Encebollado

Fresh tuna is simmered with cassava, tomato and pickled onion into a tangy, brothy soup brightened with lime and coriander. On the Ecuadorian coast it is a famous morning-after cure.

Encebollado is a beloved coastal Ecuadorian soup, most strongly associated with the port city of Guayaquil, where it is widely considered a culinary icon. Its exact origins are debated, but it is generally understood to have emerged from the fusion of Indigenous coastal ingredients - like cassava (yuca) - with Spanish and Afro-Ecuadorian cooking traditions, reflecting the region’s maritime and agricultural history.

Regional variations are subtle but notable: while the base of tuna, cassava, and pickled red onion with lime and cilantro is constant, some versions add tomato, peanuts, or even a hint of achiote for color. Culturally, encebollado is a quintessential “levantamuertos” (reviver of the dead), traditionally eaten as a hearty breakfast or midday meal, and especially prized as a morning-after remedy for overindulgence, cementing its role in everyday coastal life and festive gatherings alike.