Zhug: better than sambal and sriracha
Do you also spread sriracha on every cheese sandwich and always keep a jar of sambal next to your plate of nasi? This hot sauce will knock your favorite hot sauce off its throne in no time. At least, if you like cilantro.
Zhug is also known as skhug, s’chug, sahawiq, s’rug or zhoug, and is fresh and hot at the same time. People in Israel absolutely love it and prefer to put the spicy sauce on the table with every meal. Another great thing: it’s incredibly easy to make yourself.
Cilantro
Immigrants from Yemen brought the sauce to Israel, so zhug originally comes from Yemeni cuisine. You can vary this sauce in many ways when you make it entirely from scratch. For example, make the sauce extra spicy by adding more peppers, or less spicy by leaving them out. Want to add extra spices? That works too.
Get your mortar and pestle out of the cupboard to make this sauce, or use a stick blender or food processor. The hot sauce is made with garlic, parsley, green chili peppers and a generous dose of cilantro. Do you hate cilantro? Then you’d better stick to your favorite sambal or sriracha.
How to make it
Making it yourself? Put 3 cloves of garlic, 15 g cilantro, 25 g parsley, 2 green chili peppers and 50–75 ml olive oil, depending on how thick you want it, in the blender and chop finely. Using a mortar and pestle? Leave out the oil at first and grind everything finely, then add the oil and season with salt. The sauce is already incredibly flavorful on its own, but want more? You can also stir in ground cumin or ground cloves.
And while you’re at it, make a large batch right away. Zhug can be kept in the refrigerator for three to four weeks. Serve the sauce with vegetables, fish, meat or bread—in fact, with anything that needs a little extra heat.
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