THE 5 MOST OUTSTANDING TYPICAL FOODS OF THE ECUADORIAN COAST - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The typical foods of the coast of Ecuador are very varied, but they have fish as the main element. The coastal gastronomy shares with the Ecuadorian in general the widespread use of seafood and bananas.

They are the two elements with the most presence both in the coastal area of ​​Ecuador and throughout the country in general. The best examples of the gastronomy of the Ecuadorian coast are in Guayaquil. It is the largest and most populated city in the country, although it is not the capital.

It is in the south of the country, in the Gulf of Guayaquil. Its proximity to the coast justifies the presence of fish and shellfish in many of the typical dishes of the area.

The 5 typical foods of the Ecuadorian coast

1- Fish onions

Fish encebollado is a typical soup from the coastal region of Ecuador. It is prepared from fresh white tuna as the main ingredient.

Cassava, one of the most characteristic ingredients of Ecuadorian cuisine, is also used for its preparation.

It is an easy dish to prepare since you only have to pay attention to the doneness of the tuna and yucca.

Before cooking the fish, prepare a sauce based on onion, tomato, cumin, chili and salt.

Then the water is added where the fish is to be cooked. Using the fish broth, the cassava is then cooked, which is finally chopped into small pieces and added to the whole, with the filleted fish.

2- Fish ceviche

Ceviche is another very common dish in Ecuador, typical of the entire Pacific coast of South America.

In the case of Ecuador, there are several versions depending on the ingredients used to make it.

Shrimp ceviche, which is the most common, is prepared based on boiled shrimp accompanied by fresh lemon and orange juice, tomato sauce, coriander, pepper and red onion.

Other types of ceviche are fish ceviche - rock sea bass is used mainly -, octopus, crab or squid.

3- Rice with stew and meat

This dish has different variants depending on the geographical area and the tastes of whoever prepares it.

In general, it is about cooking lentils accompanied by onion, pepper, garlic, cumin, salt and coriander, and then accompanying them with rice and fried or roasted meat.

In many areas of the coast, plantain is added during the last minutes of cooking.

4- Sausage broth

Sausage broth is a soup whose main ingredient is the pork tripe. For its preparation, pig's blood is necessary, which is added to rice and fried onion, pepper, cumin, garlic and achiote, to give more flavor and authenticity to the whole.

Banana is also present in this dish and is generally incorporated grated. It is essential that both the guts and the viscera are well cooked. These are served separately.

5- Seafood rice

This could be a variant of the Spanish seafood paella. The main ingredients that accompany the rice are shrimp, squid, clams and mussels.

To prepare the sauce that gives flavor to the rice, seafood and pepper broth, onion, tomato and plenty of spices and condiments are used.

References

1. Encebollado de pez - Ecuadorian fish soup with lime pickled onions in Laylita's Recipes, from laylita.com
2. Ecuadorian Fish Ceviche - Fish Ceviche at The Straight Dish, from thestraightdish.com
3. Traditional Dishes of Ecuador at Ecuador Travel Site, from ecuadortravelsite.org
4. Traditional food from the Coastal region of Ecuador in Visit Ecuador and South America, from ecuadortravelsite.org
5. What do people in Ecuador eat? My favorite 15 foods at GringosAbroad from gringosabroad.com