Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner is a writer and recipe developer. She's a regular contributor to The New York Times, Time Out New York, Forbes, and many more publications. She also writes the food newsletter, Specialty.

Raw seafood seems to be everywhere these days, and we're not just seeing sushi. Originating in cuisines from countries in South America all the way to Asia, eating uncooked fish is a global practice that's becoming hugely popular in American restaurants and even home kitchens. While a Hawaiian poke boom graced the mainland in the early 2010s, today's raw seafood is slightly more tilted to Latin America. Ceviche, tiradito, aguachile, crudo, and more are appearing on menus from coast to coast, but what are the differences between each dish? And is it safe to dig into uncooked animal protein? Let us help you.

Yes, raw seafood is safe to eat, within limits. Firstly, you'll want to know where the raw fish or shellfish you're about to eat came from, as well as how it was stored and processed. Working with a fish monger you trust, rather than shopping at the supermarket fish counter, is crucial to getting the freshest and safest product, notes chef Luis Herrera Di Prisco.

"I would go to a local fish market and ask the [monger], 'What is freshest? What's good to eat raw?'" Not only will this result in the safest seafood to eat raw at home, but also the tastiest. Opt for what's in season locally. At his Brooklyn restaurant, Ensenada, Di Prisco serves sushi-grade products, using markers like A1 grade tuna to ensure the highest quality, and rotating between fish like fluke or striped bass in various raw dishes, depending on what's seasonal on the East Coast. "Not all fresh fish is ideal to eat raw," he adds. Ask an expert for recommendations but tuna, salmon, yellowtail (also called hamachi), bass, fluke (also called flounder), snapper, halibut, and mackerel are common fish to eat raw due to their fat content and mild flavor.

Raw seafood also has to be flash frozen to kill any parasites that may be potentially living in the fish, according to the FDA. Yes, that sounds gross, but it's a safety measure to ensure that your meal can be as safe as possible.

Any signs of spoilage—bad smells, weird texture, cloudy eyes in a whole fish—signify that the fish should not be consumed, raw or otherwise. Now that you've acquired some safety tips, here's what to do with all that raw fish!

Ceviche is a raw seafood dish that can be made in a variety of styles, typically Peruvian or Mexican. Ceviche uses cubes or chunks of several types of white fish or squid. Mexican ceviche uses the same style of raw seafood, but marinated in leche de tigre, which is a dressing made from fish stock, red onion, cilantro, chiles, lime juice, and even some pieces of fish, if desired. "It makes a milky, thick liquid," explains Di Prisco.

In Mexico, fish is typically cured a day ahead in lime juice for ceviche, essentially cooking the fish. In Peru, the fish is briefly cured in lime. Traditionally, ceviche isn't very spicy, but can be garnished with sliced red onion and pepper, and can be eaten with tortilla chips or plantain chips for a crisp element. Some ceviches use multiple types of seafood, while others stick to one type of fish.

Believe it or not, preparing ceviche at home is much less intimidating than it sounds. In fact, many home cooks find that ceviche is easier to make than another well-known raw fish dish—sushi.

Similar to ceviche, aguachile is a Mexican seafood salad often made with shrimp, though scallops are common too. "It's less sour and typically spicier than ceviche," explains Di Prisco. Literally translating to water and peppers from Spanish, aguachile can still call for lime juice, but favors a bold dressing made out of water-based fruits—like cucumbers, tomatoes, and spicy peppers.

"You can find infinite types of aguachile," Di Prisco adds. "The most traditional types are negro, rojo, and verde, which is the most common and is made with onions, cucumbers, and peppers, like serrano or habanero. At Ensenada, Di Prisco makes variations on this dish, such as a red aguachile with clamato and horseradish, and a yellow aguachile with aji amarillo, ginger, and turmeric. Aguachile can be garnished with avocado, cilantro, and sliced radish or cucumber, and is typically eaten with a fork.

Whipping up raw shrimp aguachile takes just minutes. Make things easier on yourself by purchasing defrosted and de-veined shrimp from your local fishmonger, and make sure to enjoy the finished dish within three hours of making it.

Tiradito is a Peruvian dish that originated in Nikkei cuisine, a Japanese-Peruvian fusion fare invented during a Japanese wave of immigration to Peru in the early 20th century. "This dish requires slicing the fish very thin, like a carpaccio, and plating that fish flat," says Di Prisco. From there, the interpretation is up to the cook.

Tiradito differs from ceviche because it's sliced instead of cubed, and is tossed in a sauce just prior to serving. For example, it can be dressed in ponzu or balsamic vinegar, and adorned with sliced peppers, avocado, or other produce. It can also be made with pretty much any raw fish, such as tuna, fluke, or striped bass. "And you can play a lot more with flavors," Di Prisco notes. There's plenty of room for creativity with tiradito.

Tiradito requires a bit more time to make than some other raw fish dishes, because firming up the fish in the freezer is a crucial first step. When buying fish to make tiradito at home, stick to sushi-grade options, like tuna.

Crudo, which translates to "raw" from Italian, can be applied to meat or fish. Crudo made with raw fish is Italian-style tiradito that's designed to soak up some traditional Italian flavors. The fish is typically sliced thinly, though it may be a little thicker than tiradito, and cut at a 45-degree angle. Crudo can be made from fluke, bass, snapper, or scallops, and is dressed in non-acidic marinades such as good quality olive oil. Crudo is typically eaten with a fork straight off the plate.

This is another fish dish in which sushi-grade fish makes all the difference. We like fluke, but hamachi and snapper will also work.

Sushi is a category of Japanese raw fish dishes that can include several different preparations. For example, sashimi is thinly sliced fish eaten with soy sauce, while rice-based raw fish dishes like maki include raw fish rolled in seasoned rice and seaweed. Nigiri—sliced raw fish blanketing a small rice ball with wasabi—is also popular, as is chirashi, which consists of assorted sliced fish over a bowl of rice. Sushi varies by region in Japan, with plenty of international interpretations, and is often served with soy sauce to dip, freshly grated wasabi, and pickled ginger.

While sashimi may sound like the easiest type of sushi to make—it's just sliced raw fish—it takes years of skill and finesse to properly slice sashimi. Sushi beginners should start with maki, which can be fun to experiment with in terms of flavors and size. An Alaska roll, for example, includes salmon, cucumber, and avocado. Make things even easier by purchasing packaged sushi rice.

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