How to learn to make Russian food by tokyojupiter

"Easiest way to my heart is cooking"

How I did it: Before meeting (and dating) Mikhail, I've had zero experience with Russian home cooking. For me, the stereotypical dishes of Russian cuisine was caviar and vodka, two things that I've had but don't necessarily consume on a regular basis.

Since then, we've gone out to numerous Russian restaurants, as well as gone to his mom's home for authentic Russian cooking. His mom generally serves a couple of dishes at every meal: most of them prepared at home, with a few things bought from the store as they're too labor-intensive to make at home.

So, little by little, I try the various dishes and take note on which ones I could duplicate by myself. I've made her beet salad several times, and just recently tried her okroshka. 

I'm lucky that I actually do live in a neighborhood with a substantial Russian community so it's not difficult for me to procure ingredients. The boyfriend gifted me with a cookbook, but I find researching recipes on Russian food blogs works just as well.

I think this will be one of those ongoing goals; just because I've made a couple of dishes doesn't mean it's going to end here. 

Lessons & tips:

  • Have a good basic Russian cookbook or look through some of the Russian cooking food blogs online.
  • Start with simple recipes like salads or soups before tackling the more complicated dishes
  • Get the freshest ingredients as possible. Russian cuisine uses a lot of vegetables (especially potato, cabbage, and dill) so the quality of your food will be better if you get good ingredients to start with.
  • Stock up on cream and/or sour cream and potatoes; you're going to use a lot of it!
  • Don't be afraid to substitute. Not everybody has a Russian food store accessible, but that shouldn't deter you from trying out the recipes.

Resources:


2 people found this helpful
 

Jul 13, 2011, 12:30PM PDT | 2 comments | 5 cheers


Comments:

Alisa1415

That’s awesome!

Jul 13, 2011, 02:51PM PDT | Thread | Respond to this 1 cheer

tokyojupiter

Thank you! Learning to cook this new cuisine was fun (and pretty humbling).

Jul 13, 2011, 06:00PM PDT | Respond to this


tokyojupiter has gotten 5 cheers on this entry.

 

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