COUNTRY:                           ECUADOR

DISH:                                     ENCEBOLLADO DE PESCADO

CONTRIBUTED BY:            Denis Cardenas, Owner at El Jalapeno

Encebollado (Spanish: cooked with onions) is a fish stew from Ecuador, where it is regarded as a national dish. Although known throughout Ecuador, the dish is most popular in the country’s coastal region. It is served with boiled cassava and pickled red onion rings. A dressing of onion is prepared with fresh tomato and spices such as pepper or coriander leaves. It is commonly prepared with albacore, but tuna, billfish, or bonito may also be used. It may be served with ripe avocado.

Ingredients

2 lbs fresh tuna albacore or similar

1 lb yuca or cassava fresh or frozen

2 tbs sunflower oil

2 tomatoes diced

½ red onion diced

1 teaspoon chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

8 cups of water

5 cilantro sprigs

Salt to taste

 

Method

  1. Heat the oil on medium heat to make a refrito with diced onion, tomato, cumin, chili powder and salt.
  2. Add the water and cilantro springs, bring to a boil.
  3. Add the tuna and cook until the tuna is fully cooked, about 15 minutes.
  4. Drain the tuna and keep the broth to cook the yuca.
  5. Separate or break the tuna into small to medium size pieces.
  6. Bring the tuna broth to a boil and add the yucas, cook until tender but firm, about 30-40 minutes for the frozen yuca.
  7. Take the yuca from the broth, remove the strings and cut into bite size chunks.
  8. Add the yuca chunks and tuna pieces to the broth, taste and add salt if needed.
  9. Re-warm the soup if necessary and serve topped with a good amount of pickled onion and tomato salsa. If desired can also be served with chifles or plantain chips, tostado corn nuts, avocado slices and extra lime slices.