What's your favorite Russian Food?

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

Actually, my 44 kg fiancée would tell you this is actually why she's never had a weight problem! Good healthy useful Russian food and no American junk food!

I love all the Russian food that I have tried so far. I must agree Russian food is not a good chioce when you want to watch your weight.

I love Kharcho although it is originally Armenian. When I make it at home, I cook extra spicey with Korean touch. (I'm Korean and my husband is Russian) Also, I love Cabbage with spicy salami which I cannot remember the name in Russian. Anything with Beet, I love it!!

I mostly cook, or try to cook, Russian food from the Russian cook book, or recipe of Russian websites.

Whenever we go to Brooklyn to my in-laws, any food there is great to me! I love Brooklyn Russin food!!

[visaveteran1 33]

I think the fact that Russian women walk everywhere and don't as a rule eat at restaurants helps keep them in shape. And there are those stairs. I once stayed in a flat on the FIFTH FLOOR with no elevator. Two or three times a day we went down and up those stairs. Great exercise! Especially with bags of food and big jugs of water!

[NYGirl 0]

fried pelmeni are awesome

if you fry them, you should make them so fried that they are crispy!!!

about mayo and ketchup or soy on them, i have never heard about that and......it must be only now that Former SU has ketchup or soy, never been there before.

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

I still feel the pain of our eighth floor flat! Lift was constantly breaking whenever Alla & I returned from shopping with 8 bags of food! And, of course, I did all the carrying as she is "not a horse!"

I think the fact that Russian women walk everywhere and don't as a rule eat at restaurants helps keep them in shape. And there are those stairs. I once stayed in a flat on the FIFTH FLOOR with no elevator. Two or three times a day we went down and up those stairs. Great exercise! Especially with bags of food and big jugs of water!

[mox 298]

And, of course, I did all the carrying as she is "not a horse!"

Have to agree with her. I've seen her picture. She's definitely not a horse.

Nadya's apartment was on the 12th story, there was no lift in the building, and we had to walk up the stairs (even when leaving the building--there were no "down" stairs), through the snow, over the constatine wire, and had to fight off wild dogs who would eat our groceries so we'd have to go shopping again. And that's when she lived in the upscale apartment.

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

Looks can be deceiving, though. Remember the story I told about her tossing her 100 kilo former husband? There is a lot of power in that little package!

And, of course, I did all the carrying as she is "not a horse!"

Have to agree with her. I've seen her picture. She's definitely not a horse.

Nadya's apartment was on the 12th story, there was no lift in the building, and we had to walk up the stairs (even when leaving the building--there were no "down" stairs), through the snow, over the constatine wire, and had to fight off wild dogs who would eat our groceries so we'd have to go shopping again. And that's when she lived in the upscale apartment.

[Okiebollweevil 0]

Agree wholehearedly, but to really appreciate the culinary possiilities of Tabasco you must visit Avery Island, La. and purchase General McIllheney's recipe book for Tabasco. The first thing that hits you on Avery Island is the pungent aroma of Tabasco, your eyes water, you sneeze, and think you have died and gone to heaven.

Whatta you do, work there? Sounds like the promotional video or something.

(Can't wait to go someday! My pastor gave a sermon on Tabasco some 15 years ago, and since then, Avery Island, La. has been on my "to do" list.)

And as far as really appreciating the culinary possibilities of Tabasco, I've eaten many a meal in a foxhole and the only thing making all of them "culinary" was the sweet smell of Avery Island.

There's kind of a running joke around the military when civilians ask what MREs (military food in pouches) taste like, there's only one answer even though there are several different kinds of meals.

"They all taste like Tabasco."

The urban legend is that some Tabasco company exec. a long time ago petitioned the DoD to put the little bottles of Tabasco in the MREs, for FREE! Seems they have a whole dept. that strictly bottles Tabasco in little tiny single-serving bottles strictly for military use. I don't know if the backstory is true, but I can confirm they're in there. And I'm glad they are! Thank you Mr. Tabasco company exec.

I am not a rep. for the company but have enjoyed morning eggs cooked any way with tabasco for 45 years, even melted butter with tabasco and poured on popcorn. Haven't got up to tabasco on ice cream though. Went to grad school at Tulane. Classmate was a McIllheny descendant and got me a tour. Olafactory overload. I think Marine General McIllheny fought on Guadacanal, and instituted the Tabasco in K-Rats (dates me doesn't it no new fangled MREs back in the day) for Korea in teeny tiny bottles, perhaps even in OD. Write the family a letter thanking them and your desire to do so in person, you'll probably get an invite to the plant, and lunch at the company store. if you have never been to cajun country bring an appetite. You can google search General McIllheney, think his first name was Walter. He lived on Avery Island after service retirement, and was a big game hunter in his spare time. There is a book out on him, and if you read historical fiction, WEB Griffin's series of novels on the Marine Corps gives some mention to him. And Tabasco is sold in Russia at my wife's neighborhood store, all the comforts of home except warm weather.

[slim 1,514]

and pizza hut is much higher in quality there than in the US.

Pizza Hut in Russia is "fine dining" and a pretty upscale place. (Not the jacket required type, but pretty good... and expensive!)

I cook extra spicey with Korean touch. (I'm Korean and my husband is Russian)

Anyong. Bulgogi gua kimchi ga mogoshipoyo! Han shik oochin lyublu!

Your home probably sounds a little like ours. We met in Korea and both lived there for a few years each so even though the majority of our conversations are in English, there's several times a day when there's a RussEngKoreRuss sentence used. There are just too many "perfect" words from each language.

Isso/Opso cannot be duplicated in any other language. And I believe Han shik has saved our marriage more than once!

Welcome to the Russia forum. Hope to see you here more often.

Actually, my 44 kg fiancée would tell you this is actually why she's never had a weight problem! Good healthy useful Russian food and no American junk food!

So the dancing and chasing kids around has absolutely nothing to do with it?

Nadya's apartment was on the 12th story, there was no lift in the building, and we had to walk up the stairs (even when leaving the building--there were no "down" stairs), through the snow, over the constatine wire, and had to fight off wild dogs who would eat our groceries so we'd have to go shopping again. And that's when she lived in the upscale apartment.

I think I stayed in that apartment's brother in Moscow. There was a lift in this building but it was more of a cruel joke than an actual lift.

I am not a rep. for the company but have enjoyed morning eggs cooked any way with tabasco for 45 years, even melted butter with tabasco and poured on popcorn. Haven't got up to tabasco on ice cream though. Went to grad school at Tulane. Classmate was a McIllheny descendant and got me a tour. Olafactory overload. I think Marine General McIllheny fought on Guadacanal, and instituted the Tabasco in K-Rats (dates me doesn't it no new fangled MREs back in the day) for Korea in teeny tiny bottles, perhaps even in OD. Write the family a letter thanking them and your desire to do so in person, you'll probably get an invite to the plant, and lunch at the company store. if you have never been to cajun country bring an appetite. You can google search General McIllheney, think his first name was Walter. He lived on Avery Island after service retirement, and was a big game hunter in his spare time. There is a book out on him, and if you read historical fiction, WEB Griffin's series of novels on the Marine Corps gives some mention to him. And Tabasco is sold in Russia at my wife's neighborhood store, all the comforts of home except warm weather.

Yet another addition to the story of how the sauce got into the rations. Some day I'm going to have to really get to the bottom of this. (I hope I'm on an island in LA when I do. Cajun country sure has some good eatin!)

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

According to her, no. Her opinion is the healthy food is responsible for her weight while the dancing and chasing are responsible for her sporty form.

Actually, my 44 kg fiancée would tell you this is actually why she's never had a weight problem! Good healthy useful Russian food and no American junk food!

So the dancing and chasing kids around has absolutely nothing to do with it?

[pianojangee 0]

Anyong. Bulgogi gua kimchi ga mogoshipoyo! Han shik oochin lyublu!

Your home probably sounds a little like ours. We met in Korea and both lived there for a few years each so even though the majority of our conversations are in English, there's several times a day when there's a RussEngKoreRuss sentence used. There are just too many "perfect" words from each language.

Isso/Opso cannot be duplicated in any other language. And I believe Han shik has saved our marriage more than once!

Welcome to the Russia forum. Hope to see you here more often.

Oh my goodness!! That is soooooo awesome!!!

My husband now loves any Korean food, especially spicy Food. At the beginning, it was a bit hard because he was not exposed to Korean culture at all. Not many people even knew back then where Korea was.

Regarding the language, we both have lived in States for a decade before we got married, we met in grad school. So we have no problem with English. That's probably the main demotivation of not learning each other's native language. I only know some Russian words so far and I'm trying to learn some nice, useful phrases. The only person who doesn't speak Enlighs is my mother-in-law and at in-laws I'm the only one who doesn't speak Russian. Hopefully, I will lean some useful expressions to score good points to MIL.

[slim 1,514]

I'm trying to learn some nice, useful phrases. The only person who doesn't speak Enlighs is my mother-in-law and at in-laws I'm the only one who doesn't speak Russian. Hopefully, I will lean some useful expressions to score good points to MIL.

I actually found Korean to be 10X easier than Russian. (Not that Russian is super hard, it's just that Korean and Hangul is probably the most simplified language ever. Good job, King Sejong!) But, from a cultural standpoint, a MIL is a MIL. It doesn't matter which culture you're talking about, MILs will always want to see their boys taken care of, eating well and generally happy.

There are some pretty simple phrases in Russian that will get you by with the MIL. One of the most important is definitely -

Oochin f'kusna. (Machisoyo!)

And you can never go wrong with the ever classic -

Nazdroviye! (Kan'bbe!!!!)

Good luck, and remember, trying anything at all shows the effort.

[mariapoe 0]

Sour cream is an interesting sauce choice. I'll have to try it sometime.

Do you think you can PM me with your specific recipe? I do adore palmeni, but can't find any here in the states. And neither Ira, nor her mom, know how to make it from scratch.

Wow, I thought knowing how to make pelmeni was a right of passage or something. Bizarre! Here's my pelmeni recipe:

For the dough:

1.5 cups flour

2 eggs

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp salt

Mix all the ingredients and then let it sit. If you're not used to making dough (and I'm not) then you'll notice it's a sticky, gooey mess. Use plenty of extra flour to coat your rolling surface and pin.

While you're waiting for the dough to set, make the filling:

1 pound of meat. I prefer a mixture of 2/3 beef, 1/3 pork. The pork gives it a really nice flavor.

Salt and pepper to taste

Minced garlic to taste (at least a tbsp, more if you really like garlic)

1 or 2 small onions, diced super fine

Mix the filling ingredients together. Now roll out your dough as thin as you can make it without it tearing. Using 2-inch diameter cookie cutter or a metal shot glass (mine is 2" exactly in diameter), cut out a bunch of circles from your dough. Drop some filling into the middle (not too much or the dough will tear, but not too little or it'll taste too doughy) and then fold the dough in half and pinch the edges closed. Then join the two corners and pinch them together. You'll end up with a little flying saucer shaped pel. Now make about a thousand more of those.

I find it easiest to sit them on wax paper, and put them in the freezer. Once they've hardened you can move them to a bag or tupperware or whatever.

When you're ready to eat them, drop them into lightly salted boiling water for about 7-10 minutes. Drain, put in a bowl, and top with salt, pepper, and sour cream. You can also boil them in a chicken broth and eat like a dumpling soup.

Hey Mox,

I got into the reading of this thread somehow and wanted to share how to make that pelmeni dough less sticky, easier to deal with, and better tasting too:)

You gotta use kefir instead of water; you call it buttermilk here. It goes - 1 kefir cup - 1 egg. So, for a fair amount of pelmeni (50-50) you take

2 cup kefir (buttermilk)

2 eggs

1/2tbs salt

2-2.5 cups flower

The doughg should be nice and soft but not sticky. You still would use lots of flower to roll that dough but it tastes so much better and it doesn't really shrink when you cut it. My sister's mother in law gave me this recipe. It's actually for 'vareniki' - do you guys know them, a bit bigger then pelmeni and usually stuffed with mashed potatoes+mushrooms/farmer cheese/cheeries/etc? But I use them for pelmeni, too; the same thing.

Anyway, I cannot wait to make some of those for my new husband. Got married last Friday ! So, I'm officially the missis now; first time in my life. Cheers,

Masha

[mox 298]

Hey Mox,

I got into the reading of this thread somehow and wanted to share how to make that pelmeni dough less sticky, easier to deal with, and better tasting too:)

You gotta use kefir instead of water; you call it buttermilk here. It goes - 1 kefir cup - 1 egg.

Ahhh! I'll have to try that, thank you!

Anyway, I cannot wait to make some of those for my new husband. Got married last Friday ! So, I'm officially the missis now; first time in my life. Cheers,

Woot! Congratulations!

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

Would you suggest roses or daisies? Just kidding Masha!

Hey Mox,

I got into the reading of this thread somehow and wanted to share how to make that pelmeni dough less sticky, easier to deal with, and better tasting too:)

You gotta use kefir instead of water; you call it buttermilk here. It goes - 1 kefir cup - 1 egg. So, for a fair amount of pelmeni (50-50) you take

2 cup kefir (buttermilk)

2 eggs

1/2tbs salt

2-2.5 cups flower

The doughg should be nice and soft but not sticky. You still would use lots of flower to roll that dough but it tastes so much better and it doesn't really shrink when you cut it. My sister's mother in law gave me this recipe. It's actually for 'vareniki' - do you guys know them, a bit bigger then pelmeni and usually stuffed with mashed potatoes+mushrooms/farmer cheese/cheeries/etc? But I use them for pelmeni, too; the same thing.

Anyway, I cannot wait to make some of those for my new husband. Got married last Friday ! So, I'm officially the missis now; first time in my life. Cheers,

Masha

[mox 298]

Would you suggest roses or daisies? Just kidding Masha!

2-2.5 cups flower