Ecuador Food & Delicacies: Top 7 Ecuadorian Food Dishes
Ecuadorian Food is known for its versatile culinary pattern that differs from highlands to the coastal regions. From dishes prepared with potatoes, beans, herbs in the sierra cities to seafood and spices with coconut milk near coastal areas, you will soon find that major restaurants and hotels have lots to offer. Just like most countries, people here too have 3 meals a day: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Blending most of thir dishes with Latin spices, you’ll fall in love with the country’s specialities.
So, visiting Ecuador soon? Take a look at some of these Ecuadorian Food Dishes that you cannot miss to try during your stay.
A continuación enumeramos Delicias Platos Ecuatorianos
1. Cuy Asado – Roasted Guinea Pig
This is one of the most traditional dishes of Andean food. Rural society in Ecuador has bred guinea pigs and prepared them with special seasoning since pre-colonial times. It takes about 60 minutes to roast. They serve cuy with potatoes, salad, corn, and avocado. The meat is high in protein and low in fat and cholesterol, tasting similar to rabbit. You can find cuy fried (chactado or frito), broiled (asado), or roasted (al horno).
2. Caldo de patas – Cow’s Foot Soup
Cow foot soup is a typical and one of the best Ecuadorian dishes. It’s made with cow feet, yuca, mote, peanuts, milk, onions, garlic, herbs, and spices. People believe that Cow Foot Soup cures hangovers. Traditionally, it takes about 4 hours to cook in a firewood stove. This dish comes from colonial times.
3. Tripa Mishqui – Chunchullo
Tripa Mishqui is very popular in the Ecuadorian Highland, and it can be either pork or lamb intestine, which is grilled and cut in small pieces. The dish is served with mote, potatoes, tomato, onion, avocado and some herbs. This is a typical street food (“agachaditos”, as Ecuadorians call them) and are likely to be seen in traditional barrios La Floresta – Vicentina in Quito City. You can try this on a day trip in Quito to one of the city’s traditional barrios.
4. Fanesca
Fanesca is a traditional Ecuadorian Soup served in April during Easter. This dish has 12 different kinds of beans and grains, plus bacalao (salt cod), sambo, and pumpkin (zapallo). The final touches include boiled eggs, maduro frito (fried plantains), empanadas, and herbs. This is a very seasonal dish, so you will only find it during Easter (most of April) in local restaurants and family households.
5. Chontacuro – Chontacuro Worm
Chontacuro worm is common in the diet of several indigenous groups of the Amazon and follows a breeding process, especially in the province of Napo. It comes from fallen trunks of palm trees called “chontaduro”. They serve this worm fried or grilled, and natives consider it a good source of protein.
6. Yaguarlocro
Yahuarlocro is a light stew prepared with potatoes, milk, and lamb meat including intestines, liver, lung, and tongue. The name comes from the Kichwa words yawar (blood) and lukru (soup) – “blood soup”. They usually serve it with fried clogged lamb blood as a topping, avocado, and spices. It can be the main dish depending on the size of the plate.
7. Ecuadorian Ceviche
When traveling on the coastal region of Ecuador, you cannot miss the classic Ceviche, a typical seafood dish popular along the coastline. They typically make this dish from fresh raw fish, shrimp, octopus, or crab cured in citrus juices (limón sutil), such as lemon or lime, and spiced with red onions, called cebolla paiteña (red onion); salt, and cilantro. Ceviche usually comes with sides like tostado (Andean popcorn), chifles (thin slices of fried plantain), or patacones (thick green plantain chips), and popcorn. Some people also like to add ketchup and/or mustard to their ceviche, which is a personal preference.
* Special Mention: Chicha de Jora
Chica de Jora is a corn beer prepared by germinating maize, extracting malt sugars and fermenting in large vessel. The inca used chicha for ritual purposes and consumed during festivities. Now days, it accompanies most traditional dishes in the sierra region on Ecuador.
Well, now you have one more reason to plan a trip to Ecuador: The unique Ecuadorian food. Which one of these Ecuador delicacies would you like to try?
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