1/2 tsp white miso
• 1/2 garlic clove minced
• 1 slice fresh ginger
• 1/2 aji limo or chili pepper of choice, deseeded. jalapeño works well here.
• 1 tsp wasabi paste or more, to taste
• 1/2 tsp clear soy sauce
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp sugar optional, to balance acidity if needed

To finish

• Furikake Nori Komi, Ajishima Foods, to taste
• Toasted white sesame seeds
• Lime zest optional
• Microgreens or sprouts optional

Instructions

• Make the leche de tigre: Steep the stamp-size piece of kombu in the lime juice for 10 minutes (cold steep).
• In a blender, combine all leche de tigre ingredients except the sugar. Blend on high for a few seconds, then strain through a fine sieve so the liquid stays clear. Adjust seasoning so it's bright, balanced, and aromatic with a clean wasabi note. Add a pinch of sugar if it tastes overly acidic.
• Assemble the ceviche: In a shallow bowl, arrange the diced fish and scallops. Pour the cold, strained leche de tigre over them.
• Garnish: Sprinkle with furikake, diced Fresno chile, and the thinly sliced scallion greens tossed in sesame oil. Top with the curled scallion strips, shiso leaves, and microgreens if using. Finish with lime zest if desired.

Notes

The key is using the freshest fish and scallops you can find, and keeping the leche de tigre very cold.
Adjust the wasabi intensity to your taste.
If you can't find limon sutil, substitute with the most fragrant, non-bitter lime available.
The light soy sauce and sesame oil are what give this dish its distinct Nikkei character.
Filter the leche de tigre well so it stays clear.
Fun fact: in Peru, ceviche is traditionally eaten at lunch, since the fish is bought fresh that morning and leche de tigre is considered too acidic and heavy for dinner - though modern Nikkei kitchens are starting to bend that rule.