The Best Ingredients That Go With Cilantro

Step aside Hawiian pizza, for today the title of most divisive food firmly falls to cilantro. This leafy, green herb, which is commonly referred to as coriander or Chinese parsley (via Britannica), is about as polarizing as foods come. This impasse is thought to be partly attributable to genetic differences in the human population. If you count yourself amongst these unlucky few who eat cilantro and taste soap, fear not — you are in the esteemed company of many prominent chefs, Julia Child included (per Britannica). However, you may want to brace yourself before reading the rest of this article.

As reported by The Guardian, cilantro's popularity in the United States is booming. This upward trend has come as a result of numerous reasons. Among these is the growth of Mexican and Asian cuisines, both of which utilize the herb heavily from breakfast to dinner (via The Independent). Celebrity chefs and their shows have also been a driver of cilantro's popularity, a fact that shouldn't be surprising, given cooking shows' long-standing ability to influence our own culinary practices (via The Guardian).

Yet another aspect of cilantro's rise to prominence is its versatility. Cilantro's slightly citrus flavor, balanced by an inherent pepperiness, ensures the herb can be used across courses and cuisines (per Gardening Etc). In this article, we look to celebrate that versatility by providing you with a range of ingredients — some well-established and some not — to pair with this fantastic herb.

As previously mentioned, cilantro is a key ingredient in Mexican cuisine. It should therefore come as no surprise that the green herb compliments that other stalwart of Mexican cooking: corn. The importance of corn to Mexico cannot be understated. It is both an ingredient and emblem, a symbol and a staple (per Cultural Survival). The marriage of these two ingredients, one developed by Indigenous meso-American societies (via Britannica) and the other brought to the continent by Spanish colonizers (per Gourmet), reflects not only a culinary milestone, but also a record of Mexico's socio-cultural history.

Gastronomically, corn — which is often roasted to release its nutty flavor (per The New York Times) — is a natural vessel for the light, citrusy tang of cilantro. This pairing can be tasted in some of Mexico's most iconic dishes such as tacos and elotes. The former has become widely consumed in the United States, with 77% of Americans eating tacos (per Top). Yet, not everyone north of the border enjoys the cilantro-corn combination, and cilantro's propagation into Tex-Mex dishes has been met with some staunch resistance, as demonstrated by a disgruntled letter written by a reader of Texas Monthly.

Just as it is used to complement heat, cilantro can also be used in conjunction with cooling dishes, such as raita. The blend of cilantro and yogurt lends a delicate flavor to the dip, adding another dimension to your plate. The prominence of cilantro in raita and other aspects of Indian cooking has led to production of the crop booming within the country. As explained to the BBC by Dr. Bhopal Singh Tomar, a leading academic at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute "Forty years ago, it was a seasonal crop in India and was available only in the winters and was sold mostly in the cities. But today, coriander is grown throughout the year from imported seeds, and millions of Indians grow it in their own kitchen gardens."

Indeed, yogurt and cilantro prove such a popular combination that variations on the raita are now being found in the United States, topping bison burgers in St. Louis and alongside New York City's finest cauliflower steaks. The latter being cooked by James Beard winner John Doherty (per Broadway World) would suggest that this pairing may offer a new lease of gastronomic life for cilantro in the west.

Despite its exceedingly leafy appearance and the marked absence of any orange, cilantro is actually part of a surprising taxonomic family. As explained by British restauranter Mark Sargeant to The Independent, cilantro is part of the Apiaceae family, more commonly known as the carrot family. It should come as little surprise, then, that carrot and cilantro form a classic combination. This pairing is often seen in the form of soup, a warming winter dish favored by chefs such as Michael Caines (via The Guardian). 

Whilst this flavor combination is often associated with warming soups and hearty stews (per Tablet Magazine), there are many who have created fine dining dishes utilizing these two humble ingredients. Chief among these is Casa Velha, a Michelin-recommended Portuguese restaurant, which showcases red mullet alongside this tried and tested combination (per Portugal Resident). Some chefs, such as Lucía Freitas, are going even further. By combining carrot leaves — which are often known as fronds — with cilantro and other herbs, she surprises customers with a recognizable flavor combination, albeit in an unfamiliar manner (per the BBC).

Perhaps the most infamous combination of cilantro and chicken comes from a dish of mysterious origin. Chicken tikka masala is a highly popular curry, and has been dubbed Britain's unofficial national dish (per Culture Trip). In this dish, the chicken is pre-cooked either by grilling or cooking in a tandoor (via BBC Good Food) before being added to a mild, creamy sauce which usually features dried cilantro. A fresh cilantro garnish is often added to finish.

The cilantro works so well in this dish, as well as in a variety of chicken recipes, because of the herb's inherent citrus flavor. This cuts through the rich creamy sauces chicken is frequently served in, and naturally compliments the gentle flavor of the meat (per Market House). When pairing cilantro with more flavorful meats like beef, the herb can often struggle to bring its full flavor to bear. In these instances, it is better to combine the herb with some other strong-tasting ingredients, creating powerful condiments such as this chimichurri from Cecilia Ryu.

It is fair to say that eminent chef and food writer Yotam Ottolenghi is a gastronomic icon, and has been a standard bearer for many ingredients over the past decades. During this time, Ottolenghi and his team have almost single-handedly brought ingredients such as tahini to popularity, along with an increased global respect for food from the Middle East in general (per Eater). Falafel, a dish that originated in Egypt (via The Guardian) has been one such beneficiary of the so-called Ottolenghi effect, rising to a position of prominence in Western countries. Falafel from Israel, where Ottolenghi was raised, is nearly always made with chickpeas. However, falafel from Arab countries traditionally uses broad beans (per Culture Trip). 

Cilantro is used extremely frequently in both types of falafels. Indeed, the recipes from Ottolenghi, Sami Tamimi, Sharon Salloum, and Anisa Helou all call for the inclusion of the herb (via The Guardian). However, the heavy use of cilantro's aromatic notes alongside the flavor of rich, earthy broad beans, led The Guardian to declare Egypt as the world's best producer of falafel, consequently cementing the partnership of cilantro and broad bean.

In much the same manner cilantro is suited to shrimp, the delicately sweet flavors of sashimi-grade raw fish match extremely well with the citrus-flavored herb. South America's utilization of raw fish most commonly takes the form of ceviche. Far removed from sushi, ceviche packs a powerful punch thanks to leche de tigre — a Peruvian marinade (per Saveur) — and lashings of cilantro. This fact is attested to by the herb's inclusion in the ceviches of both Jose Victoro Alarcon, a Peruvian chef who has firmly established himself in Baltimore (via Baltimore Magazine) and Eduardo Rodriguez, the chef of high-flying restaurant Zacatlán (per Albuquerque Journal). 

The fact that traditional, well-respected versions of ceviche feature cilantro isn't unexpected. It is, after all, Peruvian cuisine's most used herb (via Lima Easy). Much like Mexican cuisine, cilantro use in Peru is often typified as occurring solely as a garnish. However, this is simply not the case. Cilantro plays an integral role in not only in ceviche, but also in Seco de Carne, a traditional Peruvian stew (via Eat Peru).

Keen to impress or improve, many cooks include a multitude of herbs in their dishes, supercharging the flavor in what becomes a balancing act of ever-increasing complexity. This high-stakes game, whilst not without risk, promises a huge return if executed correctly. This is attested to by the unlikely combination of two versatile yet flavorful herbs: cilantro and mint. A combination loved by internationally renowned chefs such as Yotam Ottolenghi (per The New York Times), cilantro and mint can be used to make flavor-elevating chutneys (via Jaime Oliver) or form part of moreish salads such as the crispy rice salad served at the North Hollywood Thai culinary institution Sri Siam Cafe.

This dish, noted as the precursor to Los Angeles restaurant Night + Market's wildly popular version (via The Infatuation), utilizes the full range of both herbs, resulting in a dish which crackles with energy. This is partially thanks to a Thai culinary practice where cilantro roots are used to impart a taste that differs slightly from the leaves and upper part of the stem (per Serious Eats).