New Food!

Empanada: An empanada is a bread or pastry that is stuffed with things like cheese, vegetables, fruits, meats, and other things, and then is fried (sometimes baked). The name comes from the Spanish verb empanar, meaning to wrap or coat in bread. They make popular empanadas for each meal of the day. I have had a plain cheese empanada, but here in Ecuador (depending on the region) there are two really popular empanadas: the first is with rice, peas, corn, beef, and cheese. The second is the plantain empanada with the dough made from plantains and then filled with beef, cheese, or shrip.

Plantain: Plantains are a member of the banana family but are certainly different (see the chart below) and are unsuitable raw. They are used in so many dishes here, almost like we use the potato in America, it is usually fried or baked. Here in Ecuador they are called "verde" because their peels are usually green. Many Ecuadorians eat Plantain in some dish during the day- even if it's just fried plantain (mashed or chopped) as a side dish. I personally like the thin plantain chips that they sell at my school called chifles (they have many names) because they are salty and delish. There are also patacones which are thick plantain chips, and many soups with plantain. But seriously, come visit me and you will eat a bunch of plantains whether you know it or not. Did I mention that Machala is the Banana capital of the world? Well it is, and I get to go to the International Banana Festival soon! Cool, huh?

Plantains	Bananas
Starchy Used as a vegetable Longer than bananas Thicker skin Resemble green bananas, but may be green, yellow or black	Sweet Eaten as a fruit Shorter than plantains Thinner skin Color is green when not fully ripe, yellow when ripe

Bolon: Bolon de verde is the first breakfast food I had in Ecuador. Bolon is a slang term that means large ball, hence it's appearance. In English, people will say it's a dumpling instead of a "green plantain ball". It is made by boiling plantain and mashing it up, adding fresh cheese, chorizo and/or chicharrones and then forming the mixture into a ball and frying it. It is a popular breakfast/brunch dish but is also served as a snack or appetizer and can be stuffed with pork. Chicharrones in Ecuador are chunks of deep fried fatty pork meat, and chorizo is a type of pork sausage. 

Wikipedia has been very helpful when it comes to figuring out what it is that I'm eating! :)

But I found this amazing website with recipies and explanations about popular Ecuadorian food. It has been super helpful and it will be a great resource when I want to make some Ecuadorian food back home. 

Take a look if you're interested: http://laylita.com/recipes/ecuadorian-recipes/

I will add more food posts when I try more interesting/new food. Apparently the ceviche (shrimp) is the best here. I am not a seafood fan though, so although I want to try it, I'm not sure how well it will go.

Chao!