Mar 01 2008
Encebollado de pescado or fresh tuna soup with pickled onions
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Published by Laylita at 10:40 am under All, Breakfast and brunch, Hangover cures, Meatless, Quick, Seafood, Soup, South America
Encebollado de pescado is one of my favorite soups, the name is hard to translate, and literally it could be translated as onioned fish soup. Encebollado is made with fresh tuna, yuca or cassava root, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, spices and is served with curtido or pickled onions and tomatoes on top or mixed in with the soup, the pickled onions are what give it the name “encebollado”, it is a typical soup from the coastal region in Ecuador. This Ecuadorian tuna soup is very versatile and can be served for lunch, dinner and even breakfast or brunch, in fact it is known as the best hangover cure (like so many other Ecuadorian dishes) and restaurants that specialize in encebollado begin serving it in the early morning.
Yuca or cassava root is widely used in South America; it is difficult to find good quality fresh yuca in the most parts of the US (I was able to get some decent yucas at the Fiesta store when we lived in Austin) and when you buy the roots you don’t really know if the yuca inside is going to be good; while shopping at Fiesta one day I learned that the best way was to break the ends of the yuca roots off and check the yuca before buying it (the yuca should be completely white, any signs of brown lines or spots or dryness in the inside indicate that it isn’t good), however you could get away with this at Fiesta where they had huge amounts of yuca and everyone did this but I don’t think this could be done at places like Whole Foods that have a small section of 10 yuca roots. The solution is that now you can also buy it frozen from specialty Latin grocers or even online, which guarantees a minimum level of quality, but anyone who tastes real fresh yuca in South America will tell you there is a significant difference. If you are lucky enough to get fresh yuca it is important to peel it very well, there is a thin layer, almost pinkish, between the brown exterior and the white interior, that is toxic (no need to worry I have never heard of anyone getting sick from yuca) and should be removed. Yuca is usually prepared by boiling it, just like potatoes, it is done once it is soft but still slightly firm inside, the middle part of the yuca have string like membranes that should be removed either before cooking or after (sometimes it is easier to remove them after they are cooked); in Ecuador there are different doneness levels for yucas that are completely ripe and yucas that are younger, but most of the roots found in the US are probably completely if not overly ripe. Yucas are used in soups, served plain with salt as a side dish or with sauces on top, fried, grated, and even made into flour for baking, I’ve also had them in dessert recipes, but that isn’t as common as having them in savory dishes.
I prepared the encebollado with frozen yuca this time, but have a picture of the fresh yuca from a previous time I made this soup. Also, like most South American and Ecuadorian dishes the recipe varies from one city to another and even from one household to another, I had the soup before with additional vegetables such as potatoes and corn, but the essential ingredients are the tuna, yuca and the pickled onions on the top.
Ingredients:
2 lbs fresh tuna
1 lb yuca, fresh or frozen
2 tbs sunflower oil
2 tomatoes, diced
½ red onion, diced
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
8 cups of water
5 cilantro sprigs
Salt to taste
Curtido de cebolla y tomate or pickled red onion and tomato salsa to serve on top
Preparation:
- Heat the oil on medium heat to make a refrito with diced onion, tomato, cumin, chili powder and salt.
- Add the water and cilantro springs, bring to a boil.
- Add the tuna and cook for until the tuna is fully cooked, about 15 minutes.
- Drain the tuna and keep the broth to cook the yuca.
- Separate or break the tuna into small to medium size pieces.
- Bring the tuna broth to a boil and add the yucas, cook until tender but firm, about 30-40 minutes for the frozen yuca.
- Take the yuca from the broth, remove the strings and cut into bite size chunks.
- Add the yuca chunks and tuna pieces to the broth, taste and add salt if needed.
- Re-warm the soup if necessary and serve topped with a good amount of pickled onion and tomato salsa, if desired can also be served with avocado slices and extra lime slices.
This dish looks very tasty! I love the addition of yucas… Interesting!
Cheers,
Rosa
The picture drew my attention to your blog,
At first I thought this dish will be very hard to make,
But after reading the post,
Hey, I think I’ll give it a try!
Looks very delicious!
The last time I ate fish, prepared the way you describe it (but using fish from a freshly opened can), Moritz Thomsen prepared it for me using cracked bowls, and served in his grungly old apartment in Guayaquil, eating off my lap. It was the only time he prepared a meal for me, although we shared a cup of coffee many times. Your serving is much more elegant, but I would give a lot to have a meal served in his cracked crockery, with a hint of mockery in his voice.
Your photographs are so lovely I can smell the the lovely cooking odors all the way here in Arizona.
I’m trying the recipe out tonight with orange roughy instead of tuna.
Laylita: Thank you so much for a wonderful recipe, I tried today and it was great.
keep up the wonderful work that you are doing.
Patricia
Laylita,
thank you for this exquisite site. My husband is from Ecuador and I am from Romania. I was never exposed to the types of food he eats. Thanks to your website I can prepare my husband’s favorite ecuadorian dishes. The numerous pictures are also of great help.
We have recently returned from our trip to New York where we enjoyed a good encebollado at one of the restaurants in Queens. When we got home, I was determined to find the recipe and cook the same soup. Browsing the web, I came across your website and ….what a help, all the details and the pictures. My soup came out delicious, and my husband has planed a family reunion so that everybody can have a taste of the delicious encebollado.
Keep up the good work with the website. I will surely use it in discovering and preparing some of the best ecuadorian dishes.
Ramona
I lived in Ecuador for a while and these is one of my favorite dishes and if you like this you should try ceviche or encocado.
I’m glad to have discovered your website — it’s great! Very much in line with a lot of our favorites.
Where did you find frozen yuca in Seattle?
Thanks, Chris. I find frozen yuca at the Latino Market at Pike Place as well as at some of Mexican grocery stores in Bellevue and Renton.
Laylita,
I made encebollado from your recipe this past weekend for my friend from Ecuador, and he just raved about it! This is the first Ecuadorian recipe I have ever tried and it was a BIG success. He actually wanted me to send him the link to your website, which I did.
Thank you for posting your recipes online like this–it was such a great help! I’m sure he will find another one of your recipes for me to cook up for him–which I very much enjoy doing!
Thanks again for your website!
Susan
Hi Susan – Thank you for the feedback, I love it when a recipe turns out great!
Thanks for posting this recipe. I lived in Ecuador for a couple of years and often crave a good encebollado. It was my breakfast for quite a few months. The one thing I remember that really made the soup enjoyable was a chip made from plantains. I forget the name, but we crunched them up and put them in the soup. This was on the coast in Manta. Is this another regional flair?
Hi Jonathan – That sounds like chifles, I’ve never had it this way before so it must a regional thing, it does sound really good, I will try it next time I make encebollado.
I made this last night, and it was amazing. I loved it. It’s going to be one of my weekday dishes, because it’s not only healthy, but it taste so good. thank you.
I’ve been wanting to make this ever since i returned from Ecuador two years ago, but i couldn’t remember what it is called. I suspect yucas will be next to impossible to find where i live in Australia, so i was wondering if other vegetables could be used instead?
Brilliant blog btw, rock on with the good meals.
Cheers.
Hi Tim, If you can’t find yucas you can use potatoes, also sometimes people add slices of fresh corn on the cob to the encebollado.
Oh the memories of eating encebollado at 4 am in the morning!
thanks for this– i spent three weeks in Ecuador this summer with a good friend, and now i’m just waiting for the yuca to finish cooking back here in Florida (he decided to stay in Guayaquil). I also enjoyed this dish in Montanita at 4 am. Kathryn, your comment about Moritz Thomsen peaked my interest, and after doing a bit of reading I know you were really lucky to have met him.
Great site!
Laylita,
Your recipes honestly brought tears to my eyes. It’s funny how much emotions can be connected to food. I love Ecuador and ecuadorian food so much! There are a lot of recipes online, but yours have been the closest to what I remember from my time there a decade ago. The photos are gorgeous too! Thank you!
Laylita,
All I can say is that you’ve helped me to reconnect with my childhood memories and your website is my addiction. I was born in Ecuador and I live in Ohio. There are no south american restaurants here. When I visit New york, It’s hard to find a restaurant with authentic Ecuadorian flavor from my childhood. Your receipes remind me of my grandmother’s cooking and ALL the wonderful memories. She passed away and I regreted never learning her cooking secrets. Thanks to you, my family and friends are in LOVE with the Ecuadorian recipes from your site. Just one request… Do you have a recipe for boyos de pescado? It’s was my favorite growing up!
Muy agradecida,
Nadja
Thanks for the recipe i’m going to make it for my husband, he came as a kid from ecuador, muchas gracias
How many servings does this recipe yield?
Between 8 to 10 depending on hunger level.
Can I use any kind of tuna…..my store onlt has yellow fin
Any fresh tuna will be fine.
Ahora si muniequita linda. Le toca a Ud. hacerlo e invitarme. Espero estes muy bien y saludos a la familia.. Muuuaahhhh.. Napo.
What nice recipes! I tried them and loved them, so thanks. Doesn’t it need some pepper – cayenne, black, chili? I can see that these are flexible recipes, and can probably deal with some changes and substitutions. My Dominican co-worker makes encebollado too, and she uses meat instead of fish.
The recipe does call for chili powder (or a type of pepper powder that we call aji peruano in Ecuador).
My GF from Equador made this for me, and I was apprehensive at first, but then I tried it and loved it. The salsa makes the dish!
Hi, Laylita! Thanks so much for posting such helpful (and beautiful pictures!) recipes for people such as myself, who have inarticulate Ecuadorian partners who constantly crave food from your country. With your help, I have been able to reconstruct encebollado, guatita, pan de yuca, etc with virtually no knowledge of Ecuadorian cuisine. I was wondering if you could tell me what kind of bread they serve encebollado (de atun) with in the streets of Guayaquil. He is, once again, looking for it, but can give me no further explanation other than it is cheap and looks somewhat like a rectangular-ish croissant. Thanks so much!
I made this with salmon instead of tuna for my friend from Machala. I knew it was a hit when all he said was mmm…mmm….mmm in between each bite. I’ve made arroz con pollo and ceviche for him before, but he said this was the closest thing to home he’s tasted so far. Thanks for the great website and keep the recipes coming!
I’ll try this also…..my husband loves it …. at the restaurant….it seems to be very easy to make.
Finally! A really good encebollado recipe! Thank you so much I’ve been missing this since I came home from ecuador a year ago. It tastes a bit different from the street vendor who sold it to me for 1.25 every morning for two years but I love it! Thank you again!
If there is any dish that personifies Ecuador its encabollado. This is a coastal dish and man is it great. I had it from a street vendor once and my dad forced me to eat it and I was scared too death that I was going to get sick. Man, am I happy that I had it. It was so delicious!
I saw this soup on Anthony Bourdain last night and I’m gonna make it!!! Can’t wait.