Thursday, October 10, 2013

In Praise of Corviche: Manabi fish cakes


Manabi is a coastal province of Ecuador. Unsurprisingly it's famous for the quality of its seafood. All the talk is about ceviche - the lemon fish broth with onions, parsley and chilies. You can even eat good ceviche in London. What I'd never tasted before is corviche, a sort of Ecuadorian fish cake. It's made with local fish seasoned with salprieta (local peanut salt) and wrapped in mashed plantain, the cake is then deep fried until it becomes a deep caramel brown. Corviche is delicious eaten with a squeeze of limon sutil and a healthy dollop of tongue-tingling aji.

I've been buying my Corviche from a very local shop just outside Ayampe. The service is relaxed and you can easily wait 20 minutes for a Corviche. They cost a dollar each and - considering how filling they are - it makes for a very cheap breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Corviche from Manabi, Ecuador
Corviche from Manabi

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