Yuca Land, Delicacies from Napo Province

One of the most interesting places we have visited for the food has to be the Ecuadorian Amazon. It has certainly food sources you don’t hear or see often enough in the cities. While we visited the Amazon community during our trip to Napo we ate and learned a lot about their sources of nourishment and ancestral eating patterns.

Traditional ways of community cooking. Has allowed the people to value sharing and collaboration. These values are necessary to thrive in the Amazon.

Common dishes and drinks:

Yuca

The Yuca ( cassava) in this area is smaller in comparison to the size of the root in other areas but very soft, white and less stringy. The taste is so delicious and buttery that I could not have enough of it.

Chicha (Yuca based drink)

Chicha is the energy drink of the Amazon! Chicha could be made of many different ingredients like corn or amaranto. Similar habits to coffee drinking are developed around it. It can be drank cold or hot and mixed with other ingredients. Our guide is a member of a Kichwa amazonian community we visited, explained to us that when there are food shortages or in long hunting and gathering journeys, people in his community will be sustained only from drinking chicha for days!

Depending on the ingredients and level of fermentation, chicha can become an alcoholic drink.

In this community, many of the dishes and drinks are Yuca based since this is one of the main crops growing in that agricultural sections of the Amazon. Yuca is cultivated in the community fields and by Indigenous communities.

Maito Fish

Community Table: The day’s catch plus a “pincho” (skewer) of broad beans over plantain leafs.

Wild Mushrooms

Wild Mushrooms, pickled yuca sauce (back) & Boiled Yuca (farther in the background)

Chontacuros

Just like in the famous Lion King these chubby worms make a delicious snack. They are truly tasty. I personally found them to taste like pork skins.

Chontacuro Skewers with Yuca & Chicha pickled sauce (with hot peppers, vinegar and pickled carrots. Very tasty!)

Chocolate ( ground & sweetened)

We saw how the cacao beans were roasted right in front of us, then by grinding the beans manually with a small grinding machine. Add a little bit if sugar or honey and water and it was ready to drink! It was the most delicious chocolate drink I have tasted.

Roasted “Habas” ( broad beans)