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To define Ecuadorian food is best done if you understand it as two regions: Mountain and coast. When the former has a meat based diet (mainly beef, pork, guinea pig and chicken) accompanied by rice, potatoes or corn, the latter is leaning more towards fish and seafood accompanied by beans, peanuts and plantains. The use of fruits and vegetables vary with altitude. Soups are popular all over the country.
Map of Ecuador
Typical Dishes In Ecuadorian Food
Hornado Roasted pork leg served with potatoes and many times tomoatoes avocado and a hot chili sauce known as "aji". A very popular street food.
Fanesca A fish soup that include various types of beans. Common food during Lent and Easter when fish is not to be consumed according to the Catholic religion.
Patatones Fried mashed up green plantains.
Llapingachos Potato balls.
Seco de chivo A quite spicy goat stew.
Ceviche En fish dish with a history dating back to the Incas. This meal prepared with limes or lemons is the national dish of Peru, but is also a quite common feature in Ecuador food.
Encebollado A hot fish, onion and tomato soup, very associated with the costal regions.
Drinks
Aguardiente Alcohol made from sugar cane.
Canelazo Alcoholic drink more popular in the mountain regions. Contains, aguardiente, lime and sugar. Served hot.
Colada Morada This fruit beverage is served in connection to "The Day Of The Dead". Contains black corn flour, ,naranjilla, babaco, pineapple, blackberries, strawberries and blueberries. Then eaten with baby shaped breads (Guaguas de Pan).
Submitted Ecuadorian Food Recipes
From Loja in Equador - Sopa de Bolas de Verde – Green Ball Soup
By: Celsa Jaramillo R. Quito (Susy)
(serves 7)
Ingredients:
- 2 cups fresh green peas
- ½ cup diced carrot
- 3 small branches fresh chopped coriander
- 2 diced hard boiled eggs
- 250 g minced meat
- ½ teaspoon of achiote (a spice and food colouring, also known as annatto)
- 2 spoons of olive oil
- 3 cloves finely chopped garlic
- cumin
- black pepper
- bay leaves
- salt
- ground black pepper
- ½ head of finely chopped cabbage
- 8 cooked plantain bananas (they are for the ball pastry)
- 1 shredded raw green plantain banana
Preparation:
Boil the 8 plantain bananas in a cooking pot until they are soft/done, then mash them to a puré. Cover with plastic film.
In a frying pan fry minced meat, green peas, hard boiled egg, carrots, garlic, cumin, black pepper, bay leaves, salt, ground black pepper in a splash of olive oil until cooked. Let cool off a little until only warm.
In another cooking pot, add water (to put water until half of the pot.), the shredded green plantain, achiote, salt, cabbage and bring to a boil.Blend the mix in the frying pan with the mashed plantains and make ping pong sized balls.
Add the balls one by one to the boiling water. The soup is ready when the balls float to the surface. Add the chopped fresh coriander and serve!
Green ball soup
Susys Comment:
The passion and love for food has been in our family through generations as far as we can remember. My mother always used to gather the family and then we would discuss the food and how good it was. One of her specialties was always the “Sopa de Bolas de Verde”, a delicious soup she used to make for our reunions or when we had visitors in our house. We always asked her “What is the secret of the soup?” and she always answered “It is the love one adds to make other people happy!!!” So I have decided to share my family recipe with you so it can be relished by many others.
My comment:
This truly is a delicious recipe! It is a very filling yet not fatty soup. The sweet taste from the bananas mix well with cumin and achiote. If you would replace the egg and the minced meat with tofu you would have a vegan soup, something I really think would work. The recipe is a good example how different traditions have created the cuisines in South America. Garlic, bayleaves, cow meat, plantains, black pepper, cabbage, hens egg, coriander, green peas and carrots all have their origins in the old world - achiote is the only ingredient with origin in South America. Plantain bananas is a very typical ingredient in Ecuadorian food. I´d say this is an Ecuadorian food recipe typical for the mountain regions.
Breakfast As We Have It In Loja, Ecuador
By: Celsa Jaramillo R. Quito (susy)
(serves 8)
Ingredients:
- 12 cups of minced fresh corn (remove liquid and hard parts)
- 120 g lard (pig fat)
- 225g butter
- 225g finely chopped hard cheese
- 6 separated eggs
- 2 tbsp baking powder
- 8 corn husks leafs
- tbsp of salt
- juice of 18 oranges
- ¼ cup of fresh white cheese
Preparation:
In a bowl, put lard, butter, minced fresh corn, finely chopped cheese, a little salt, baking powder and mix with a wooden spoon. Mix the egg yolks with a bit of salt and stir in to the paste.
In another bowl, beat the whites of the eggs hard, stir in gently to the mix in the other bowl.
On each corn husk put a quantity of paste, not more than that you can close the husks by folding them lengthwise.
In a steaming pot, put the corn husks with the folded part downside and let cook for one hour.
Serve with delicious fresh orange juice and two slices of fresh cheese with each corn husk.
Enjoy!
Susys Comment:
To enjoy a breakfast in good Loja style is in my view the best start of a day you can have. Since me and my brothers were small we have been fortunate to enjoy this treat, they actually say that this breakfast is the reason why the people of Loja live so long and healthy lives! It is the fountain of life! For this reason I would like to share with you this great and delicious breakfast.
My comment:
Wow, if you don´t get to life a long life, you will at least get a full stomach! A breakfast for champions! Corn and fresh white cheese that has its origins in the Americas meet with more recent imports. The delicious fresh orange juice is an example of how fresh fruits are very popular in and with Ecuadorian food.
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