Ecuador's iconic hangover-cure soup — fresh albacore tuna (or yellowfin) poached with cassava (yuca) chunks in a tomato-and-aji broth, then bowl-served topped with pickled red onions, fresh cilantro, lime juice, and chifles (fried plantain chips). The morning-after meal that has saved a thousand Sunday hangovers along the Ecuadorian Pacific coast.
Encebollado (literally 'onioned') originated on Ecuador's Pacific coast (Manabí and Guayas provinces) as a fisherman's breakfast — the protein-and-broth combination was believed to restore vigor after a night of drinking. The dish became the universal Ecuadorian hangover cure: every coastal town has at least one encebolladería that opens at 5 AM Saturday and Sunday to serve hungover customers. The dish has spread inland: Quito now has dozens of encebolladerías. The albacore tuna (pesca blanca) is the traditional fish, though yellowfin or skipjack are common substitutes. The cassava chunks add starchy substance; the tomato-and-aji broth provides acidity and warmth; the pickled red onions add freshness; the chifles add crunch. The dish is the most-essential Ecuadorian comfort food alongside fritada and ceviche.
Spoon up a bowl of encebollado — orange-red broth swirling with chunks of pink-cooked tuna, white cassava cubes, paper-thin pickled red onion rings, brilliant-green cilantro, golden chifles floating on top. Bite: the broth is layered (tomato sweetness, cumin earthiness, achiote color, aji warmth, fish-stock body); the tuna is just-flaky and tender; the cassava is starchy and absorbs the broth flavors; the pickled onions add bright-sharp acidity; the chifles add crunch. With a generous squeeze of lime and a sip of cold chicha, this is the morning-after Ecuadorian salvation — hot, healing, soulful.
Poaching the tuna gently (vs boiling) preserves the fish's tender, flaky texture; boiling would toughen it. Cooking cassava separately and adding at the end keeps it from disintegrating into the broth. The tomato-aji combination provides the broth's signature color and warmth; achiote (annatto) is purely for color (mild flavor). Salting the onions in lime water removes harsh sulfurs while preserving crunch and color. Adding the chifles last keeps them crispy; they soften quickly in the hot broth.
Variations
Encebollado con mariscos (with mixed seafood — shrimp, octopus). Encebollado de pescado blanco (with white fish like sea bass). Vegetariano (vegetable broth with palm hearts and cassava). Modern Quito restaurant version with tuna sashimi-grade and herb-oil drizzle. Spicy encebollado with extra aji. The dish reaches its peak in Manta and Guayaquil coastal restaurants.
On the Palate
Where Encebollado sits in the Ecuadorian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
11 steps · 30 min active + 30 min waiting
- 14 min
Source 600 g fresh albacore or yellowfin tuna fillets (sushi-grade if possible). Cut into 4-cm chunks.
- 218 min
Peel 600 g cassava (yuca); cut into 4-cm chunks. Boil in salted water 15-20 min until fork-tender. Drain; reserve.
Watch outBoil the cassava on its own just to fork-tender, then drain — cook it in the soup and it falls apart and clouds the broth.
- 36 min
Make the broth: in a large pot, heat 3 tbsp oil. Add 1 chopped onion + 1 chopped red bell pepper + 4 minced garlic cloves; cook 6 min.
- 48 min
Add 4 large tomatoes (chopped) + 1 tbsp tomato paste + 2 tsp ground cumin + 2 tsp ground annatto (achiote) + 1 tbsp aji panca paste (or paprika + chili) + 1 tsp salt + 1 tsp black pepper; cook 8 min.
- 54 min
Add 1.5 L water (or fish stock); bring to a simmer.
- 69 min
Carefully add the tuna chunks. Poach gently 8-10 min until just cooked through (the tuna should be opaque but tender; overcooked tuna is dry).
Watch outPoach the tuna gently, never a rolling boil — pull it the moment it turns opaque but still tender; boiled hard it goes dry and stringy.
- 75 min
Add the cooked cassava chunks to the broth. Simmer 5 min.
- 82 min
Taste; adjust salt and add lime juice if needed.
- 916 min
Make pickled red onions: slice 2 red onions thinly. Soak in cold water with 1 tsp salt and juice of 2 limes for 15 min. Drain.
Watch outSoak the sliced onions in lime-salt water — it takes off the raw sharpness while keeping them crunchy and bright; drain before topping.
- 106 min
Make chifles: slice 1 green plantain very thin (mandoline). Deep-fry in 175°C oil 2-3 min until golden-crisp. Drain; salt.
Watch outFry the plantain chips right before serving and add them last — they crisp fast but go soft the moment they hit the hot broth.
- 115 min
Serve in deep bowls: ladle the broth, tuna, and cassava. Top with pickled red onions, 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, 1 squeeze of lime juice, and 6-8 chifles. Optional: a drizzle of aji sauce (aji + cilantro + onion + lime). Drink with chicha or fresh juice.
