Red Schug Recipe
VERSION 20250129EG1
I made it. It is killer hot and the flavors of the cumin, garlic, and cilantro come through very well!!
Note: This is a recipe, not a formula. A formula is exact, and dry products are weighed, not measured.
This removes the air volume and guarantees a consistent result. However, for small quantities it doesn't
really matter.
INGREDIENTS
- 1/4 lb crushed red peppers. I used Loma Vista Pequin Crush (Dried Chili Powder and Seeds), 6 Ounces, $8 at Amazon. I only used 1/4 of the bag or about 1.5oz which is 1/3 of the recommended amount. The determinant factor is the heat, and after finger-tasting one seed I knew it was going to be a killer so I went light here.
- 5-6 cloves of fresh peeled garlic.
- 1/2 cup of cilantro packed up. Here is where weighing it might make sense, but the amount of water in fresh cilantro is undefined so the measuring cup works.
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp finely-ground (powdered) cumin.
- 3-4 tbsp of good olive oil. I ended up using another 2 tbsp (so 6 tbsp total) and a bit of water so that the Magic Bullet could get the mix to spin, so it could chop the garlic and cilantro.
INSTRUCTIONS
- PREP
- Put the chilis in a bowl and cover with warm water. Let sit for at least 30 minutes. I gave it 90 minutes and watched the water level drop as it was absorbed.
- Cut the garlic cloves in half.
- Rinse, dry, and remove cilantro stems.
- Strain the chilis and remove as much water as you can. I used a paper towel to press it into a mash into the strainer, and then left it in the sink to let more water drip out for an hour.
- TURN IT INTO PASTE
- Throw it all in a food processor or Ninja or Magic Bullet. Shake violently if it's the latter two because their smaller size means less knife surface to agitate the paste.
- Pulse until it looks like zchug.

Red Zchug Recipe by Ehud Gavron is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.