Lebanese garlic sauce or 'toum' as we call it, should be creamy, fluffy and zingy at the same time.
My niece loves Lebanese garlic sauce so much she makes her own garlic sauce sandwiches would you believe...and who can imagine a chicken shawarma sandwich that doesn't drip of garlic sauce -it's unnatural.
It was really difficult to find a garlic sauce recipe that didn't yield industrial amounts enough to feed the population of a small country, and seeing as it only lasts about 3 days you probably won't need that much unless you're having a barbecue.
I've adjusted this recipe to make a bowl of toum, enough for a big family to feed on.
There are a couple of ways to make toum which involve cornflour or even boiled potatoes!
However I like this one as its closest to restaurant style - creamy and fluffy.
Top tips
You have to be patient. Sloooooowly add alternating amounts of oil and lemon juice to the egg white. When the sauce comes together add a small ice cube at the end to make it nice and fluffy.
In Lebanon, we eat Toum mostly with chicken and not with meat which goes with more tahini based sauces.
Once I saw a famous chef on TV recommend garlic sauce with meat and I was like noooooo 😂
Even though most of the time I get my garlic sauce from my favourite Lebanese deli in Shepherds Bush, it is also handy to know how to make it yourself when you crave the perfect chicken sandwich at Who Knows O'clock.
Don't be scared about getting it wrong first time, in fact, the only way you will perfect it is if you get it wrong on the first few attempts and then you will master all that is garlicky and heavenly like a Boss 😎
📖 Recipe
Lebanese Garlic Sauce (Toum)
Ingredients
- 2-3 garlic cloves (frozen)
- a good pinch of salt
- 1 egg white
- ½ a lemon juiced
- 1 cup vegetable or sunflower oil
- 1 ice cube
Instructions
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Peel and freeze the garlic cloves at least 4 hours beforehand
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Once you are ready to make the toum, add the garlic, salt and egg white to a food processor and blitz well
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Keep the blender on medium and add ¼ of the oil and blend
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Then ever so slowly add alternating amounts of oil and lemon juice in a tiny steady stream
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When the mixture has come together, add an ice cube and blend for another 30 seconds or so until the mixture goes fluffy.
Recipe Video
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Joe
That’s incredible, I have tried it worked very well taste amazing👍
Nisreen
How many days toum recipe last in the fridge
Zaatar
It should last 3 days, and you can even freeze it and reuse later!
Z
I have to have garlic sauce in my house at all times !
Geoff
It worked perfectly 1st time and I only have a stick blender!, thank you so much, I was trying to recreate charcoal chicken with white sauce i used to get in Sydney, here in the sunshine coast its a bit of a desert when it comes to leanest food.
Geoff
Lebanese autocorrect sshh
Cynthia
This recipe went easy and it’s silky and fabulous!!!! I will continue make this going forward and loving it with hummus. Thank you soooo much
Adam
Amazing it worked especially when I put the ice in at the end!