Ecuadorian food: hayacas

Ecuadorian gastronomy is considered one of the best in Latin America, filled with delicious dishes and varied ingredients. We have created a series of blog posts highlighting Ecuador’s best food and fruit.

This blog post is for you if you love eating food and like tasting different food and learning about a country through its gastronomy.

Today we want to share all about hayacas, a delicious dish from the Coastal region of Ecuador.

If you are in South America, I would love to see your pictures.

What are hayacas, and how are they eaten

Hayacas are, at first sight, very similar to tamales, both covered with banana leaves. In Ecuador, the filling includes chicken.

It is believed that this dish’s origin is Manabi, which is the best place to find them.

If you like trying new recipes and want to try making some at home, you can find the full recipe on this page. 

What it tastes like

Hayacas are savory and have a soft texture; the filling includes chicken, and many other ingredients are included in this dish.

How and where to eat hayacas

Hayacas can be enjoyed any time, but they are mainly enjoyed as an appetizer or with the afternoon cafecito.

You can also buy them ready to eat at some restaurants or stores. In my case, I had someone who brought products from Manabi and sold them frozen in Quito.

While researching this blog, I learned that hayacas, sometimes written hallacas, are also found in Venezuela and Colombia.

If you love enjoying food while traveling, other traditional dishes and snacks from the Coastal region are bolones, corviche, muchines de yuca, cazuela, and ceviche.

Have you tasted hayacas before?

Let us know here!

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Want to Learn to make some Latin American dishes? Gran Cocina Latina: The Food of Latin America, This book comprises 500 well-written recipes from all Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, providing great information and recipes for the exciting food you can prepare at home. At the same time, you plan your visit to South America.

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