Encebollado is a tangy and spicy fish soup, the national dish of Ecuador. It is made with tuna, tomatoes, onions, and yuca, and is often topped with pickled onions and tomato. It is believed to be a hangover remedy due to the fish oil’s ability to get rid of free radicals in the body.
Encebollado is a kind of fish soup. It is the national dish of Ecuador, where it comes from. A fairly simple food to prepare, encebollado has just four main ingredients: fish, tomatoes, onions, and yuca. The soup is both tangy and spicy at the same time.
The base of encebollado is a mix of tomatoes and onions and the Spanish word encebollado is roughly translated as “onion fish soup”. This mix, known as sofrito, also calls for spices common to the Ecuadorian region, such as cumin, chili peppers, and coriander. Salt is also included. In some versions, the cook also adds some fresh chilies.
Yellowfin, or tuna, is the traditional encebollado fish. One reason is that tuna is so abundant in the waters near Ecuador. With tuna, a common fish, as the primary protein, encebollado is a relatively inexpensive soup.
In addition to sofrito and tuna, encebollado recipes include yuca. Yuca is a root vegetable found throughout much of South America. A highly rough and fibrous plant, yuca provides the starch for the soup and is a major source of carbohydrates.
To prepare this simple fish soup, first prepare the base. This requires frying tomatoes, onions and spices in a little oil. Only medium heat is needed during this step.
When the base is done, the cook adds water and boils the tuna for about 15 minutes until cooked through. He or she adding coriander to the resulting fish broth during this process. Then the tuna is removed and drained and the yuca is boiled in fish stock until the roots are tender but firm. After the yuca roots are cooked, they are removed from the stock so that their coarse strings can be removed and the roots trimmed. Adding yuca and tuna to the broth with a little salt completes the main part of the fish soup.
People usually top encebollado with pickled onions and tomato. Salsa is sometimes used in addition to or in place of these condiments. Another option is to season the soup with a few additional chili slices. Some cooks like to sprinkle the dish with a little lemon juice, and sometimes lime wedges are served.
Encebollado is believed to work well as a home remedy for a hangover. Its effectiveness may stem from the fact that fish oil helps get rid of free radicals that result from the breakdown of alcohol in the body. Restaurant owners in Ecuador often sell the soup in the morning for this reason, though it’s versatile enough to work for lunch and dinner as well.
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