Name: Scallops With Red Aguachile and Pickled Onions
Yield: 8 appetizer servings
Ingredients: 1 medium onion, very thinly sliced; ⅓ cup fresh lime juice; 2 tsp. dried Mexican oregano (optional); 2 dried chiles de árbol, stems and seeds removed; 4 Fresno chiles, stems and seeds removed, coarsely chopped; ½ cup fresh lime juice; 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce; 2 tsp. hot sauce (preferably Tapatío); Kosher salt; 16 sea scallops, side muscle removed; 1 medium English hothouse cucumber, thinly sliced; Cilantro with tender stems and saltine crackers (for serving)

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Photograph by Joshua Kissi, food styling by Roscoe Betsill, prop styling by Amy Wilson

Pretend you’re on the coast—and not your house in the dead of winter—with this bright and spicy aguachile. This recipe for aguachile, which translates to “chile water,” gets its kick from fresh and dried chiles, lime juice, hot sauce, and a surprise secret ingredient: Worcestershire sauce. You’ll get a thin but powerful sauce that adds brightness and heat to raw scallops.

This recipe was adapted from ‘The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food.’

Recipe notes

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