Rondón (food)

Rondón is an Afro-Caribbean dish eaten in several Latin American countries that share a coast with the Caribbean Sea. It consists of a soup made up of different types of seafood (fish, crabs, small lobsters or shellfish), with coconut milk, plantain, vegetables, peppers and spices. It is a traditional dish in the Antilles, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

Rondón originated in traditional African cuisine which migrated to Latin America with the African slaves brought by the Spanish conquistadors in 1492. It is possible that its preparation dates back to the 16th century thanks to the fisherman that inhabit the Antilles, the Central American coasts and the Colombian Caribbean coast. The first recipes consisted of whatever cooked fruits were available, with fish broth and coconut milk.

The name rondón is an anglicism of the words "run down", a phrase used to express the act of going down somewhere to look for vegetables or fruits used for cooking the dish.

Since rondón is a traditional dish shared by different countries, the ingredients may vary from region to region. However, coconut milk is an essential ingredient in all the variants.

In Nicaragua the meat used might be fish, beef, pork or even turtle meat—a common ingredient in Caribbean cuisine but also illegal in some countries—to which seasonings are added. It might include bell peppers, onion, bananas, cassava, elephant's ear and Argan. On the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, the ingredients include cassava, taro, yam, plantain and green bananas. The meat might be fish, lobsters or crabs and spices such as thyme, garlic, onions and yellow lantern chilli or "chile panameño", an important ingredient in Costa Rican cuisine. It can be served with flour dumplings. On the Colombian isle of San Andrés, the ingredients used are fish, snails, other seafood or pork. The vegetables include cassava, taro, plantain, potatoes and the spices used include basil, oregano, peppers, onion, garlic and poultry seasoning. In Panama, the seafood prepared with coconut milk can be served with rice, tostones or "patacones", and salad.

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