Ecuadorian food

Ecuadorian cuisine is not highly spiced and is quite different from that of other Latin American countries. Moreover, it is varied and delicate.

When you visit Ecuador, you should try the following typical food:

Fritada is pork, boiled in water until the water dries up, and then fried in its own grease for several hours.

Hornado is roast pig.

Llapingachos are fried potato patties with cheese and annatto shortening.
They are generally served with hornado and salads.

Tamales come in a wide variety. A tamale could be defined as pastry dough wrapped in a leaf and steamed. It may contain chicken, pork or beef. They are made of toasted cornmeal and sheat flour. Some tamales are "lampreados" (neither sweet nor salty).

Humitas, or Choclotantas, are prepared by grinding sweet corn (straight from the ear, like corn on a cob, know as "choclo") and mixed with grated cheese, egg and butter. Wrapped in the corn husk and steamed like a tamal, they may be sweet or salty.

Empanadas de Queso are made of wheat flour and filled with cheese.

Empanadas de Verde are made of green banana meal and filled with cheese.

Locro is a typical Ecuadorian soup. Prepared with milk and potatoes, but colored naturally yellow by annatto shortening (The annatto "achiote" is a little red seed sold in the market; you fry theses seeds in shortening or oil). There are different types of locros: cheese, meal, watercress, lentil, pork-rind and others.

Cebiche is a widely available Ecuadorian food, prepared with chunks of fish cooked in lemon, orange and tomato juices. There are cebiches made of shrimp, shellfish, mussels, crab, lobster, octopus, and other sea foods, all marinated, raw in citrus juices.