Encebollado
Encebollado de pescado
Ecuador's coastal fish and yuca soup, topped with lime-pickled red onion — the breakfast that cures Saturday night.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Encebollado de pescado.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Rest
- None
- Total
- 1 hr
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- Mild
- Cost
- A bit special$16–28 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Encebollado is a clear, cumin-scented broth of fresh tuna and soft yuca, served under a heap of red onion that has been pickled in lime while the soup cooked. The name means onioned, and the onion is not garnish; it is half the dish. Tomatoes, onion, cumin and achiote make the base, the tuna poaches in it in minutes, and the yuca cooks until it almost melts. At the table you add more lime, a spoon of ají, and chifles (plantain chips) or popcorn dropped straight into the bowl. Fresh albacore is the right fish. It is a forty-minute soup that eats like a cure.
What you'll need
14 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
Ingredients
- Tuna, fresh albacore or yellowfin steak, in large chunks600 g
- Yuca, peeled, cord removed, 4 cm pieces600 g
- Tomato, chopped3 medium
- Red onion, one chopped for the broth, one sliced paper-thin for the topping2 large
- Lime, juiced3
- Coriander, stalks for the broth, leaves to finish30 g
- Cumin, ground7.4 ml
- Achiote, ground seed or achiote oil4.9 ml
- Garlic, crushed3 clove
- Fresh chilli, ají or any medium fresh chilli, halved (optional)1
- Neutral oil15 ml
- Water2 l
- Salt9.9 ml
- Plantain, green, sliced thin and fried for chifles (optional)1 large
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Put the thinly sliced red onion in a bowl with half the lime juice and a pinch of salt. Rub it in with your fingers and leave it to soften and turn pink while you cook.
3 min
Step 2
Heat the oil in a stockpot. Soften the chopped onion, garlic, tomato, cumin and achiote with a pinch of salt for 8 minutes until the tomato collapses into a sauce.
8 min
Step 3
Add the water, coriander stalks, chilli and yuca. Simmer 25 minutes until the yuca is tender and starting to fray at the edges.
25 min
Tip: Some cooks cook the fish first and lift it out so it does not overcook. Either order works; this one keeps it to one pot.
Step 4
Lower the tuna chunks into the broth and poach gently 6-8 minutes until just opaque. Break into large flakes with a spoon. Season with salt and the rest of the lime juice.
8 min
Watch: Boiling the tuna hard makes it dry and woolly. Keep the broth at a shiver.
Step 5
Ladle into deep bowls. Top each with a heap of pickled onion and coriander leaves. Serve with chifles or popcorn, lime wedges and ají for the table.
3 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 728 kcal
- Protein
- 51.2 g
- Carbs
- 92.2 g
- Fat
- 17.5 g
- Saturated fat
- 2.8 g
- Fibre
- 7.3 g
- Sugar
- 17.5 g
- Sodium
- 2536 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Fish
- Pescatarian
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
- Nut-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 13 November.
Substitutions
Fresh tuna → Firm white fish such as mahi-mahi or cod
Common on the coast when albacore is scarce. Poach it a minute or two less.
Tips
- Buy the tuna the day you cook it, from a counter, not a tin. Tinned tuna makes a different and much sadder soup.
- Chifles are green plantain sliced paper-thin and fried in oil at 180°C until pale gold, then salted. They take ten minutes and are worth it.
History & culture
Guayaquil's dish above all, though it is eaten all along the coast and in every Quito neighbourhood with a coastal cook. Breakfast and lunch food from carts, markets and small encebolladerías, with a cold cola and bread. It is Ecuador's most famous hangover remedy. In national polls it regularly beats ceviche as the favourite dish.
Fishing towns in Manabí and Guayas have cooked fish-and-yuca broths since long before the city. Encebollado as a named cart dish grew with Guayaquil in the mid-twentieth century and with the industrial albacore fleet that made fresh tuna cheap. The lime-onion topping ties it to the coastal ceviche tradition.
Traditional
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Encebollado take?
1 hr all in — 20 min prep, 40 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 4 bowls. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
Mild.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Fish. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Pescatarian, Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Nut-free.
7 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
A bit special — about $16–28 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Stockpot, Chef's knife, Mixing bowl.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 2 tsp.
What can I use instead?
Fresh tuna → Firm white fish such as mahi-mahi or cod. Common on the coast when albacore is scarce. Poach it a minute or two less.
What should I watch for?
Boiling the tuna hard makes it dry and woolly. Keep the broth at a shiver.
Any tips from this recipe?
Buy the tuna the day you cook it, from a counter, not a tin. Tinned tuna makes a different and much sadder soup. Chifles are green plantain sliced paper-thin and fried in oil at 180°C until pale gold, then salted. They take ten minutes and are worth it.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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