Schug (Zhug)
I discovered schug a little bit by accident. One of my foodie friends mentioned it once and I remember thinking, wait, what exactly is schug? Zhug? Shug? Honestly, I still don't fully know how to pronounce it properly.
At first glance, it kind of looks like a very aggressive coriander chutney. But then it's also garlicky, lemony, spicy, herbal, and somehow creamy at the same time because of the olive oil. So naturally I was interested.
I had saved a few schug recipes on Pinterest over the years but never actually got around to making one until one random day when I suddenly decided this was apparently the moment my life needed schug.
I found a recipe on Healthy-ish & Happy, which belongs to one of my favourite nutritionists. I do her Clean & 15 programme more or less once a year, or at least I try to. So I started there and then immediately adapted the recipe to Singapore reality. Meaning: bird's eye chilli instead of expensive serranos.
Also honestly, one recipe kept saying "half parsley, half cilantro" and I was sitting there wondering what exactly the practical difference was supposed to be. And also, who says cilantro? It's coriander.
This sauce is ridiculously addictive. Bright. Sharp. Spicy. Salty. Herbal. The olive oil makes it feel almost creamy without there being any actual cream involved. One time I accidentally added too much garlic and had to rescue the situation with more lemon juice, more salt, more olive oil, and eventually more coriander because everything had spiralled slightly out of control. But honestly that's kind of how schug works anyway.
And now this has become one of my favourite snack sauces. Good salt and vinegar chips dipped into schug? Absolutely elite.
Ingredients
- 4 green bird's eye chillies, roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic
- Large bunch coriander, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
- ⅓ cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
- Optional: small handful parsley if you happen to have it
Method
- Add the green chillies and garlic into a food processor and pulse a few times to break them down.
- Add the coriander, lemon juice, salt, oregano, cumin, ground coriander, and cardamom powder. Pulse again until everything is finely chopped but still textured. Do not blend it smooth.
- Scrape down the sides of the processor.
- With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the mixture becomes glossy and lightly emulsified.
- Taste and adjust: more lemon if flat, more salt if too sharp, more olive oil if the garlic or chilli feels too aggressive.
- Store in an airtight jar in the fridge.
If you want less heat, remove the chilli seeds before blending.
Good olive oil matters here because you can actually taste it.
If your schug accidentally becomes too garlicky, do not panic — more lemon juice, salt, olive oil, and coriander usually fixes it.
Coriander gives schug its fresh green backbone, while garlic and chilli give it sharpness and heat. The lemon juice keeps everything bright and alive, while olive oil smooths the edges and turns the whole thing into something more luxurious and rounded.
Cumin, coriander powder, oregano, and cardamom make the sauce feel earthy and warm underneath all the freshness. And importantly, this should not become a smooth green paste — schug is better with texture.
With basically anything that benefits from green spicy chaos: salt and vinegar chips, grilled chicken, roast vegetables, pita bread, yogurt dips, eggs, sandwiches, spooned over rice bowls, mixed into labneh.
Honestly though, chips are still one of the best vehicles for this.
I might try adding a tiny bit of mint one day just to see what happens. Or maybe toasted coriander seeds instead of ground coriander for extra texture.
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