List of Ecuadorian dishes and foods facts for kids
Ecuador is a country in South America with many different kinds of food! Its cuisine is super diverse, meaning it has lots of variety. This is because of its different regions, like the coast and the mountains, and the many cultures living there.
Along the coast, you'll find lots of tasty seafood, grilled meats like steak and chicken, and fried plantains. Rice and beans are also very common. Some popular seafood dishes are ceviche (made with shrimp, mussels, or fish) and fish soup. You can also find many soups made with local vegetables, like sopa de queso (vegetables and white cheese).
In the mountains, people often enjoy dishes like encebollado (a fish stew), hornado (roasted pig), and fritada (fried pork). Meats like pork, chicken, beef, and even cuy (guinea pig) are eaten with foods rich in carbohydrates. These include rice, corn, and potatoes. A famous street food in the mountains is hornado, which is often served with llapingacho (a pan-fried potato patty).
Other well-known Ecuadorian foods include patacones (unripe plantains that are fried, smashed, and fried again). Also, there's seco de chivo, which is a type of stew made from goat. Ecuador also has a huge variety of fresh fruits, especially in warmer areas. You can find fruits like granadilla, passionfruit, naranjilla, different kinds of bananas, uvilla, taxo, and tree tomato. People also make a special fruit drink called colada morada.
Popular Ecuadorian Dishes
Here are some of the many delicious dishes and foods you can find in Ecuador:
- Alfajor – A sweet cookie sandwich, often filled with dulce de leche.
- Arroz con menestra – Rice served with a kidney bean stew. It usually comes with fried beef and ripe fried plantains.
- Arroz con pollo – A classic dish of rice with chicken.
- Ceviche – A refreshing dish of raw seafood or fish "cooked" in citrus juices.
- Chifle – Thinly sliced, fried green plantain chips.
- Chugchucaras – A special meal from Latacunga. It has deep-fried pork, corn, potatoes, and other ingredients.
- Churrasco – A grilled steak dish, often served with rice, fries, and an egg.
- Churro – A fried dough pastry, often sweet.
- Chuzos – Also called "Carne en palito," these are tasty beef skewers.
- Dulce de Leche – A sweet, thick caramel-like sauce made from milk and sugar.
- Empanadas de Platano – Empanadas made with plantain dough.
- Empanadas de Viento – Puffy, fried empanadas, often filled with cheese.
- Encebollado – A hearty fish stew, considered a national dish of Ecuador.
- Espumilla – A sweet, foamy dessert, often fruit-flavored.
- Fanesca – A rich and creamy soup traditionally eaten during Holy Week.
- Fritada – Fried pork, often served with corn and potatoes.
- Guatitas – A stew made with beef tripe and peanut sauce.
- Hornado – A whole roasted pig, very popular in the highlands.
- Humita – A savory steamed corn cake, often with cheese.
- Llapingacho – Pan-fried potato patties, often served with hornado.
- Locro – A thick potato soup, often with cheese and avocado.
- Morocho – A breakfast porridge made from hominy (dried corn kernels).
- Mote – Cooked hominy, often served as a side dish.
- Muchines de yuca – Fried patties made from yuca (cassava).
- Panela – Unrefined whole cane sugar, used in many desserts and drinks.
- Pescado frito – Fried fish, usually served with rice, pickled onion and tomato salad, and patacones.
- Patacones – Twice-fried green plantain slices.
- Caldo de bolas de verde – A soup from the coast with green plantain dumplings.
- Sancocho – A hearty soup with various meats, vegetables, and root crops.
- Sanduche de pernil – A delicious roasted pork sandwich.
- Salchipapas – A popular street food with sliced fried sausages and french fries.
- Seco – A general term for a stew, often made with chicken, goat, or beef.
- Suckling pig – A young roasted pig.
- Bolón de verde – A ball made from mashed green plantains, often mixed with cheese or pork.
- Tamale – A dish made of masa (dough) steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf.
- Tortilla de verde – A fried patty made from green plantain.
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Llapingacho (top) with chorizo sausage.
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Locro soup.
Tasty Sauces and Condiments
- Salprieta – A dry, crumbly condiment made from toasted peanuts and corn.
- Ají criollo – A spicy chili sauce, often served with many dishes.
- Curtido de cebolla y tomate – A fresh, pickled salad made of onions and tomatoes.
Refreshing Drinks
- Canelazo – A warm, spiced alcoholic drink, popular in the Andean mountains.
- Chicha – A traditional drink made from fermented corn or yuca.
- Colada morada – A thick, purple fruit drink, especially popular around Day of the Dead.
- Cuáker – A breakfast drink made with Quaker Oats.
- Fioravanti – A fruit-flavored, fizzy soft drink that started in Ecuador in 1878.
- Horchata – A sweet, milky drink, often made from ground nuts or seeds.
See also
