Citizen Chef sauces
I’ve never been one to buy pre-made sauces. Okay, let me backpedal a moment. I think I have a jar of Trader Joe’s vodka sauce in my pantry that’s got to be several years old and should be tossed. I wanted to try it, but just never was able to wrap my mind around eating a manufactured sauce from a jar or container.
So, I was reluctant when the folks from Citizen Chef asked me to try their new cooking sauces, which are now sold in San Diego at Sprouts. What won me over—to agree to try them at least—was the concept behind the sauces: “empowering people to make healthier choices for their bodies and their families starting in the kitchen.” Their idea was to challenge the status quo of quick and convenient and provide sauces that were based on natural ingredients, had great flavor, and would help families eat well even in a hurry.
I have to admit that it had its appeal. This wasn’t going to be a case of foodstuff heavy in preservatives that you’d just shove into the microwave. What they call “fresh simmer sauces” are actually made with fresh ingredients and stocked in the market’s refrigerated section with a fairly quick expiration date. And, they require good, fresh proteins and vegetables for making a dish with them. You can use them as a sauce or a marinade, blend them with yogurt to make a dip, or whatever else you come up with. In other words, it’s an easy, flavorful assist to create a more fulsome, healthy meal or snack when pressed for time.
I tried three of the varieties and enjoyed them all, surprised by how clean the flavors are. In each case, I followed one of their very simple and adjustable recipes on the website. From slicing the veggies to sauteing, saucing, and serving, none took more than 10 minutes to make. In fact, the longest amount of time was spent cooking the brown rice for my stir fries (and that, of course, is passive cooking).
You can find Citizen Chef simmer sauces (Chipotle Adobo, Thai Coconut, Limone Garlic, Hawaiian Pineapple BBQ, Pan Asian Orange, and Parmesan Primavera) at Sprouts for $3.99 a container. And, if you only use part of the container, you can freeze the rest of the sauce.
Citizen Chef sauces
Chipotle Adobo
The website offers options like a fajita bowl, tacos, and chili. I went for the tacos. The sauce itself includes tomato puree, onion, honey, brown sugar, canola oil, garlic, masa, and chipotle puree. While it has a pop of flavor, it’s not hot (I’d have enjoyed some heat but many people have a problem with spicy foods so that could be a positive.). I had some skirt steak that I sliced up, along with a red bell pepper, onions, and mushrooms. They spent a couple of minutes in the pan with a bit of canola oil and once they were cooked, I added the sauce and turned off the heat. This is important because with sugar in the sauce, you don’t want to burn your pan just to combine the flavors. In another minute I had dinner.
Thai Coconut
This is a variety I was itching to try. I can’t resist a good coconut sauce and theirs was delightful. It includes coconut cream, roasted sesame seeds, tahini, ginger, sea salt, garlic, and lemongrass. I went with an easy stir fry using Chinese pea pods, onions, mushrooms, and sliced red peppers with shrimp over brown rice. Other options could be a chilled sesame noodle salad, skewers, summer rolls, or wraps.
Pan Asian Orange
This is a great citrusy stir fry sauce that incorporates orange juice, tamari, soy sauce, orange peel, rice vinegar, garlic, lemongrass, and black miso paste. I used the rest of my skirt steak for this, along with a host of veggies that I stir fried and ate as a meal over brown rice. But, it’s perfect to use as a marinade for skewers, to sauce chicken, tofu, or shrimp for lettuce wraps, or for a noodle salad.
