Sancocho

Sancocho(from the Spanish verbsancochar, "to parboil") is a traditionalstewin severalCaribbeanandLatin American cuisines. Latin variations represent popularnational dishesinDominican Republic,Colombia,Cuba,Honduras,Mexico,Panama,Puerto Rico,Trinidad and Tobago, andVenezuela. It usually consists of large pieces ofmeat,tubersandvegetablesserved in a broth.
Canariansancocho is a dish based on salted fish (usually cherne or corvina), parboiled potatoes, sweet potato (unpeeled and in large pieces) and mojo (red or green).
Sancocho is a traditional food in Colombia made with many kinds of meat (most commonly chicken, hen, pork ribs, beef ribs, fish, and ox tail) with large pieces ofplantain,potato,cassavaand/or other vegetables such as tomato, scallion, cilantro, and mazorca (corn on the cob), depending on the region. Some top it off with fresh cilantro, onion and squeezed lime—a sort of "pico de gallo", minus the tomato. It is also served with a side of sliced avocado and a plate of white rice, which is usually dipped in with each spoonful of soup.
Sancocho is considered one of the national dishes, along with "la bandera" (the flag), consisting of rice, generally red or black beans, some root vegetables and meat. Although, Dominicans usually serve the dish with white rice and avocados. There is a variant calledsancocho cruzadoorsancocho de siete carnes, which includes different parts ofchicken,beef,pork, and sometimesgoat.Sancocho de siete carnesmeans "seven meat sancocho" and is considered the ultimate sancocho dish.Longaniza, a type of pork sausage, is also used. Sancocho de gallina (hen sancocho) is common as well, often made for special occasions like holidays or on weekends. While sancocho de habichuela (bean sancocho) and sancocho de guandules are common, other types of sancocho are very rare.
Also known assancocho de gallina, it is the national dish of Panama. The basic ingredients are chicken,ñame(adding flavor and acting as a thickener, giving it its characteristic texture and brightness), andculantro(giving it most of its characteristic flavor and greenish tone); oftenyuca, mazorca (corn on the cob) andotoeare added. Other optional ingredients includeñampí(as theEddoevariety oftarois known), choppedonions,garlicandoregano. It is frequently served withwhite riceon the side, meant to be either mixed in or eaten with each spoonful. Hot sauce is frequently added, depending on regional and individual preferences. Regional varieties includesancocho chorrerano(a specialty of the town of La Chorrera, which is only made with free-range chicken, onions, garlic, chili peppers, oregano and ñame) andSancocho chiricano(a specialty fromChiriquí Provinceand the heartiest variety, containingsquashin addition to all basic and optional ingredients mentioned before, having a yellowish color as a result). It is often recommended as the best remedy for a hangover. It is used as a metaphor for the country's racial diversity due to the varied ingredients that contribute their particular properties to and have an equally important role in the cooking process and final product.
Reflecting its Spanish influence, sancocho is eaten in the Philippines, where the hearty stew is made with fish, beef shanks, three kinds of meat, chicken, pork butt, bacon, chorizo de bilbao andmorcilla(Spanish blood sausage) as well as yucca, potatoes, cilantro, corn, cabbage,bok choy, carrots and string beans. TheIlocanodishpinapaitanis also known assankutsar(orsingkutsar) is made from stewed goat (or beef) and offal flavored with its cud.
Sancocho is considered a fairly rustic dish. It is made with chicken and smoked ham (sancocho de gallina), top round beef (sancocho), pork feet with chickpeas (sancocho de patitas), beef short ribs with chorizo, or fish, shellfish andsalted codcooked in coconut milk and ginger with rice dumplings (caldo santo). There are several versions and every household has their own take on sancocho, but a true Puerto Rican sancocho always calls for corn on the cob, a variety of tubers, squash, green bananas, and meat. The hearty stew is served with a small bowl of rice,pique criollo, tostones, and bread.
Sancochos are prepared throughout the country, recognized as a typical meal of the weekend. The stew can be beef (usually in the Llanos region), chicken (usually central and western region), beef stomach and shank (simply called "tripe") or goat (here called "goat tripe", typical of western Falcón and Lara states) and fish or seafood (usually East and Caribbean coast). When mixing two types of meat (chicken and beef, etc.) is called crossover or "cruzado". Among vegetables and traditional spices for all varieties are yam, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, potato, cassava, jojoto (maize/corn), celery (celeriac), taro (mafafa/malanga), pumpkin (squash), cabbage, Chinese taro or Chirel hot pepper, cilantro, and green or topocho banana.
These soups are major Venezuelan cuisine dishes that are not usually accompanied by other foods. Consumed at lunchtime or in the evening, the stew is a common dish at celebrations, usually served during or after meals—the latter, according to popular belief, to relieve hangover. For this reason, it is typical to serve this dish for lunch on Christmas or New Year's Day.
There is a similar dish in Costa Rica: it is called olla de carne (meat pot).
The Peruvian sancochado, made with meat chunks, corn, rice, and potatoes, is similar to the Colombian sancocho. It has the typical ingredients:yuca, plantain, and corn "choclo". It is usually made with beef but can also be done with hen,chicken, or fish. Fish is particularly used in the coastal regions where peanuts are also added to give their characteristic flavor. A similar dish in Chile is called cazuela.
A soup similar to sancocho is calledsancocheinDominica,Grenada,JamaicaandTrinidad and Tobago.It is also known asrun downordip and fall backin Jamaica,oil downin Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada, andmetageeinGuyana.In Trinidad and Tobago, it is known assancocheor "Saturday soup", because, like the Venezuelan version, it is primarily eaten on the weekend. The fish version of the dish is known as "fish broff". Generally, these are heavily spiced with green seasoning, pimiento (seasoning pepper) and hot pepper (scotch bonnet). It is usually served with cassava or with arepas. Some people add lemon juice (especially fish). There are variants of the same, such as thecruzadoand the three-phase, when three types of meat are combined. The popularity of this dish is seen at celebrations: instead of saying one is going to a party, it is common to "go to a sancocho." Colloquially, it is often simply called "soup". In some regions (as in Zulia state) it is given the namesopón.
In México the dish is calledcocifiorcaldo de res. It consists of brazed beef short ribs, ox tail, carrots, celery, potatoes, corn on the cob, squash,chayote, garlic, onion, cilantro and garnished with lime and accompanied with tostadas. Variations are made with chicken, shrimp, or meatballs.