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Hogao (Colombian Creole Sauce)

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Hogao (colombian tomato-onion sauce)

Hogao is one of the most traditional Colombian seasoning sauces. We use Hogao as a base for many typical Colombian dishes or just as a dipping sauce for Pátacones, Platanitos and Yuca frita or just as a topping for arepas. I keep it refrigerated for up to 1 week.

In Colombia you will find different versions of this sauce. I prepare this hogao the way my grandmother taught me as indicated in this recipe.

Arepa Colombiana con Hogao

Hogao

Ingredients
(about 2 cups)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup chopped scallions
2 cups fresh chopped tomatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper

Directions

  1. Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the tomatoes, scallions, garlic, ground cumin and cook gently for 10 minutes, stirring until softened.
  2. Reduce the heat to low, add the salt and , cook for 10 minutes more, stirring occasionally until the sauce has thickened. Check and adjust the seasoning.

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This was printed from MyColombianRecipes.com

Comments

          • No worries…us Colombians have been called worse things than Columbians!!!after all, we have tough skin

          • In Colombia gringo is not an insult. It just means you’re from the US. They do not use it offensively.

          • Pffttt. “Gringo” isn’t racist . I’m “gringa” and use the term all the time. People from Colombia use it lovingly.

          • Dear None,

            Nice to hide behind a “None”, as ColOmibians, we can use Gringo in numerous ways, including colloquially , it is not necessarily insulting, perhaps you should understand the culture and the context, marico .. We use a lot of words colloquially. Perhaps stop being a snowflake.

          • As a gringo, I find your outrage over the use of the term “gringo” rather silly. It is not racist at all and is used by people from the United States quite commonly in Mexico to refer to themselves. As for the fine folks of Colombia, it is obvious that you have never been there in your life. They are some of the nicest, most hospitable people I have ever encountered in my 65 years. They might be racist about somethings but I never saw it. The certainly did not direct any hostility towards me or other gringos I met there.

          • Sort of a waste of time to be offended by what we colombians use often. My husband is a gringo and he doesn’t mind it at all. Chill out and worry about the virus. Do you even know where the term comes from?

          • no one asked you mate. Chill, you were on the wrong first, so lets all relax and cook some hogao. Enjoy your meal!

        • Still… It’s nice to see the lovely country of Colombia be referred to with its correct spelling. I just don’t understand why people should feel insulted when their mistakes are politely corrected. It’s kind of mind blowing that anyone wouldn’t want to continue being educated in this big world. Point out my mistakes…maybe I’ll learn something.

          Reply

          • yall are ridiculous lmao go outside and stop picking fights with people hiding behind a screen jesus

  2. Thanks for visiting me.. & am i glad to be in your blog!! u have a great place here with some traditional recipes. I have subscribed to your post feed.

    This sauce is very very similar to the basic curry sauce we make in India, same spices & done in the same was!! what a wonderful color!

    Reply

  5. I love hogao…it is my favorite Colombian sauce. I made it and serve it over arepa and patacones.

    Reply

  6. this turned out delicous and perfect, my Colombian husband thanks you! I have made several of your site’s recipes and all have turned out delicious, thank you for this great resource

    Reply

  7. I have found all my favorite foods on your site! I can’t thank you enough for posting these recipes. They are so easy to follow and I love the fact that you post pictures! That way I know what it is supposed to look like and I can pick up some garnishing tips as well. THANK YOU!

    Reply

  9. I am so glad to have found this blog! I have been married to a Colombian for 44 years. I am going to make your hogao and then bistec a la criolla~

    Reply

  10. My Columbian friends make a …I’m going to call it a dip or sauce…it’s green and served with yuca, rice and everything. Do you have any knowledge of this dish?

    Reply

  12. It really works 🙂 I couldn’t even remember what hogao was supposed to taste like, but after one taste it came back to me. I’m making sobrebarriga (what, no recipe here???) two days from now and we’ll see how this stuff works for real! If the sobrebarriga works, that is.

    Reply

  13. I made sobrebarriga to go with it, following Doris Lopez on youtube:

    youtube.com/watch?v=swlneSQ0qVM
    It came out pretty nicely considering I didn’t use fresh spices and did use brisket rather than flank steak. Flank steak is way too expensive to be simmered for three hours (what you need to do if you don’t have a pressure cooker). Pero seria poca cosa sin hogao!

    Reply

  14. I live in El Quindio Colombia it was time I made this side dish, I did ad bits of fresh carrots 1/2 cup 1/2 green pepper, I enjoy more using yellow midden onion chopped, 5 midden garlic heads chopped, the rest normal, well almost I did spice it up with hot red pepper powder, man this side came out better then others I’ve tasted here in almost 5 years, ENJOY!

    Reply

  15. can you make big batches and freeze? I have a garden and would love to make some using ur garden ingredients to can or freeze to use in the winter. Thank you so much for this great resource. My family is from Colombia but I am vegan but having these recipes will help me adapt (some) of these dishes for myself to honor my heritage!

    Reply

    • Hello,

      my Colombian husband and I are vegan, too. We live in Germany. For us it is very important to cook all these Colombian recipes in a vegan version! If you change some basics it´s very easy to cook vegan Colombian dishes! My husband loves my vegan Bandeja paisa, I never thought it would be possible, but you can do everything eccept the egg… I was thinking making my own blog about veganised Colombian recipes….

      Reply

      • Kathrin Pejic, if you ever get around to making that blog about vegan Colombian dishes, I would LOVE to know. Thank you!!

        Reply

  16. looking for a arepas filling recipe.it had capers garlic parsley . dont no what was in it iif anyone has a filling for arepas without meat or cheese. it was so so good.
    it was served as an appetizer.

    Reply

  18. Green sauce? In Venezuela we call it guasacaca. In PR, we make sofrito, which includes garlic, onions, bell peppers, cilantro, culantro, parsley, is the base of practically everything we eat, from soups to stews, and is also used as a marinade or adobo. I am doing the pork risotto today, while braving our latest storm (yes, I live in NYC . . . ).

    Reply

  19. I really would like to thank you for the recipes. My mother in law is the Colombian cook but she never gives me measurements and since I am not Colombian a lot of these recipes are foreign to me. I’m so glad your site is here to guide me. I enjoy cooking for my husband and especially enjoy when he tells me that the food tastes better than what his own mother makes. You are an excellent chef and my husband thanks you and your family for sharing the recipes of his childhood.

    Reply

  20. This looks wonderful, but am wondering why there is no corn listed in the ingredients when the picture clearly shows corn in the dish. Also, unless the tomatoes are of different colors there is something else in the dish not listed in the ingredients that is not red. Please explain, tysm

    Reply

    • Jodie, this is a great recipe and it’s very simple. There’s no corn listed because the recipe doesn’t call for it. The “corn” you see on the images are the seeds from the tomatoes. Hope this helps you! Best.

      Reply

  21. Just found your blog. Made this sauce for the patacones and I absolutely love the flavor the cumin adds to it. Muy rico!

    Reply

  22. My family is from Spain but I am married to an American Colombian who loves his food from home. Your blog has helped me cook the foods he loves and our children love as well…You are a life saver

    Reply

  26. Thanks Erica for yet another incredibly easy and wonderful recipe. So much flavour! My English husband asks for ‘rosa vieja’ all the time. We all love it.

    Reply

  29. HOGAO CASERO

    INGREDIENTES
    6 Tomates chonto maduros pelados y picados
    3 dientes de Ajo machacados
    10 tallos de Cebolla junca finamente picada
    3 cucharadas de Cilantro picado
    1 hoja de Laurel
    1/4 de cucharadita de Comino
    1 rama de Tomillo
    Color
    ¼ de taza Aceite de oliva
    ½ cubo Caldo de gallina
    Pique al gusto
    Sal y pimienta al gusto

    PREPARACIÓN
    Ponga el aceite a hervir y retire del fogón, agregue el ajo y deje reposar por un minuto, luego agregue todos los ingredientes menos el cilantro. A fuego medio y tapado déjelo cocinar hasta forme una salsa y retire. Agregue el cilantro

    Reply

  31. I was very excited to find this recipe. I recently developed an allergy to capsaicin (which is all peppers except for bell peppers) as an adult and was suddenly unable to eat most cuisines. This is a great substitute for salsas and other tomato based sauces I can no longer safely eat.

    Reply

  34. There are several versions of Hogao but this one is the closest to the original. Adding Thyme, Cilantro or any other spice or herb is a variation which could be part of a personal taste. I am from Colombia, lived in Switzerland and now in USA with my (American) and she has learned al the Colombian dishes I’ve tought her, like “Arroz con Coco” (Coconut Rice), “Cazuela de Mariscos Cartagenera” (Cartagena’s Sea Food Chowder ) and “Ajiaco Santafereño” (tipical chicken soup with Guasca leaves, corn, table cream and 3 different potatoes). My wife NEEDS Hogao PERMANENTLY at home. and I prepare it every week; I even keep some in the freezer (in covered ice cube trays) as it changes the flavor after some (maybe) 5-6 days in the normal fridge. We use it on Arepas, boiled Yuca, Fried Green (flattened -smashed) Plantains (“Patacón”). We use it over Avocado (de-li-cious), over boiled shrimps, over French Bread toasted slices, over Saltine crackers, steamed potatoes, fried fish, French Fries, fried Sweet Potatoes and fried/scrambled eggs!
    I have to admit that the recipe provided by Humberto in 2018 is more elaborate and is a valid variation and is also delicious, but the basic is this one, very simple and tasty. A final touch is the fresh chopped Cilantro at the end: Sublime.
    Thank you Erica for sharing and the good comments. This is about great cooking and great flavors, nothing else. (By the way, we love gringos in Colombia, my wife is always very excited to go because she says she feels the people is friendly, warm and respectful . The word in our culture is a kind way to express sincere affection for a friend. So…Erica… Keep up the good work, you are making our life more enjoyable, now even more with this Hogao!

    Reply

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