Help the panicked chef complete the recipe instructions before the food burns! Choose the correct word to fill in the blank.

First, ___ the garlic and onions until they are golden brown.

The correct answer is sauté.

When giving instructions (like in a recipe) or commands, we use the imperative form of the verb. The imperative is simply the base form of the verb without a subject (e.g., "sauté", "chop", "stir").