Hi Everyone,
The herb chadon beni is to Trini cuisine what that special fine thyme is to Guyanese cuisine – ever present, a favourite and a signature flavour. Chadon beni, also known as culantro and saw grass herb is the type of herb that can be chopped and eaten raw, combined with other herbs and aromatics to make green seasoning, and it can also be pureed into a sauce to be used as a condiment. It is as a sauce that I find chadon beni most delicious.
Chadon beni is not widely available here in Barbados and when it is available, you have to get to the market early to buy it from the vendors that grow the herb. I buy several bundles to make chadon beni sauce – simple, easy and quick to prepare. Later in the day, generous spoonsful of the sauce are spread over my food. Yum, yum, yum! I even find myself mimicking a Trini accent to accentuate the love and enjoyment of the chadon beni sauce.
Chadon beni, garlic, hot pepper, salt, a little lime juice and some water is all you need to create chadon beni sauce, which is sometimes referred to as a chutney. In Trinidad and Tobago, it is a must-have with Bake ‘n Shark. Actually, the sauce/chutney is widely used just as how we’d use pepper sauce or achar. Unlike pepper sauce and ahcar, chadon beni sauce is a fresh sauce (not cooked) and needs to be consumed in a short time span. Refrigerated and accessed only with clean utensils, the sauce can last for a week. The sauce that you would buy in a store or supermarket has been preserved in some way to ensure a longer shelf life.
Chadon beni (culantro) should not be confused with cilantro (aka coriander), while the flavour profiles are similar they are very different herbs. Chadon beni is firmer and has a more pronounced taste. It should be used judiciously or it will overwhelm the taste of your food. Cilantro on the other hand is rather tender and less intense in flavour. While chadon beni is the type of herb that you can add to your cooking from the inception, cilantro is best used at the end due to its delicacy. Or, use it at the beginning and at the end of your cooking to perk up the flavour. It is the same rule of thumb advised when cooking with fresh basil. Cilantro can be used in place of chadon beni, however, you would have to use more (cilantro) and while you will get close to the flavour, it will not be exactly the same as the flavour notes differ. A final difference – the flavour of chadon beni lies in its serrated long leaves; the true flavour of cilantro lies in its stems and roots.
Before I go on to give you a guide to making your own chadon beni sauce, here are some ways in which this condiment can be used.
Spooned over cooked eggs: poached, over easy, sunny side up.
As a dip for French Fries, tostones, plantain chips, cassava fries etc.
As a dip for fish cakes, accras and other seafood and vegetable fritters.
As a condiment with grilled seafood or meats and vegetables.
As a condiment with fried seafood, particularly fish and shrimp.
As a condiment with sandwiches and burgers.
As a chutney with dhal and rice along with sautéed vegetables.
As a chutney with sadha roti for breakfast, lunch or dinner
See how versatile the chadon beni sauce is? I even had it one day with Black Pudding and it was good! Here’s how to make it. The recipe is not exacting, make it to suit your taste – as hot as you like, as tart
as you like.
Special equipment: Jug blender
INGREDIENTS
2 – 3 large cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
24 – 30 chadon beni leaves, chopped
Chopped hot pepper, to taste
Juice of 1 lime (or to taste)
Water
Salt to taste
DIRECTIONS
Add the garlic first to the blender, followed by the chadon beni, hot pepper, lime juice and 4 tablespoons water. Cover and pulse to blend up the ingredients. You will need to open the blender a couple of times to scrape down the sides of the blender and add water (by the tablespoon) to get the sauce-like consistency.
Pulse until all the ingredients are pureed. Open the cover of the blender and add salt to taste; cover and pulse to mix in salt, taste and adjust (with salt and or lime juice to suit your taste).
Transfer the mixture to a bowl, cover let stand for 10 – 15 minutes (or longer) for the flavours to mingle. If not using the same day, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate.
Cynthia
