Ecuador's national hangover cure and beloved breakfast soup — chunks of albacore tuna and yuca in a rich tomato-cumin broth topped with pickled onion rings and served with chifles.
Encebollado is Ecuador's most celebrated soup and its unofficial national dish — a deeply savory broth of albacore tuna and boiled yuca (cassava) seasoned with cumin, coriander and tomato, crowned with a tangle of pickled red onion rings and served with crispy chifles (plantain chips) for dipping. It is eaten for breakfast throughout coastal Ecuador, especially in Guayaquil, where cevicherías and market stalls open before sunrise to serve the dish to dock workers, fishermen and — crucially — to those recovering from the previous night's festivities. The broth is built on a refrito (Ecuadorian sofrito) of tomato, onion, garlic, cumin and coriander cooked in oil until deeply fragrant, then extended with water and fish or vegetable stock. Albacore tuna — either fresh or canned in its cooking liquid — is the traditional protein; its meaty flakes hold together in the broth without disintegrating. Yuca rounds provide starchy body and a satisfying chew that makes encebollado genuinely filling as a morning meal. The finishing touch — the element that gives the dish its name (encebollado means 'with onion') — is a quick pickle of thinly sliced red onion in lemon juice, cilantro and ají amarillo that is piled on top at the moment of serving. The contrast of the warm, savory soup with the cold, acidic onion is the essential tension that makes encebollado one of the great morning dishes of the Americas.
Serves 4
Toss red onion rings with lemon juice, minced chile, a pinch of salt and a handful of cilantro leaves. Let macerate at room temperature at least 20 minutes — the onion will soften and turn pink.
The longer the onion pickles, the milder and more fragrant it becomes. You can prepare it the night before.
Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook diced white onion 8 minutes until soft. Add garlic, cook 2 minutes. Add diced tomato, cumin, coriander and turmeric. Cook 8 minutes until the tomato breaks down into a thick, fragrant paste.
Pour in water or stock. Add cilantro stems and salt. Bring to a boil. Add yuca chunks. Simmer 20–25 minutes until yuca is completely tender and beginning to break down slightly at the edges.
If using fresh tuna, add to the simmering broth and cook 8–10 minutes until opaque and easy to flake. Remove and flake into large chunks. If using canned tuna, simply add the drained flakes to the hot broth off the heat.
Return flaked tuna to the pot. Taste and adjust salt. Add cilantro leaves and let them wilt 1 minute.
Ladle into deep bowls, ensuring each bowl has yuca and tuna. Top with a generous tangle of pickled red onion. Serve immediately with chifles on the side for dipping.
Remove the tough woody core running through the center of the yuca before cooking — it never softens and is unpleasant to eat.
If using canned tuna, use albacore (white tuna) packed in water, not oil — it has the firm texture that holds up in the hot broth.
The pickled onion should be made first — it needs at least 20 minutes and improves significantly with an hour of marination.
Encebollado de pescado: use any firm white fish (corvina, tilapia) instead of tuna.
Add a boiled egg half to each bowl — common in Guayaquil market versions.
Store broth and yuca refrigerated up to 3 days; the pickled onion keeps up to 1 week refrigerated. Reheat soup gently on the stovetop, adding tuna at the last moment.
Encebollado has been the flagship dish of Guayaquil's port market culture since the early 20th century, when the city's fishing industry was one of the most productive on the Pacific coast of South America. Its reputation as a restorative morning dish is tied to Ecuador's coastal working culture and the long overnight fishing trips that required a hot, hearty breakfast on return. The dish appears in Ecuadorian cookbooks from the 1930s and is now protected by Guayaquil's municipal cultural heritage as an emblem of the city's identity.
Yes — canned albacore in water is widely used and produces an excellent result. Drain it thoroughly and add it off the heat at the very end so it just warms through without drying out. Fresh tuna is superior in texture but canned is the everyday version eaten in Ecuadorian homes.
Potato is the most common substitute outside Latin America — it provides similar starchy body. Taro root or plantain are closer in texture. Parsnip and turnip are emergency substitutes. Yuca itself is increasingly available in large supermarkets in the Americas and Europe.
The combination of protein, complex carbohydrate, salt and acid (from the pickled onion) addresses several physiological aspects of alcohol recovery simultaneously: the protein stabilizes blood sugar, the yuca provides slow-release starch, the salt restores electrolytes, and the acidic onion stimulates digestion and saliva production. Whether or not it actually 'cures' hangovers, Ecuadorians are convinced it does, and belief plays a significant role in recovery.
Per serving (520g / 18.3 oz) · 4 servings total
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