On our last vacation to Trinidad and Tobago for carnival 2009, my sister had made reservations at the Hyatt Regency for our group to have breakfast. After all the amazing food we’ve been enjoying thus far on our trip, this day was going to be my BEST culinary experience on the island yet. Eddie my sister’s friend from Switzerland had spoiled us the past 4 days with amazing home-made dinners. Some of the best sauces I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Plus the street food we devoured every night after partying, were divine.
Back to the breakfast at the Hyatt… BTW if you’re ever in Port Of Spain, be sure to have breakfast here. Not only is the food and service tops, nothing beats dining steps away from the ocean. While on my prowl at the buffet I noticed a green sauce sitting all lonely in a corner of the “meat” section. Long story short.. it turned out to be a “shado beni” hot sauce that the chef made fresh on a daily basis. Yea, I even got our waiter to sneak me some to take home in a little disposable cappuccino cup. It was that good. That little green sauce that was so full of flavor and punch, added a new momentousness to plain scrambled eggs and sausage.
Here’s my version of this amazing Shado Beni hot sauce.
You’ll need….
1 bunch of shado beni (subsitute 1 bunch of cilantro)
1 lime
1 hot pepper (or as many as you can handle)
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of water.
3 cloves of garlic
Don’t be fooled by how simple this recipe is… it’s GUARANTEED to excite your taste buds.
Remove the skin from the garlic, slice and place in food processor. Cut and squeeze the lime juice in the processor, then add the salt, water and hot pepper. Now wash and rough cut the shado beni (or cilantro) and … place in food processor.
Final step is to puree the entire lot for about 3-4 minutes, stopping to push the ingredients down so everything gets worked.
That’s it, you’re done! Be sure to check for salt and heat level. If it’s not hot enough for you, simply add more peppers as necessary. STORAGE – Use fresh or place in a container in the refrigerator.
USE? Anywhere you usually use hot sauce on. Grilled meats, chicken wings, as a side on dishes, on your eggs in the morning (yum).. be creative!
Similar Recipes:
This sounds fantastic! I wasn’t familiar with shado beni, and now I want to try it. Thanks for the info.
lisaiscooking’s last blog post..Chilled Lemon Souffles
Sorry if this in the wrong place i couldn't figure out where else to comment,
Anyway I have many "pepper sauce" recipes but none say what kind of vinegar….white, apple cider, red wine, rice?????
Help, I'm looking for a certain taste my grandmother from Barbados used to get when she made Souse
This sauce sounds wonderful the way you described it, and I look forward to trying it. Not sure if I’ve seen shado beni around but will look for it.
OysterCulture’s last blog post..Waffles – honeycombs for flavor
@lisaiscooking remember you can also use cilantro, which is a bit less pungent but a great alternative.
@OysterCulture I got a couple emails asking for info so I posted “Shado Beni Explained” http://caribbeanpot.com/shado-beni-explained/ Hopefully it will give you and others a better idea of what it is.
Have a great weekend all!
Chris
Whooo sounds spicy. Bring it on!
The Duo Dishes’s last blog post..Daytime Street Food
Ha! Yeah man – my uncle Mikey used to make a mean shado beni – it goes the best with a nice pelau and some watercrest!
Elijah’s last blog post..20 Site Flips In 30 Days
@Elijah – that’s the stuff. Pelau is on today’s menu 9if I can find the time). Funny thing is when we were kids, we HATED watercress.. now I go out of my way to find it locally. That reminds me..I have to post my cucumber and watercress salad – with a spicy twist.
Ah boy! You making my mouth water here!
Cynthia’s last blog post..Salt to Taste
Yum!! Will give it a try
The Trinigourmet´s last blog ..Republic Day Menu 2009
Wow! Nice to have you here and commenting. BTW readers, this is one of the pioneers of Caribbean food blogging, so be sure to check out her site when you're looking for ideas on what to cook.
I know about the sause because I use it. Thanks anyway.
uuum hot i say
thanks for the tip.
this is great to spice the slice.
I love shadon beni I season all foods with it I even put some in my eggs on mornings. Shadon Beni give food a nice flavour yum yum.
i love this it looks hot
Thanks for all the wonderful comments.
happy cooking
chris…
Chris De La Rosa´s last blog ..The 2009 Ancaster Home Show.
i have done this all the time its nothing new but i do enjoy your style still bring them on thanks
Thank you all so much for coming up with this website!!! I am first generation American, born of Trinidadian parents. I want to show my children that we are not just Americans or even African-Americans but we are Caribbean-Americans! Our Sunday dinners,Thanksgivings and Christmas’ have a uniquely wonderful aroma and taste. I want to pass down the flavors of the Islands so that they can continue to pass it down to their children. Thanks for keepin we han’ sweet for generations to come!
Blessings and Love,Tamika K. Watkins
Thanks for leaving such a wonderful comments. i too try my best to share our culture with our kids, friends and now with as many people as I can with this blog. cheers.
Hi Chris,
This looks and sounds so hot and tasty. Thanks for sharing i plan to make it this week. God bless Latha
Let me know your thoughts when you make up a batch.
Hi thanks for reminding about this lovely hot sauce – I remember having this many years ago in Trinidad and my dad always uses it in his cooking!! As I live in the UK, its difficult to get hold of shadow beni however I use Coriander as a substitute and it tastes fabUlous!! Keep up the goood work!
Lovely substitute.. I use it quite often as well and there's always a patch in my herb box during the warm months.
This exactly my recipe for seasoning.
Hey Chris,
This sauce sounds very tasty and I can't wait to try it. Have you or anyone else made the garlic sauce found at Smokey and Bunty's or several other locations? It is so good and I'd like to smother it on everything I eat.
Thanks for all the great recipes.
I've had a couple requests lately for that sauce you're talking about so I'll try to get it posted soon. Seems that sauce is a HIT in trinidad and Tobago, as everywhere we go they have a version of their own
Chris,
When I had my Hot Sauce company in Puerto Rico some years back, one of my tastiest and least hot sauce was one similar to this, with the addition of some onion and papaya (green and ripe) with vinegar, which was great for marinating meat too, because of the papain in the green papaya. Good stuff. Keep up the good work. The love shows through.
I like the idea of using green papaya, it's something my uncle used to use in his as well. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
I am loving Caribbeanpot and the tasty recipes and photos provided. It a tremendous help in futher enhancing my culinary skills and delightful comments from those who have the pleasure to "taste my hand" as we say in the Caribbean. Thanks Chris.
Hey Chris, I'm really enjoying the recipes. I'm wondering if you have a recipe for doubles. I recemtly visitied my aunt in Trinidad, and had doubles from George's wife twice in the week I was there. I would love to try to make them – with all the condiments too.
BTW, when you say to use once bunch of shado beni, how much, in terms of a cup, is that? I'm growing some here, and it looks a lot smaller than what's in your picture. My leaves are only about 5 inches long, and 3/4 in wide. Thanks.