Vegan Choron Sauce

Recipe 15 min plus 2 to 3 days fermenting timePreparation Time 10 minCooking Time

Vegan Choron Sauce

15 min plus 2 to 3 days fermenting timePreparation Time 10 min Cooking Time

About this Recipe

I’m really into condiments and sauces — they help to make use of a lot of the preserves and long-term projects that we’re always working on. Here’s a modernized (and vegan) version of sauce choron, essentially a Hollandaise or Béarnaise flavored with tomato. This goes really well with pan-roasted squash or green beans.

The Benefits

Rice is high in fiber, and tomatoes contain lycopene, a potent antioxidant. The addition of lemon and garlic boost the vitamin C and immunity support factor significantly, and this delicious sauce provides serious creamy comfort with no butter or egg.

Note: First, ferment the tomatoes (this takes 2 or 3 days). You want to use ripe tomatoes, but slightly overripe will work even better. We like to use the Japanese Momotaro tomato because of its lower acidity, which allows us more control to adjust with lemon juice. The cooked rice should be fully cooked but not mush, and rinse it well to remove as much starch as possible (otherwise, the purée will have a gummy texture).

Equipment: Digital scale

Ingredients

Makes 2¼ cups (520 g)

1¼ lb (565 g) tomatoes, cores removed
Salt
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp (20 g) olive oil
Scant 1/3 cup (50 g) cooked and rinsed jasmine rice
1 (10 g) large garlic clove, chopped
1½ Tbsp (5 g) chile flakes
Fresh lemon juice to taste

Directions

Step 1

Roughly chop the tomatoes. In a food processor, combine the tomatoes with 2% salt by their weight (e.g. 500 g tomatoes, 10 g salt). You should have 500g of tomato mixture.
Step 2

Allow the salted tomato mixture to sit at room temperature in a glass container, sealed, for 2 to 3 days. (Give it a stir once a day. Keep the sides on the inside of the jar as clean as possible; you can wipe the sides above the mixture with a paper towel dipped in vodka.) It should smell slightly funky and look a little active with bubbles dancing around.
Step 3

In a saucepan over medium heat, add the oil, rice, garlic, and chile flakes and cook until slightly caramelized, about 2 minutes.
Step 4

Add the tomato mixture and raise the heat to high. When the mixture comes to a boil, blend everything until smooth. Adjust the acidity with fresh lemon juice to taste, then cool and store in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to 1 week.