Spirit / distilled white vinegar
A clear, sharp vinegar made by acetifying alcohol. Its restrained color and aroma suit pickles, sauces and dressings where darker or more aromatic vinegars would change the result.
Sauce chien (Antillean herb sauce)
Sauce chien · Sauce créole · Sauce chien antillaise · Sauce chien Guadeloupe · Sauce chien Martinique
Sauce chien is a fresh French Antillean sauce of chopped chives, parsley, garlic, shallot and hot pepper, steeped in hot water with oil and lime.
A fresh herb sauce for the grill
Sauce chien is a chopped, uncooked sauce from the French Antilles. Chives, parsley, garlic, onion, shallot and a hot pepper are cut fine, mixed with oil and lime, and loosened with hot water. It is spooned over grilled chicken, fish and pork, and served with plantain and steamed vegetables. The result is green, sharp and loose, not a paste or a cooked sauce.
Because the water is not boiling and the sauce is not cooked, the herbs keep their fresh flavour. The infusion draws the herb and garlic taste into the liquid over a few minutes.
Sources for this section
The name and what it does not prove
The source gives one explanation for the name: a brand of kitchen knife once used to chop the herbs, known as a chien knife. It presents this as a popular account rather than a documented fact. No historical source for where or when the sauce began is given, so the name should be read as a family story.
The sauce is presented as typical of the French Caribbean and as an inheritance passed between generations in Guadeloupe and Martinique, not as a dated invention.
Sources for this section
Antillean pepper and the herbs
The pepper in the traditional sauce is the Antillean pepper, a sweet, fragrant, fruity variety with little heat. Some cooks use a hotter pepper, and the Antillean pepper is hard to find outside the islands.
Chives are the characteristic herb. The source calls them Antillean chives, cive, and sets them with parsley, garlic and onion. Shallot is included in the same chop.
Sources for this section
Guadeloupe, Martinique and the family version
The source names Guadeloupe and Martinique together and does not separate their recipes. It says each family has its own version. Some add tomato, ginger or a little stock, and the source does not tie those additions to one island.
Sauce chien is served warm or lukewarm, just after infusion. Grilled foods, fish, lobster, acras and banana are its usual partners in the sources.
Sources for this section
History
The source presents sauce chien as typical of the French Caribbean islands and passed down through families. Its name is explained by a brand of kitchen knife once used to chop the herbs. The source does not document that explanation, and the origin of the sauce is not dated.
Ingredients
Scaling: source batch only
Chives (cive)Finely chopped. Antillean chives.
Amount not stated
No quantity given; the source says to taste.ParsleyFinely chopped.
Amount not stated
GarlicFinely chopped.
Amount not stated
OnionFinely chopped.
Amount not stated
ShallotFinely chopped.
Amount not stated
Antillean pepperFinely chopped. Fragrant and fruity; some families use the sweet pepper, which has little heat.
To taste.
Thyme (optional)
Amount not stated
Amount not stated
Vinegar (optional)
Amount not stated
Listed among the ingredients in the source but not in its method.OilSunflower or olive oil.
Amount not stated
Hot waterPoured over the chopped mixture, not boiling.
Amount not stated
Amount not stated
Amount not stated
Tomato (optional)
Amount not stated
Added in some versions, reported as the Martinique habit in one source.Method
- Finely chop the herbs, onion, garlic and pepper.
- Put the chopped ingredients in a bowl, salt and pepper them.
- Add the oil and the lime juice.
- Pour in hot, not boiling, water and mix well. This is the infusion step.
- Let it infuse for a few minutes before serving. The sauce is best warm, just after infusion.
Places
Guadeloupe
Traditional preparation · Region evidenceNamed by the source as a Guadeloupean sauce; the source does not give a date or a documented origin.
Martinique
Traditional preparation · Region evidenceNamed by the source with Guadeloupe. The source does not separate the two islands' recipes.
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Sources
Les Récoltes du MondeMethod · History · Culinary use · Variants
Sauce chien : origine, recette et usage de ce classique antillaisIngredients without quantities: chives, parsley, garlic, onion, shallot, Antillean pepper, lime juice, oil, hot water, salt, pepper; method: chop, mix with oil and lime, pour hot water, infuse a few minutes; name explained by a knife brand; family versions; served with grilled meats and fish
Cited in: A fresh herb sauce for the grill; The name and what it does not prove; Antillean pepper and the herbs; Guadeloupe, Martinique and the family version