• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
✮ The Food Dictator ✮

The Hirshon Xcellent Yemeni Zhoug – سَحاوِق

December 28, 2014 by The Generalissimo 1 Comment

663
SHARES
FacebookTwitterPinterestRedditWhatsappYummly
Light Dark Dark Light
()
This picture of Zhoug is used under the Creative Commons License from the fascinating blog http://camelsfire.com/ covering food in the UAE
This picture of Zhoug is used under the Creative Commons License from camelsfire.com

Citizens! Zhoug (aka Zhug) is a magnificently fiery condiment originating in Yemen, a country of amazing antiquity (the original kingdom of the Queen of Sheba, BTW) and extraordinarily delicious cuisine.

Sadly, Yemenite cuisine is rarely known outside its home country, except in Israel (which became the home for the entire Yemenite Jewish community in a fascinating secret evacuation in 1949 called Operation Magic Carpet which brought all 49,000 of them to Israel).

As a result, Yemenite cuisine is enthusiastically enjoyed by Israelis today – and Zhoug has in fact become a national institution! You literally can’t order a street falafel without it and this deserves to be discovered here in the States and elsewhere.

There is no canonical recipe for Zhoug, which means there are thousands of different versions, all riffing off the same leitmotif of basic ingredients (typically Cilantro, garlic, hot peppers and oil). My version is – immodestly – the best I’ve ever tasted and my Israeli friends are in accordance.

My version of this recipe includes a small amount of mint which is only used by a fractional number of Yemeni from the southern part of the country, but which I find really enhances the taste. Omit if you choose, per the recipe. My version also includes classic Yemeni spices such as cumin, coriander and cardamom.

There is basically nothing that this condiment doesn’t improve – you can refer to it as “Yemeni Salsa” which is not an inaccurate description. Use it just as you would any salsa or spicy green sauce: on eggs, falafel, chips, slathered on meat or just eaten straight (as I do). 🙂

Yemeni cookbook authors Zion Levi and Hani Agabria write: “Spicy zhoug is a source of pride among the Yemenite population. Made with the sharpest of chili peppers, it is eaten with classically oriental Jewish meals.”

“More than just a condiment, zhoug is a tradition. Yemenites believe that daily consumption of zhoug wards off disease and strengthens the heart. It can be an addition to salads and a sauce for various kinds of meat, fish, and poultry dishes.”

Battle on – The Generalissimo

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon

The Hirshon Xcellent Yemeni Zhoug


★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

  • Total Time: 0 hours
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 cup of fresh Coriander, including stems
  • 2/3 cup of fresh parsley, including stems
  • 1/3 cup fresh mint leaves (or omit and use 1 cup parsley instead)
  • 7 (use more or less depending on your spice tolerance) Jalapenos, stem ends removed
  • 3 serranos, stemmed
  • 8 garlic cloves
  • 3/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
  • 2 teaspoons freshly ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons freshly ground coriander seeds
  • Seeds from 5 cardamom pods
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (add more if needed)
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper (add more if needed)
  • About 3 tablespoons of olive oil (add more if needed)
  • Fresh juice from 1/2 a small lime

Instructions

  1. Finely grind the cardamom pods and caraway seeds in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder, then sift to remove the husks.
  2. Grind all in a food processor to a paste – cover and store in the refrigerator.
  • Prep Time: 0 hours
  • Cook Time: 0 hours
  • Category: Recipes

Nutrition

  • Calories: 125.8 kcal
  • Sugar: 1.5 g
  • Sodium: 176.39 mg
  • Fat: 10.9 g
  • Saturated Fat: 1.49 g
  • Trans Fat: 0.0 g
  • Carbohydrates: 7.39 g
  • Fiber: 2.86 g
  • Protein: 1.78 g
  • Cholesterol: 0.0 mg

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @thefooddictator on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook and hashtag it #TFD

 

How useful was this post, Citizen?

Click to rate My Recipe, Citizen - 5 hearts are ALWAYS appreciated!

Average rating / 5. Vote count:

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

As you found this post useful...

Follow us on social media, Citizen!

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

Related posts:

Kyle Panton's Award-Winning Prince Edward Island Seafood Chowder
The Hirshon Palestinian Black Tahini Pie - فطيرة الطحينة السوداء
The Hirshon Clams Casino
The Hirshon Japanese Bamboo Shoots With Kinome and Miso - おちで木の芽和え
The Hirshon Costa Rican Christmas Tamales
‪The Hirshon Deviled Shrimp‬
The Hirshon Nepali Mint Leaf Achaar - पुदिना को अचार
The Hirshon El Salvadoran Pupusas

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: Condiments, Jewish

About The Generalissimo

The myth of the Generalissimo is far more interesting than the reality.

Previous Post: « The Herbfarm Chicken Le Cordon Bleu
Next Post: A Surreal Moment in Adkins, TX »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

Primary Sidebar

➤ Citizens – Please Support TFD Nation!

Donate to Help TFD!

⇔ Search, And Ye Shall Assuredly Find!

✮ Citizens ✮

TFD currently has a total of 1,365 posts and 1,162,744 words written since December of 2014! Add your voice to My 50,000+ dedicated readers, comment on My recipes and thus become an active member of TFD Nation! Looking for a particular recipe? Search for it in the box above or via the category tags below - there are THOUSANDS of the finest in world and historic recipes here!

❧ TREMBLE Before Our Categoric Zeal!

Appetizers (146)Beef (143)Beverages (24)Bread (112)Cheese (64)Chicken (132)Chinese (122)Chocolate (16)Condiments (262)Dessert (166)Drinks (23)Duck (20)Egg (47)Fish (56)French (56)Game (30)Georgian (34)Indian (60)Italian (58)Jewish (84)Lamb (73)Manifestos (1)Pasta (90)Pork (148)Salad (40)Sandwich (42)Seafood (84)Shrimp (53)Soup (110)Spices (12)Tofu (7)Turkey (15)Veal (18)Vegetables (108)

✺ Click to Follow Us Across Social Media!

Facebook   

    instagram

☥ TFD SPEAKS!!!

https://www.thefooddictator.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/TFD-Avatar-Cold-Open-FINAL.mp4

 Enjoy TFD’s Mellifluous Podcasts, Citizen!

Listen on Apple Podcasts

© 2023 · The Food Dictator is abjectly served by WORDPRESS

✮ The Food Dictator ✮
Manage Cookie Consent
Citizens!

Be advised that as an enlightened Dictatorship here at TFD, we are indeed on the side of right when it comes to protecting the privacy of TFD Nation!

We do use technologies such as cookies to store and/or access device information, solely to improve your browsing experience and to show personalized ads.

Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions - trust us, we really ARE on your side!

YOUR LOYALTY IS NOTED! 🎖️
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
663
SHARES
FacebookTwitterPinterestRedditMailYummly