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How to Make Borscht

Borscht is a soup originating from Russian beet soup, which has been localized in Shanghai. It is relatively simple to prepare, and beginners can complete it in 2-3 hours.

Estimated Cooking Difficulty: ★★★★

Essential Ingredients and Tools

  • Vegetable broth (parsley, carrot, onion trio)
  • Beef broth (can be substituted with bouillon cubes)
  • Beef (optional: beef brisket or beef tail)
  • Tomato (tomato paste, canned tomatoes)

Calculations

Per serving:

  • Beef broth 500 mL
  • Beef 250 g (optional: beef brisket or beef tail)
  • Canned tomatoes 2 cans (can be substituted with fresh tomatoes, but flavor will be inferior)
  • Tomato paste 5 g (enhances tomato flavor)
  • Potatoes 400 g
  • Onion 100 g
  • Carrot 100 g
  • Parsley 100 g
  • Cabbage 200 g
  • Smoked sausage 100 - 200 g
  • Olive oil 5 mL (used for cooking vegetables; can be substituted with vegetable oil)
  • Vegetable oil 5 mL (used for cooking beef; cannot be substituted with olive oil)
  • Salt 18 g
  • Black pepper 3 g

Instructions

Preparation

  • Dice onion, carrot, and parsley into 1cm cubes
  • Cut smoked sausage and potatoes into 2cm chunks
  • Remove stems from cabbage and tear into 2cm pieces by hand
  • Season beef with 3 g salt and 3 g black pepper, then marinate for 5 minutes

Searing Process

  • Heat a frying pan and add vegetable oil
  • Sear the beef until the surface is golden brown (can be slightly rare inside, but do not burn). Remove and set aside.

Cooking Process 1 (First Hour)

  • Heat a soup pot, add olive oil, diced onion, diced carrot, and diced parsley
  • Stir-fry until the onion becomes translucent, then add tomato paste and canned tomatoes
  • Add beef and potato chunks, stir-fry evenly
  • Add water to cover the ingredients, and simmer over medium heat for 1 hour

Cooking Process 2 (Last Half Hour)

  • Add diced cabbage and diced smoked sausage to the pot, stir well
  • Simmer over medium heat for half an hour
  • Remove the lid, add the remaining 15 g of salt, mix well, and serve

Additional Notes

  • Try to avoid substituting with fresh tomatoes; the combination of canned tomatoes and tomato paste provides better flavor
  • Besides carrot, onion, parsley, and beef which are essential, the remaining ingredients can be freely adjusted

If you encounter any issues or have suggestions for improvement while following this guide, please submit an Issue or Pull request.