Huevos Chilenos - Ecuadorian Mini Donut Centers

The "Chilean eggs" are a typical sweets from Ecuador.

They are a sort of donut or mini donut centers.

Why they are called Chilean when they are from Ecuador is a mystery to me.

The egg part is a bit more understandable, since they are small, about the size of an egg, and round.

But not exactly egg shaped.

The most important thing about them is that they are very delicious.

They are a very popular street food and sold everywhere.

But can also easily be made at home.

What you will need for the recipe:

Ingredients

1 dry yeast (or 2 and 1/4 tsp)

1 1/4 cup warm milk

Mix and add

3 eggs

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup softened butter

1 tsp salt

Caraway or aniseed essence

stir well

and add

5 cups of flour

Form soft dough and let rise.

Once to twice its volume stretch and cut the threads and form little balls with your hands.

Submerge the balls in boiling oil until they are golden.

Sprinkle sugar on the balls and ENJOY!

Spondylus Route at the Ecuador's Pacific Coast

Spondylus Route at the Ecuador's Pacific Coast was formerly known as the Ruta del Sol or Route of the Sun.

It is the road that borders the Pacific Ocean from northern Peru to northern Ecuador.

The route has countless attractions and multiple beaches.

The name of the route comes from the spondylus seashell, or red spiny oyster, that was very important for pre-Columbian cultures of Ecuador and even used as currency.

What Spondylus Route has to offer

The small towns with hotels, restaurants, museums and other attractions, together with bigger towns and gorgeous beaches sprinkled throughout the route make it irresistible and a must for a traveler.

There are possibilities and facilities aquatic sports like surfing, snorkeling, fishing and scuba diving among others.

Other attractions included paragliding, horseback riding, local cuisine and culture, the wonderful sunny weather and friendly people.

Every town has its distinct way of life, culture, and culinary riches.

The beaches, food and opportunities for relax and partying varies from town to town.

History of Spondylus Route

The Spondylus Route on the coast of Ecuador displays the cultures that thrived from 8000 BC. 

Some of these cultures as Bahia and Manteña were among the most experienced sailors.

 

They were known as the "Phoenicians of the Americas" and aboard of their wooden boats of the Ecuadorian balsa traveled all the way from Mexico to the north and to the southern Chile.

One of the most important objects of the trade was the sacred "the Spondylus shell". 

It was also known as "Mullu" in Quechua (native language of the Incas).

The shell was one of the most sacred and sought out items in ancient times.

It was marketed and highly valued by the chiefdom of Ecuadorian and Peruvian Andes.

The shells or their remains have been found in almost all major archeological discoveries of the west coast of South America, such as the tomb of the Lord of Sipan in northern Peru.

In the small town of Valdivia is a museum that is dedicated to the different cultures that habited the Ecuadorian Pacific Coast.

Where to go

The beaches and towns stretch from Huaquillas at the El Oro Province in the Peruvian border till San Lorenzo in Esmeraldas Province right next to Colombia.

The Spondylus Route runs through a total of five provinces, all with different kinds of culture, traditions, nature, cuisine, animals, attractions, and beaches.

Montañita is the party central and the capital of surf, popular with both national and international tourists.

Los Frailes beach located in the Machalilla Natural Park is famous for its beauty and a quiet place to enjoy the sun, sand and water together with the nature.

Salinas, la Ciudad Blanca, or the white city has five-star accommodations and all the luxuries a demanding tourist might want, including shopping opportunities.

Puerto Lopez is famous for the opportunity to go whale watching and also for the fun loving lifestyle that has attracted many international tourists.

Playas has the charm of an old time balneary and there are opportunities to go dolphin and bird watching in the mangroves from the nearby town of El Morro.

There are numerous small towns with quiet and slow rhythm of life.

And other bigger ones bustling with tourists, music, and fun.

If you are planning a vacation keep Ecuador's Spondylus Route in your mind.

Spondylus Route is sure to offer something special for everyone!

Chuntakurus in Tena, Ecuador

A very popular, and traditional, food course here in the Ecuadorian Amazon is Chuntakuru. 

A lot of people all around from Ecuador come here to eat it and it is considered very delicious. 

I have tried it out also and I must admit, it tastes good, a little coco nutty and greasy, but very good.

This is the Kichwa woman who cooked the first chuntakurus I ever ate.

The only problem is that chuntakuros are actually huge white worms that live in the chonta palm tree.

They can be barbequed on wooden sticks, prepared in Maito (wrapped in local leaves and baked in their own juices) or eaten alive.

This is her daughter at the restaurant kichen.

But the trick is that chonta is extremely hard tree and the worms have huge jaws and they can bite really hard.

So, if you are not careful, you can end up with a tongue piercing instead of enjoying a delicious meal.

This is where the chuntakurus were prepared, inside leaves on hot coals.

For locals, the times when chuntakuros can be found is very important.

The worms were before one of their main protein sources, just like a really big flying ant called ukuy in Kichwa.

My aspiration has never been eating worms of any kind.

Chuntakurus, alive and doing well. Eating the chontapalm, and crawling around, just like they love to do.

I did eat ants at school because the boys would eat them and I didn't want to look like a sissy.

But worms weren't definitively something I ever wanted eat in my life.

I was well as long as we were working in a different part of the Ecuador.

The picture is a bit blurry but I wanted to show how big they actually are.

But when we decided to move to Tena, I starts to prepare myself mentally to all the foods that were waiting for me.

I have eaten deer, armadillo, porcupine, several types of roedents they have here, different sort of fish, insanely spicy chili peppers that make me want to die or drink a river, white cacao beans (that I actually recommend), and some very strange fruits. 

This is maito de chontacuro, all cooked and prepared. Just look at those jaws!

I have also eaten tree peanuts (they grow in a tree, they are bigger than a peanut and they taste just like peanuts), regular peanuts boiled and cooked soft, and chonta palm's fruit (very good also).

I have drunk traditional drinks made by chewing the mash of different fruits and tubers and then spitting it to dirty river water and stirring it with even dirtier hands called chicha or aswa.

My personal favorite is sara aswa, or corn chicha.

This is me, trying to be brave enough to put the worm in my mouth.

I'm still waiting to try boa, caiman and monkey meat.

And at one point I just knew it was the time to eat chuntakurus.

Because in a Kichwa village you cannot refuse what you have been offered.

Chewing the worm, and, honestly, trying very hard not to puke it.

You say thank you, you eat and drink everything you have been given.

If there are extra worms or ants in the food, like my dad says, it's just protein.

I have made my peace with chuntakurus, we are not friends, their consistency is too wormlike for me.

My little nephew wanted to taste chuntakurus and my niece can't just believe how disgusting they are.

But they do taste good and I can understand why people love to eat them.

If you are ever looking for extreme food and eating experiences, I recommend coming to Tena in Ecuador and trying out pinchos de chuntakuru or maito de chuntakuru.

He was a HUGE Fear Factor fan. And he really wanted to tell all his friends about how he ate worms when he visited his aunt and cousin in Ecuador. So, he actually ate them. My niece didn't want to ANYTHING to do with them.

I will not explain you how to prepare them because I’m sure you will not be able to buy them around.

And probably wouldn’t want to prepare them even if you could.

But if you come to Ecuador, I am sure to let you know the best place to try them out.

He's trying to find the words to describe how the worms tasted.