Ecuadorian food is very diverse and has its roots in the land and the people. Many mountainous dishes are very traditional and feature ingredients made with corn, rice and potatoes. Ecuadorians love their soups and home-style meals, and it’s not hard to find a restaurant that looks like your neighbor’s living room. The meat used in dishes might be a little exotic for some, as you can try anything from Cuy (guinea pig) to Caldo de 31, which is a stew made with different parts of the cow’s insides. Of course, if you go to the beach, you’ll find lots of dishes made with seafood. Breakfast can be some Ecuadorian cheese with bread, but don’t fill up, because lunch is the biggest meal of the day here. Order “seco de pollo” or “carne asada” and enjoy a sweet dessert of figs and cheese or morocho, a sweet drink made from corn. If all that carb-enriched food has you feeling thirsty, Ecuador has plenty of amazing juices you can find on the street, like passion fruit or papaya.
Mains:
Staple: Corn
Locro de papa soup (with avocados, potatoes and cheese)
Ceviche fresh fish in lime juice and chillies
Tallarines con verduras (noodles with veg)
llapingachos cheesy potato cakes
Seco de chivo mutton stew
Salchipapas fries and sausage
Guatita (tripe in peanut sauce)
Cuy (guinea pig – yes it’s true)
Sea cucumber
Snacks:
Empanadas
Popcorn
Bananas, Plantain, Yucca (cassava)
Dessert:
Melcocha sugar cane taffy
Humitas (ground corn mixed with cheese, sugar, butter and vanilla)
Figs with cheese
Beverages:
Fruit Juices: passion fruit, tomate de árbol (tree tomato), naranjilla (native jungle fruit), pineapple, orange, guanábana (sweet white fruit), blackberry and babaco (indigenous relative of the papaya)
Batidos (fruit juice with milk)
Sugar cane juice
Beers:
Pilsener, Club
Chicha (fermented corn)
Spirit:
Caña (sugar-cane spirit)
