Belizean Escabeche (Escabeche)
Overview
Belizean escabeche is a tangy onion and chicken soup from Belize and the Yucatán Peninsula. Chicken is simmered with garlic, black pepper, allspice, cloves and oregano, then browned or grilled. A huge amount of thinly sliced white onions is cooked in the broth with vinegar and hot chillies until soft and sweet. The chicken is returned to the pot and the soup is served with plenty of onions and broth in each bowl. It is sour, peppery and comforting, and always comes with warm corn tortillas to eat alongside or tear into it.
History
Escabeche, a Spanish word for dishes preserved in vinegar, came to the region with Spanish colonists, and Mayan cooks combined it with local spices and chillies. In Belize, especially in the north around Orange Walk and Corozal, it became a Sunday soup and a popular dish at family gatherings. Related onion and chicken escabeche is known in the Mexican state of Yucatán.
Main ingredients
Chicken, onions, vinegar, habanero or jalapeño, allspice and oregano, garlic. The soup is built on sour onion and chicken broth and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; usually gluten-free.
Explore: Chicken soups · More soups from Belize
Recipe
Method
- 140 min
Simmer the chicken with garlic and spices in 2 l water for 40 minutes.
- 2
Lift out the chicken and brown it in a pan.
- 310 min
Add the onions, vinegar and chillies to the broth and cook for 10 minutes.
- 45 min
Return the chicken and simmer for 5 minutes.
- 5
Serve with corn tortillas.
- ✓
Serve. About 1h 20m from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
