Ecuador: Food and the National Dish

Three regions that barely eat alike

Ecuador packs coastline, Andean highlands and Amazon rainforest into a small country, and each region eats quite differently: the coast (Costa) leans on seafood, plantain and rice; the highlands (Sierra) run on potato, corn and pork; and the Amazon (Oriente) draws on river fish, yuca and tropical fruit. That variety makes any single "Ecuadorian" dish something of a simplification, though two in particular are named more than any others.

A national dish: ceviche ecuatoriano

Ceviche ecuatoriano, usually made with shrimp, is marinated in a citrus-and-tomato sauce with red onion and coriander, giving it a redder colour and a softer, saucier character than the drier, tomato-free ceviche found across the border in Peru — and both countries claim the dish as their own. Ecuador has no official national dish, but ceviche is among the most eaten and most often named. It's typically served with popcorn or chifles (fried plantain chips) scattered on top or on the side.

Encebollado: the other national obsession

Encebollado, a fish stew (usually albacore or tuna) with yuca, pickled red onion, coriander and lime, is regarded as a national dish in its own right — it is widely treated as the country's definitive hangover cure and breakfast soup, especially along the coast, and is taken seriously enough to have its own "Campeonato Mundial del Encebollado", a championship in which cooks from across Ecuador compete.

Dishes to know

Five more to recognise across Ecuador's regions:

• Locro de papa — a thick potato and cheese soup, usually topped with

avocado and served with a side of hot sauce, a Sierra classic.

• Hornado — whole roasted pork, sold from market stalls, often with mote

(hominy) and llapingachos, an Andean market-day staple.

• Llapingachos — pan-fried potato and cheese patties, a common side dish

in the highlands.

• Fanesca — an elaborate Holy Week soup made with twelve different grains

and legumes, said to represent the twelve apostles, and salt cod.

• Bolón de verde — a fried ball of mashed green plantain, often stuffed

with cheese or pork, a popular coastal breakfast.

Cacao, and what Ecuador is quietly best at

Guinea pig, cuy, roasted whole, is a traditional Andean delicacy shared with Peru and worth knowing about even if it isn't for every visitor. Canelazo, a hot cinnamon drink often spiked with aguardiente, is a highland favourite on cold evenings, and Pilsener is the best-known domestic beer.

Eating as a traveller

Vegetarians can rely on locro de papa (ask about the stock), llapingachos and plantain-based dishes, though ceviche, encebollado and most main courses are built around seafood or meat. Bottled water is the safer choice for visitors. Regional markets — Iñaquito in Quito, seafood stalls on the coast — are some of the best and cheapest places to eat well.

What to take from the table

Ceviche ecuatoriano and encebollado are the two dishes to try first, and between them they say something true about Ecuador: a small country with enough coastline, mountains and rainforest to have two strong claimants to national dish rather than one.