Artisanal Ecuadorian street food
Ecuadorian dishes are mostly the same as its neighbours, Colombia and Peru. There are a couple of unique ones, but none of them has captured the attention of South America, let alone the world. If you would like to try this lesser-known cuisine, La Morena is a good place to start. It specializes in snacks but offers special entrées on weekends.
Their most popular finger foods are South American empanadas. Argentinian, Chilean, and Colombian varieties are on their regular menu. Strangely, Ecuadorian ones are absent. More on that later.
The food
The national ceviche of Ecuador is ceviche de camarón (shrimp). Unlike ceviches that most people know of, this ceviche has no raw seafood. Shrimps are cooked, deshelled, and placed in the marinade with the rest of the ingredients. It actually looks and tastes similar to other ceviches, other than the cooked seafood. The other noticeable difference is the use of crushed tomatoes for acidity and colour. Typical Ecuadorian toppings are canchas (toasted corn nuts) and chifles (plantain chips).
I was impressed with La Morena’s concept for ceviche de camarón. It’s ceviche in a cup and artfully arranged. The star of the dish, the shrimps, took centre stage at the top of the cup. They were also lots of shrimp in the cup. Then again, it costed $15. This is far up from a street food ceviche.
The proportion of liquid to ingredients was perfect. The primary flavour of the marinade was lime, followed by tomato, then bell peppers and red onions. It was like a Mexican pico de gallo salsa, but more tomato-ey. Refreshing on a hot day. The shrimps were plump and bouncy. They were also expertly deshelled with minimal loss of form.
The finishing touches were what made this ceviche excellent. The canchas and chifles were crunchy and crispy respectively. They added even more interest to the already vibrant ceviche. They were salted just enough to whet the appetite and bring out the flavours of the ceviche. The canchas were on par with those in Ecuador. 8.5/10.
La Morena has rotating specials during weekends. Remember about the glaring omission of Ecuadorian empanadas? You might find them on a weekend. Ecuador has a so-called trilogy of empanadas: morocho (corn dough), verde (plantain dough), and viento (mega sized with cheese). La Morena does not do empanada de viento but you can find the other two on their specials.
When I visited, La Morena had ran out of those, so I went with another lesser-known special: empanada de guayaba y queso (guava and cheese). This is a dessert empanada, deep-fried like Colombian ones. It isn’t strictly an Ecuadorian dish and is enjoyed across tropical Latin America.
Led on by my ceviche experience, I was hoping that they would do something different and modern with the empanada. Perhaps some fresh fruit? Alas, the empanada was mediocre.
The guava component was a low-grade jam with no fruit pieces. The cheese was lacking. It was mostly air inside the empanada, like an empanada de viento. The corn dough felt greasy and flaccid. On a positive note, the dough had good flavour. Not worth the premium. 5/10.
Ecuadorian tamales resemble Mexican ones, but twice as big. These steamed, banana leaf-wrapped, corn dough dumplings are enough for a meal. There are some slight differences in spices. I picked the chicken variant, or tamal de pollo.
The tamal was better than any I had in Ecuador. The fragrance from the refrito (sauteed onions, peppers, and other herbs) and banana leaves was mouthwatering but not overt. The use of such vegetables distinguished this from Central American tamales. Also, unlike other tamales, this one had a beautiful golden hue, likely from achiote (a red sour seed).
The masa (dough) was infused with the aromas of meat and banana leaves. It was firm like polenta. Perfect consistency. A whole chicken leg was stuffed into the tamal. The meat was soft and lightly spiced. The only downside was that I got a bit of rancid meat in one part of the tamal. 7.5/10.
Humitas are emblematic of Andean cuisine from Ecuador to Chile. They bear a passing resemblance to tamales in that they are both leaf-wrapped dumplings. The main differences are that humitas are made with fresh corn while tamales use masa (corn dough). Hence, humitas taste more vibrant and corn-ey. They rarely have fillings and are also smaller. It is hard to find humitas in Toronto, let alone a good one, but you can get that at La Morena.
The humita was neatly wrapped in corn husks. It was 100% traditional and well-made.
The dough was bouncy. No trace of fibrous corn kernels remained. Interspersed around the dough were bits of queso fresco (soft cheese). The flavour profile was 80% fresh corn, 15% dairy, and 5% mild spices. It brought back memories of the first time I had humitas in Salta, Argentina. 8/10.
The place
La Morena is a small store on Dufferin and St Clair, the heart of Corso Italia. It is decorated simply and tastefully. The origin of the trinkets on the walls are vaguely Andean. You wouldn’t know that you are in an Ecuadorian restaurant as they don’t advertise themselves as such.
Even before COVID-19, there wasn’t a lot of space to dine-in. It’s best to grab a snack and go. For customers who prefer to enjoy a beverage and snacks, it’s not a bad place to linger either.
Verdict
Superior Ecuadorian street food. 7.5/10.
Practical information
- Name
- La Morena
- Rating
- 7.5/10
- Recommended dishes
- Ceviche de camarón
Tamales
Humita - Prices (including tax)
- Ceviche de camarón: $15.00
Empanada de guayaba y queso: $4.80
Tamal de pollo: $10.74
Humita: $5.08 - Address
- 1175A St Clair Avenue West
- Hours
- Thursday to Saturday 1100h – 1800h
Sunday 1100h – 1700h - Date of visit
- June 2020, October 2020, December 2020