How to Prepare a Sauce Chien (Dog Sauce)
Select, buy, or pick from the garden the vegetables, fruit, and herbs you'd like to use in your Sauce Chien., Set up your mise en place., Make the sauce when you're ready to serve., Dice or chop your vegetables, herbs, and fruit., Place these...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Select
When utilizing hot chiles (e.g. habaneros, jalapeños, Thai bird chiles, serranos, poblanos, chipotles etc., ) use caution and don't expose your hands or mucous membranes to the peppers; you'll want to wear gloves and wash your utensils and cutting board thoroughly after use. -
Step 2: or pick from the garden the vegetables
Make sure you've got on hand a cutting board, knife, gloves, boiling water, your clean vegetables and herbs, olive oil, bowl, vinegar, kosher salt, and pepper mill. , This is a quick-blanched sauce.
The boiling water will bring out the flavors of the herbs and spices, but it is not a cooked sauce.
Sauce Chien is best served freshly prepared, so make only as much as you think you'll need, serve immediately, and discard.
You can keep the raw ingredients refrigerated and make again just by mixing together and adding boiling water to serve. , You'll want an avocado, peeled English cucumber, red or orange pepper, red onion, cilantro, purple basil, Thai basil, flat leaf parsley (any combination of leafy herbs will do), garlic, scallions or chives, red pepper, and a tropical fruit- like mango, papaya or pineapple. , Add your favorite chiles, halved. (habanero will be spicy, jalapeños less so).
Use your favorite.
Removing the seeds is optional- seeds will make the sauce MUCH hotter.
Add the hot chiles conservatively, rendering the dish as spicy as you'd like it.
You may remove the chiles just before serving to impart heat to the sauce, but avoid an unsuspecting guest biting into an unwanted fiery mouthful. , Add a sprig of fresh thyme.
Cover the mixture with fresh lime juice (or lemon) and add a few splashes of vinegar.
Add a couple tablespoons of olive oil.
Add Kosher salt to taste.
Adding fresh ground black pepper is optional.
Mix ingredients and let the flavors meld until ready to serve. , Just before serving, pour a few tablespoons of boiling water to the sauce.
Stir.
Once the mixture begins to cool, remove the sprig of thyme and, if you'd like, the hot chili peppers. , Serve room temperature or slightly warm, with a slotted spoon.
If the sauce is too liquid, pour off a bit of the water and serve with a little extra lime juice and vinegar. , Sauce Chien is especially great with grilled or roasted whole fish, served outside in hot weather.
A drink containing an acid, like a margarita, lemonade, or yoghurt smoothie will act as a heat buster.
A chilled ice or granita as an intermezzo will prepare your guests' palates for the next course.
Enjoy! -
Step 3: and herbs you'd like to use in your Sauce Chien.
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Step 4: Set up your mise en place.
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Step 5: Make the sauce when you're ready to serve.
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Step 6: Dice or chop your vegetables
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Step 7: and fruit.
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Step 8: Place these ingredients in a large kitchen bowl.
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Step 9: Throw in some more flavor.
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Step 10: Add heat at the last minute.
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Step 11: Place into a sauce bowl.
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Step 12: Serve and enjoy.
Detailed Guide
When utilizing hot chiles (e.g. habaneros, jalapeños, Thai bird chiles, serranos, poblanos, chipotles etc., ) use caution and don't expose your hands or mucous membranes to the peppers; you'll want to wear gloves and wash your utensils and cutting board thoroughly after use.
Make sure you've got on hand a cutting board, knife, gloves, boiling water, your clean vegetables and herbs, olive oil, bowl, vinegar, kosher salt, and pepper mill. , This is a quick-blanched sauce.
The boiling water will bring out the flavors of the herbs and spices, but it is not a cooked sauce.
Sauce Chien is best served freshly prepared, so make only as much as you think you'll need, serve immediately, and discard.
You can keep the raw ingredients refrigerated and make again just by mixing together and adding boiling water to serve. , You'll want an avocado, peeled English cucumber, red or orange pepper, red onion, cilantro, purple basil, Thai basil, flat leaf parsley (any combination of leafy herbs will do), garlic, scallions or chives, red pepper, and a tropical fruit- like mango, papaya or pineapple. , Add your favorite chiles, halved. (habanero will be spicy, jalapeños less so).
Use your favorite.
Removing the seeds is optional- seeds will make the sauce MUCH hotter.
Add the hot chiles conservatively, rendering the dish as spicy as you'd like it.
You may remove the chiles just before serving to impart heat to the sauce, but avoid an unsuspecting guest biting into an unwanted fiery mouthful. , Add a sprig of fresh thyme.
Cover the mixture with fresh lime juice (or lemon) and add a few splashes of vinegar.
Add a couple tablespoons of olive oil.
Add Kosher salt to taste.
Adding fresh ground black pepper is optional.
Mix ingredients and let the flavors meld until ready to serve. , Just before serving, pour a few tablespoons of boiling water to the sauce.
Stir.
Once the mixture begins to cool, remove the sprig of thyme and, if you'd like, the hot chili peppers. , Serve room temperature or slightly warm, with a slotted spoon.
If the sauce is too liquid, pour off a bit of the water and serve with a little extra lime juice and vinegar. , Sauce Chien is especially great with grilled or roasted whole fish, served outside in hot weather.
A drink containing an acid, like a margarita, lemonade, or yoghurt smoothie will act as a heat buster.
A chilled ice or granita as an intermezzo will prepare your guests' palates for the next course.
Enjoy!
About the Author
Debra Burns
Brings years of experience writing about cooking and related subjects.
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