The "hangover medicine" loved by a country on the equator
Ecuador sits on the Pacific coast of South America. The name means "equator" in Spanish, and the equator runs right through the middle of this small country. The dish Ecuadorians love most is encebollado.
The name comes from "cebolla" (onion), literally "covered in onions." Every country in South and Central America has a soup it is proud of, and encebollado is Ecuador's pride among them. As the name says, its trademark is a heap of pickled red onions on top of a tuna and yuca soup. The soup, driven by cumin and coriander, is warm, and a squeeze of lime tightens the whole bowl. Ecuadorians call it "the best hangover medicine."
Spanish for "covered with onions." A fish soup in which tuna (albacore) and yuca (cassava) are simmered in a cumin-scented broth and served with a heap of pickled red onions (curtido). It originated on Ecuador's Pacific coast and is eaten every morning as a "national dish," especially in the city of Guayaquil. It is believed to cure hangovers, and lines form on weekend mornings.
Search for "encebollado" in Japanese and almost nothing comes up. A detailed recipe is published in English-language sources as "Ecuadorian encebollado," but the points you want to know when recreating it at home, such as why yuca is essential, how to bring out the cumin and how to make the red onion curtido, are not yet gathered in Japanese. Though it stands alongside Peruvian ceviche and Brazilian feijoada as a signature South American dish, its recognition is extremely low. Here is a complete guide.
Ingredients (serves 4)
Main ingredients
Yuca is the key to the texture of encebollado. Frozen cassava is sold at Latin American and Asian grocers, and online under "frozen cassava." If you can't get it, waxy potatoes can stand in, but the particular chewy texture of yuca is hard to reproduce. Taro is another substitute with a similar texture.
Spices and seasoning
Curtido (pickled red onion) ingredients
Ecuadorians declare that "encebollado is eaten with curtido." The soup alone isn't finished. The bite of the red onion and the acidity of the lime bring out the savoriness of the soup, and the freshness of the cilantro lightens the whole. Be sure to make it ahead and let it marinate at least 30 minutes.
A cooking thermometer is reassuring for confirming that the fish is cooked through to the center without overcooking it.
Tips
The tuna in encebollado should be thought of as "lightly poached in the soup." Over 5 minutes it gets dry. At stalls in Ecuador, the tuna goes in after the order is taken, and the cook times the moment to turn off the heat in front of the customer. Faintly pink in the middle is best.
Overcooking the yuca clouds the soup white and spoils the texture. As soon as a bamboo skewer slides in, lower the heat. The best state is a slight thickness with the cubes still keeping their shape. As with the dal in Nepali dal bhat, how thick it is decides the quality of the dish.
Ecuadorians joke that "an encebollado without enough curtido is a sin." Even double the amount in the recipe is not too much. Leftover curtido keeps 3 days in the refrigerator and also works as a side with grilled fish or meat.
In Ecuador it is always served with plantain chips called chifle. Eating them dipped in the soup gives a crisp accent. At home, store-bought salted banana chips or thick-cut potato chips can stand in.
Variations
Shrimp version (encebollado de camarón)
Use 12 large shrimp instead of tuna. Simmer them in the shell to draw out flavor and peel them when eating. It is sweeter than the tuna version.
Bonito version
A version using seared bonito, easy to find in some places. The flavor of bonito's dark meat goes well with cumin. Cut the seared bonito 2 cm thick, add it at the end and simmer only 3 minutes.
Vegetarian version
Use 400 g firm tofu (2 cm cubes) and 200 g mushrooms instead of tuna. Make the soup with kombu dashi, and add the tofu at the end just to warm it. With the thickness from the yuca and the texture of tofu, it makes a satisfying soup.
Chilled version
In the height of summer in Guayaquil (above 35°C), it is sometimes eaten cold. Cool the soup to room temperature, chill it in the refrigerator and then serve. It blends better with the cold curtido and stimulates the appetite on a hot day. As with Peruvian ceviche, the combination of raw fish and citrus holds up when chilled.
Background of the dish
The bounty of the Pacific and the food culture of the equator
Ecuador's Pacific coast is blessed with nutrient-rich waters through the influence of the Humboldt Current (Peru Current). Tuna, marlin, shrimp, octopus: Ecuador's fishing industry is among the largest in South America, and encebollado was born of this bounty of the sea.
Though small, Ecuador has four climate zones: the coast (Costa), the mountains (Sierra), the Amazon rainforest (Oriente) and the Galápagos Islands. Encebollado is a representative dish of the coast, one of the national dishes alongside the Sierra's locro (a potato soup) and the Amazon's maito (steamed in banana leaves).
The legend of the "hangover medicine"
Encebollado has another name: "levanta muertos" (raise the dead). Ecuadorians believe this soup is "the best hangover medicine," and after a heavy Friday night of drinking, going out to eat encebollado the next morning is a standard Ecuadorian weekend scene.
Guayaquil versus Quito: the encebollado dispute
Between Ecuador's two big cities, Guayaquil (coast) and Quito (mountains), there is said to be an "encebollado dispute."
The Guayaquil side maintains that "encebollado is a dish of the coast. Fresh albacore tuna, plenty of yuca, and a clear soup with cumin is the orthodox version." The Quito side counters that "the mountain encebollado is spicier, colored with achiote (annatto seeds), and served with mote (giant corn) instead of chifle, which is the real thing."
This dispute, like regional differences in Turkish kebab and the island-by-island variations of Indonesian nasi goreng, is a sign that a national dish has diverse expressions by region.
Yuca: a gift of the Amazon
Yuca (cassava), indispensable to encebollado, is a root vegetable native to the South American Amazon. It is said to have been cultivated for about 8,000 years and is consumed as a staple across the South American continent.
The distinguishing feature of yuca is its high starch content. It has about twice the starch of potato and gives encebollado's soup its particular thickness. This thickness creates a texture between a "soup" and a "stew," forming a contrasting harmony with the texture of the curtido.
In Ecuador yuca is on the table every day. It is boiled and eaten with butter, fried, or grated and baked into bread. As with Ghana's fufu, made from yam or cassava, yuca is a "root" running through the food cultures of the equatorial belt.
Ecuador's breakfast culture
Ecuadorian breakfasts are hearty. Besides encebollado, the table holds bolón de verde (balls of green plantain), tigrillo (green plantain scrambled with cheese) and fresh juices (tropical fruits such as passion fruit and soursop).
Just as Moroccan tagine can't be separated from the souks of Marrakech, encebollado is bound up with the market culture of Guayaquil.
Nutrition (per serving, from 4 servings)
Encebollado gives 32 g of protein from tuna and only 10 g of fat. The carbohydrates of yuca supply energy.
| Nutrient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calories | 350 kcal |
| Protein | 32 g |
| Fat | 10 g |
| Carbohydrates | 35 g |
| Fiber | 4 g |
| Sodium | 580 mg |
Dishes to make alongside
- Chimichurri: uses ingredients and aromas from the same part of the world.
- Empanada: uses ingredients and aromas from the same part of the world.
- Hallaca: uses ingredients and aromas from the same part of the world.
Frequently asked questions
Questions that first-time encebollado cooks often ask.
Q1. Can I make it with fish other than tuna?
Yes. In Ecuador as well, red-fleshed fish such as marlin, bonito and swordfish are widely used. White fish (sea bream, cod) also works, but the color and savoriness of the soup are somewhat weaker. The easiest in some places is seared bonito, which also goes well with cumin.
Q2. What if I can't get yuca?
Potato (waxy) is the closest substitute. Taro also gives thickness, but its distinctive stickiness is strong, so opinions divide. Sweet potato is too sweet and unsuitable. Looking for frozen cassava at Latin American or Asian grocers or online is the reliable route.
Q3. How do I adjust the heat?
The soup itself of encebollado is not spicy. Heat is adjusted with the Scotch bonnet (or a dried red chili) added to the curtido. If you don't like heat, leave out the Scotch bonnet and serve chili sauce on the side if you like.
Q4. How do I store encebollado?
The soup keeps 2 days in the refrigerator. But tuna turns dry by the next day, so if storing, I recommend taking out the tuna and storing only the soup, and adding fresh tuna when you eat. Curtido keeps 3 days refrigerated.
Q5. What can I serve in place of chifle?
Store-bought salted banana chips are the closest substitute. Potato chips (hard-fried type) or crackers also work. Dipping them in the soup for a crisp accent is the way it is eaten locally.
Related South American dishes
If encebollado has sparked your interest, explore more South American seafood dishes and root vegetable culture.
- Ceviche: Peruvian marinated seafood. The technique of "cooking" with lime resonates with curtido
- Feijoada: Brazil's black bean stew. Experience South America's "national dish" culture
- Bandeja paisa (in Japanese): Colombia's platter. The abundance of the South American table
South American cooking of the Pacific coast is characterized by the combination of seafood and root vegetables.
- Lomo saltado: Peruvian stir-fried beef. South American street food culture
- Ropa vieja: Cuba's beef stewed in tomato. A bridge between the Caribbean and South America
