The typical foods of the coast of Ecuador They are very varied, but fish is the main element. The coastal gastronomy shares with the Ecuadorian in general the widespread use of seafood and plantain.
They are the two elements with more presence both in the coastal area of Ecuador and throughout the country in general.
The best examples of the cuisine of the Ecuadorian coast are in Guayaquil. It is the most populated and largest 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 seafood in many of the typical dishes of the area.
The 5 typical meals of the Ecuadorian coast
1- Fish onions
The encebollado of fish is a typical soup of the coastal region of Ecuador. It is prepared based on fresh white tuna as the main ingredient.
For its elaboration, cassava is also used, one of the most characteristic ingredients of Ecuadorian cuisine.
It is a dish that is easy to prepare given that you only have to pay attention to the cooking point of tuna and cassava.
Before cooking the fish, prepare a sauce with onion, tomato, cumin, chili and salt.
Then add the water where the fish will be cooked. Using the fish stock, the yucca will then be cooked, which is finally chopped into small pieces and added to the set, 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 with boiled shrimp accompanied by natural lemon and orange juice, tomato sauce, cilantro, pepper and red onion.
Other types of ceviche are the fish - it is used mainly corvina rock, octopus, crab or squid.
3- Rice with stew and meat
This dish has different variants depending on the geographical area and the tastes of those who prepare it.
In general it is about cooking lentils accompanied by onion, pepper, garlic, cumin, salt and cilantro, and then accompany them with rice and fried or roasted meat.
In many areas of the coast, banana is added during the last minutes of cooking.
4- Sausage broth
The broth of sausage is a soup whose main ingredient is the intestines of the pig. For its elaboration it is necessary blood of the pig, that is added to the rice and to the refrito of onion, pepper, cumin, garlic and achiote, to give more flavor and authenticity to the set.
The banana is also present in this dish and is usually incorporated grated. It is essential that both the intestines and the viscera are well cooked. These are served separately.
5- Sailor rice
This could be a variant of the Spanish seafood paella. The main ingredients that accompany rice are shrimp, squid, clams and mussels.
In order to prepare the sofrito that gives flavor to the rice it is used broth of seafood and peppers, onion, tomato and abundant spices and condiments.
References
- Encebollado de pescado - Ecuadorian fish soup with lime pickled onions in Laylita's Recipes, de laylita.com
- Ecuadorian Fish Ceviche - Fish Ceviche at The Straight Dish, from thestraightdish.com
- Traditional Dishes of Ecuador in Ecuador Travel Site, from ecuadortravelsite.org
- Traditional food from the Coastal region of Ecuador in Visit Ecuador and South America, from ecuadortravelsite.org
- What do people in Ecuador eat? My favorite 15 foods at GringosAbroad from gringosabroad.com