Order this and expect plate piled high with slow roasted chunks
of pork, crispy skin, salad and more. Find the best on the top
floor of Cuenca’s Mercado 10 de Agosto, where ladies serve the dish
from whole roasted pigs.

The marriage of seafood, coconut and lime is what makes eating
on Ecuador’s coast so desirable. Encocado’s lightly spiced, velvety
sauce places the spotlight on coconut milk as the vessel in which
the day’s catch is gently poached.

A tangy tuna soup (Ecuador’s national dish) is bursting with
coriander, lime and pickled red onion – it holds its own against
any French bouillabaisse or clam chowder. Head to Guayaquil’s El
Pez Volador, a restaurant bestowed with Anthony Bourdain’s seal of
approval, for a bowl at just $3.50.

Breakfast in Ecuador is usually a simple affair. Paired only
with a black coffee, these fried spheres of mashed green plantains
provide locals with slow-releasing carbohydrates through the
morning and beyond.

A staple of those living at high-altitude across the Andean
mountain range, this dish of mote (maize kernels) tossed in the
rendered fats of chicharron (fried pork belly), garlic, onion and
ground cumin provides a simple yet substantial supper.

Picture a rice pudding, substitute the rice for cracked maize to
facilitate further creaminess, add in raisins, cinnamon and cloves
and you have this super sweet Ecuadorian dessert/ drink hybrid. Ask
for a spoon from the vendor, you’ll need it.

A speciality of Don Jimmy in Quito’s Mercado Central, this
quasi-British fried fish and roast potato dish is generously doused
in lime juice. Order the special and a prawn ceviche will come your
way too – all for the equivalent of well under £5.

Ecuadorian ceviche differs from the Peruvian iteration insofar
as the fish or shellfish is always cooked. Another marked
difference is how soupy it is, with the finished article bearing
resemblance to a South American-style gazpacho.

Perhaps more commonly recognised as “blood sausage” or “black
pudding”, morcilla is a delicacy enjoyed all over Ecuador.
Traditionally prepared with rice, parsley, cumin and paprika, it is
poached or grilled over an open fire for added dimensions of
flavour.

“Head to hoof” cooking is a philosophy ever-present in
Ecuadorian cooking. This light vegetable broth conceals bite-size
pieces of intestines, lung, tongue, stomach and sometimes liver.
Traditionally served with a nutty side plate of fried blood,
avocado and a pickled red-onion salsa.