Salsa de ajo (Venezuelan garlic sauce)
Salsa de ajo is a creamy Venezuelan garlic sauce made from mayonnaise blended with fresh garlic, herbs, green onion and vinegar. It is served with empanadas, arepas and grilled meat.
Guasacaca
Wasakaka · Wasakaca · Venezuelan guasacaca
Guasacaca is a Venezuelan green sauce of avocado, herbs, sweet pepper and onion, sharpened with vinegar or lime. It is served with grilled meat, arepas and empanadas.
An avocado sauce from Venezuela
Guasacaca is a savoury green sauce from Venezuela. Its base is avocado, blended or mashed with herbs, sweet green pepper, onion and garlic, and sharpened with lime juice or vinegar. The result is thick and creamy when made smooth, and chunkier when the aromatics are only chopped. Wikipedia compares it with Mexican guacamole, though the PANNA article notes that the two share little beyond the avocado and the green colour.
Venezuelan cooks use it as a table sauce for grilled meats, for chicken, and for arepas and empanadas. The Wikipedia article says it is served over parrillas, the mixed grilled meats, as well as arepas and empanadas.
Sources for this section
Where the name and the sauce come from
The word is related to guacamole and to aguacate, the Spanish word for avocado. The PANNA article notes that the three may share an indigenous root, but that the sauce's true origin is described as a mystery. Other sources give a Quechua or Qhichua derivation for the name; this page does not confirm it.
Two theories have been put forward. Rafael Cartay links the sauce to the Congolese sauce kasaka, pointing to an Afro-Venezuelan line of descent. Miro Popic suggests the sauce began as a raw version of sofrito, with avocado added for creaminess. Neither theory is documented. The article also notes that some traditional Llanos versions used suero, whey, as a dip for grilled meats.
Sources for this section
Venezuelan and Dominican versions
Venezuelan guasacaca is avocado-based. The Dominican wasakaka, spelled the same way and pronounced the same, is a different sauce with no avocado. It is made from garlic, parsley, lime or sour orange juice, salt, pepper and olive oil, and is boiled with plenty of water until it reduces by about half. It is served with roasted chicken and boiled cassava.
Some writers connect the Dominican sauce to the Canary Islands mojo, which travelled to the Caribbean. The sources read do not settle that link, and this page records it only as a claim.
Sources for this section
Making it and keeping it
The sources agree on a shared core of onion, bell pepper, oil, vinegar and salt. Beyond that, avocado, cilantro, parsley and mayonnaise vary, and so does the texture, which may be coarse or smooth. Cooks who want a hotter sauce add a chilli or a little hot sauce.
The sources give no tested storage advice for guasacaca. Because it is an uncooked avocado sauce, it should be kept cold, and its colour darkens as the avocado oxidises. The source has no shelf-life figure, and this page gives none.
Sources for this section
History
The origin of guasacaca is unknown. The Wikipedia article gives Venezuela as its origin and records no historical account. The PANNA store article calls the origin a mystery and offers two untested theories: an Afro-Venezuelan link to the Congolese sauce kasaka, put forward by Rafael Cartay, and a raw form of sofrito with avocado added, put forward by Miro Popic.
Ingredients
Avocadoripe flesh
Amount not stated
variable in the sources; amount not statedAmount not stated
common to all versions; amount not statedGreen bell pepper
Amount not stated
common to all versions; amount not statedGarlic
amount not stated
Cilantro (optional)
Amount not stated
variable; amount not statedParsley (optional)
Amount not stated
variable; amount not statedChilli peppers (optional)
Amount not stated
a little hot sauce may stand in for jalapeño; amount not statedAjí dulce (optional)
Amount not stated
often included; amount not statedoil; amount not stated
Amount not stated
either; amount not statedWorcestershire sauce (optional)
Amount not stated
listed in one Venezuelan version; amount not statedMayonnaise (optional)
Amount not stated
variable in the sources; amount not statedto taste
Black pepper (optional)
to taste
Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
The sources give no tested preservation method or storage duration for guasacaca. Avocado darkens after cutting; the sources do not say how long the sauce keeps.
- Chop the onion, bell pepper, garlic and herbs finely, or blend them, depending on the texture wanted. Coarse and smooth versions both exist.
- Mash or blend the avocado with the aromatics, the oil and the acid, lime or vinegar, until the sauce has the texture chosen.
- Season with salt and pepper. Add hot sauce or chilli if a hotter sauce is wanted.
- Serve with grilled meat, chicken, arepas or empanadas.
Places
Venezuela
Traditional use · Country evidenceBoth sources place the sauce in Venezuela; neither gives a dated or local origin.
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Sources
WikipediaIdentity · Ingredients · Variants · Uses · Origin
GuasacacaSavoury sauce in Dominican and Venezuelan cuisine; also spelled wasakaka; often used with chicken.
Venezuelan ingredients: avocado, olive oil, salt, pepper, lime juice or vinegar, cilantro, parsley, green bell pepper, onion, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and chili peppers (Cotner, 2012).
Dominican version: lime or sour orange juice, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper and olive oil; boiled with water until reduced by about half; served with roasted chicken and boiled cassava (Allen, 2019; Dominican Cooking, 2021).
Venezuelan guasacaca served over parrillas, arepas and empanadas.
Cited in: An avocado sauce from Venezuela; Where the name and the sauce come from; Venezuelan and Dominican versions; Making it and keeping it
PANNA StoresOrigin · Ingredients · Uses
Guasacaca: The Soul of Venezuelan FlavorOrigin described as a mystery; Rafael Cartay's Afro-Venezuelan link to kasaka; Miro Popic's raw sofrito theory.
Common to all versions: onion, bell pepper, oil, vinegar and salt; often ají dulce; variable avocado, cilantro, parsley and mayonnaise.
Served with grilled meats, chicken, empanadas and arepas.
Cited in: An avocado sauce from Venezuela; Where the name and the sauce come from; Making it and keeping it