Hispanic Heritage · Ecuador

La Costa

Guayaquil · Durán · Samborondón · Daule · Milagro · Salinas

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Encebollado de albacora

Encebollado presented in Esmeraldas. Presentation may differ from this recipe. Ministerio de Turismo Ecuador from Ecuador · CC BY-SA 2.0. Resized source thumbnail; display may crop to fit.

Descubre

Ecuador’s encebollado pairs fish and yuca with a bright topping of red onion and citrus. The broth is savory and aromatic, while the garnish changes the texture and acidity of each spoonful.

La Gente

Cook the yuca until tender and add the fish according to its timing. Prepare the onion topping separately and bring it to the table fresh. The distinction between broth and garnish is central to the experience.

Sabor

The coast cooks bright and hot. Cumin and garlic in the broth, achiote for the color, tomato and green pepper and cilantro, and then the acid and crunch on top: lime-cured red onion, more lime, ají, and something fried to break over it. It is a kitchen of plantain, peanut, coconut in the north, and fish that came in this morning.

Spice DNA · Acid high · Herb medium · Heat medium · Sweet low · Smoke none

Seasonings to explore

Minced Garlic in Olive Oil. In the broth. Adds a savory garlic base.
Cumin, ground. The coast's spice. In the encebollado, the bolón, the guatita, all of it.
Sazón with Coriander and Annatto. The closest jar to achiote, which colors the broth.
Black Pepper, ground. In the broth.
Onion Powder. With the fresh onion in the refrito.
Cilantro flakes. For the day you have no fresh. The coast would use culantro, the long sawtooth leaf, if it could.
Oregano, whole. A pinch. Some guayacos do, some are offended. Both eat the soup.

From your market: a pound of fresh tuna or albacore, yuca, red onions, tomatoes, a green pepper, limes, cilantro or culantro, and chifles or a bag of green plantains to make them. Badia does not sell the albacora. Ask for it thick and firm, not the loin you would sear.

Cocina

Encebollado de albacora

Tuna and yuca in a cumin broth, with lime-cured red onion piled on top. Breakfast on the coast. Also lunch. Also the morning after.

Serves 6

The curtido

2 red onions, sliced paper thin
Juice of 3 limes
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped

The soup

1½ lb fresh tuna or albacore, in two thick pieces
3 tbsp oil
1 red onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 tbsp Badia Minced Garlic in Olive Oil, or 5 garlic cloves minced
½ tsp Badia Onion Powder
3 tomatoes, chopped
1½ tsp Badia Cumin, ground
1 tsp Badia Sazón with Coriander and Annatto
½ tsp Badia Black Pepper, ground
Pinch of Badia Oregano, whole, optional
8 cups water
1½ lb yuca, peeled and cut in chunks
Salt
½ cup cilantro, chopped

On the table

Chifles, popcorn, or bread
Limes
Ají criollo, or any hot sauce you trust

The curtido first. Toss the sliced onion with the lime juice and salt. Let it sit while everything else cooks. Add the cilantro at the end. It should be sharp and crisp.
The refrito. Warm the oil in a soup pot over medium. Cook the onion and pepper until soft, add the garlic and onion powder, then the tomatoes, cumin, sazón, pepper, and oregano if using. Cook 8 to 10 minutes until the tomatoes collapse and the oil turns orange.
The broth. Add the water and bring to a boil. Add the yuca and simmer 20 to 25 minutes until it is tender.
The fish. Lower the tuna into the pot and simmer gently 8 to 10 minutes, until it flakes. Lift it out, break it into large flakes with a fork, and return it to the pot. Salt. Cilantro at the end.
Serve. Yuca in the bottom of the bowl, fish on top, broth over, and a heap of curtido on the very top. Lime squeezed over everything. Chifles broken into it. Ají for the ones who want it, which on the coast is everyone.

Pueblos de la Costa

Guayaquil · Durán · Samborondón · Daule · Milagro · Salinas · La Libertad · Santa Elena · Playas · Machala · Pasaje · Huaquillas · Babahoyo · Quevedo · Vinces · Esmeraldas · Atacames · Santo Domingo