Destination
Cuenca
The story
Corviche is the great street food of Manabí, the coastal province of central Ecuador. A dough made from cooked green plantain and ground roasted peanuts is worked into a smooth putty, then shaped by hand around a spiced fish filling (typically albacore or fresh tuna cooked with tomato, onion, achiote and coriander), formed into small elongated ovals and deep-fried until the outside crackles into a golden crust. Sold hot from stalls in Portoviejo, Manta and every fishing town along the coast, always with a small dish of curtido (pickled onion) alongside.
Method
Place the plantain chunks in a large pot of salted water. Bring to a boil and cook 20 to 25 minutes, until fork-tender.
While the plantains cook, place the peanuts in a food processor with a splash of oil. Blitz to a coarse crumbly butter (not fully smooth).
Warm the oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Sweat the onion and red pepper 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato, achiote, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook 6 to 8 minutes until jammy. Add the chopped fish and cook 4 to 5 minutes, just until opaque. Off the heat, stir in the coriander. Cool completely.
Drain the plantains well. While still hot, mash smooth in a large bowl. Add the ground peanuts, achiote oil and salt. Knead by hand for 2 to 3 minutes until smooth and slightly sticky. The dough should feel like soft Play-Doh.
Wet your hands lightly. Pinch off a piece of dough about the size of a small egg (roughly 70g). Flatten in your palm into a 10cm disc. Place a heaped tablespoon of cold fish filling in the centre. Fold the dough up around the filling, pinch closed, and roll gently into an elongated oval about 8cm long.
Heat the oil in a deep pot to 175°C (350°F). Fry the corviches in batches of 3 or 4 for 4 to 5 minutes, turning gently, until deep golden and crackly. Don't crowd the pot.
Lift onto kitchen paper. Serve immediately with a small dish of curtido de cebolla, lime wedges and ají picante on the side.
Tips
- Green plantains only. Yellow plantains give you a sweet, soft, incorrect dough. Green (very firm, skin all green) is the only option; if yours are turning yellow, wait for the next batch or buy again.
- Peanut is essential. The ground roasted peanut is what makes corviche taste like corviche and distinguishes it from a plain plantain fritter. Don't skip.
- Mash while hot. Green plantain dough seizes if you let it cool before mashing. Straight from the pot into the bowl, mashed while steaming, then combined with the peanut.
- Cool the fish filling before assembly. Warm filling makes the dough sticky and hard to seal. Cold from the fridge is even better.
- Curtido de cebolla is not optional. The lime-pickled red onion is the acid counterpoint that cuts the richness of the fried dough. Every Manabí vendor serves it alongside.
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