I told my students that I had to write about an Ecuadorian food this week and asked them what food they thought was the most culturally significant food to them. There was an unanimous decision that encebollado was the most important food in Ecuador. I tried it for the first time this weekend at the restaurant that my students swore had the best encebollados of all time! It is called "Encebollados del Gringo." The owner is a Canadian who married a native Ecuadorian. Together, they founded the restaurant and created their famous encebollados. There was a wrap-around line to get into the restaurant, so clearly it is a favorite sport for a lot of Cuencanos!
I tried Encebollado, a fish stew, with plantain chips!
To be honest, seafood isn't my favorite food of all time. This is why I waited over a month into my stay in Cuenca to try Ecuador's national dish. However, I fell in love with encebollados as soon as I tried it! It was delicious. I added lime juice, spicy chilli sauce, salty popcorn kernels, and plantain chips. I loved the crunch and saltiness that the kernels and chips added to the flavor.
