What to use instead of cilantro
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
Advertisement
Fresh herb thrown on at the end
Its aroma compounds are volatile and heat destroys them within seconds, which is why it goes on after the pan is off the flame.
Flat-leaf parsleyRan out
1:1
Green and clean with none of the soapy citrus edge. Fine in a curry, obviously missing in a salsa.
Parsley + lime juice + a pinch of ground corianderRan out
1 cup parsley + 1 tsp lime juice + 1/4 tsp ground coriander per 1 cup cilantro
Gets closer than parsley alone. Still no perfume, so add it right before serving.
Culantro, sliced fineRan out
1 tsp per 1 tbsp cilantro
Far stronger and grassier, and unlike cilantro it survives being cooked. Standard through the Caribbean.
Thai basilRan out
1:1
Anise and mint instead of citrus. Right on a Vietnamese noodle bowl, wrong in pico de gallo.
What doesn't work: Dried cilantro. Drying destroys the aldehydes that make it taste like cilantro, so what is left is green flakes that taste faintly of hay.
Bulk herb blended into a sauce
In aji verde or a green chutney the herb is the body of the sauce, so you need volume and it has to blend without turning bitter.
Flat-leaf parsleyRan out
1:1 by volume, plus 1 extra tbsp lime juice per cup
Duller and flatter, and the sauce is a darker green. The extra acid is doing the lifting.
Half parsley, half mintRan out
1:1 for the total volume
Cooler and sharper. Works in an Indian chutney, tastes wrong in a Peruvian aji.
Parsley + lime zestRan out
1 cup parsley + 1/2 tsp lime zest
The zest oils cover for the missing perfume better than juice does. Zest finely or it goes bitter.
What doesn't work: Ground coriander seed standing in for the leaf. Same plant, but the seed is warm and citrus-woody with no green at all, so the chutney comes out tasting like a spice paste.
Cilantro stems carry more flavour than the leaves and blend smooth, so put them in the sauce rather than the bin.