The buzz on Hungarian Goulash soup

Typical Hungarian dishes and recipes

• Chicken paprika - csirkepaprikás
• Goulash - gulyás
• Lecho - lecsó
• Stuffed cabbage - töltött káposzta
• Salami - szalámi
• Sausage - kolbász, hurka
• Pancakes Stuffed with Meat Stew - Hortobágyi Palacsinta
• Hungarian Pancake Cake - Rakott Palacsinta
• Strudel - Rétes
• Beigli
• Dobos Cake - Dobos torta
• Gundel pancakes - Gundel Palacsinta

 

Hungarian goulash varieties

• Bean goulash
• Goulash à la Szeged
• Goulash Hungarian Plain Style.
• Mock Goulash
• Csángó goulash
• Betyár goulash
• Likócsi pork goulash
• Mutton goulash (Birkagulyás)
• Vegetarian goulash (hamis gulyás)

Ingredients

• For traditional goulash: 300g (10 1/2 oz) shank of beef
• For traditional goulash: 500g (1 lb, 1 1/2 oz) peeled potatoes
• For vegetarian golulas: 1 kg (3 oz) peeled potatoes (instead of meat)
• 30g (1 oz) lard (or other cooking fat, or vegetable oil)
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp powdered sweet paprika
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
• 3 or 4 black peppercorns
• 1 med. carrot, cut into quarters
• 1 med. parsnip, cut into quarters
• 1 or 2 whole sweet paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cloves garlic, crushed

Procedure

1. Cube the meat (only for traditional goulash) and potatoes into 2cm (3/4 inch) pieces.
2. Stew the onion in lard over low heat until golden yellow (not brown).
3. Remove the pot from the heat, add the paprika, meat, salt and 1 1/5 liters (1 quart, 3 oz) of water.
4. Add the caraway seeds and peppercorns in a tea ball or small bag (for easy removal before serving)
5. Return to low heat and simmer.
6. After 30 minutes, add the carrots, garlic, leaf, parsnips and paprika peppers.
7. When the meat is nearly tender (around another 30 minutes), add the potatoes.
8. When every ingredient is tender, you're ready! You can serve the Hungarian goulash soup immediately, or reheat later.

The essential spice for Hungarian goulash, giving food color and taste!

Goulash: It is a very special Hungarian food, it is a hungaricum. Anywhere in the world, if you say the word: goulash, people think of another word: Hungarian.

Hungarian goulash is neither a soup nor a stew, it’s somewhere in between. Though in Hungary it’s considered rather to be a soup than a stew, so look for it among Soups on restaurant menus.

Authentic goulash is a beef dish cooked with onions, Hungarian red paprika powder, tomatoes and some green pepper. Potato and noodles (galuska in Hungarian) are also added according to some recipes. The other definition of goulash says that it is occasionally used to mean any mixture of diverse things.

A bit of Hungarian Goulash History

This thick, hearty dish was (and still is) a very popular dish among herdsmen in Hungary. Goulash was made in cast-iron kettle, hung above open fire, out in the puszta.

Herdsman means "gulyás" in Hungarian, so that’s where the dish’s name comes from.

Herdsmen have the best ingredients at hand (most importantly prime quality beef) and the preparation method fitted very well to their work and lifestyle: they don’t have to stand by the side of the kettle and stirr its content all the time, still they have a tasty and hot meal to fill up their stomach.

This peasant dish got on the noblemen’s and townfolk’s table only towards the end of the 19th century prompted by the raising national awarness throughout the country./

In the second half of the 1800ies it became very important to protect treasures of Hungarian culture, the language and the gastronomical delights as part of the movement to emphasize Hungary’s national identity and independence from the Austrian Habsburg dynasty’s rule.

The word gulyás was addapted to english language as goulash and in some parts of the world stews and casseroles are called goulash too.

The spices of Hungarian goulash

Types of Hungarian Paprika:

• Special Quality (Különleges): The mildest and brightest red of all Hungarian paprikas, with excellent aroma.
• Delicate (Édes csemege): Ranging from light to dark red, a mild paprika with a rich flavour.
• Exquisite Delicate - Csemegepaprika: Similar to Delicate, but more pungent.
• Pungent Exquisite Delicate - Csípos Csemege, Pikáns: A yet more pungent Delicate.
• Rose - Rózsa: Pale Red in colour with strong aroma and mild pungency.
• Noble Sweet - Édesnemes: The most commonly exported paprika; bright red and slightly pungent.
• Half-Sweet - Félédes: A blend of mild and pungent paprikas; medium pungency.
• Hot - Erős: Light brown in colour, this is the hottest of all the paprikas.

Did you know there were so many?

The Rating

Hungarian goulash soup in Pictures