Raw food served properly is a ready-made dish. You just need to follow the rules. Since ancient times, the fishermen of Taimyr – Dolgans, Nganasans, Evenks, Enets and Nenets – ate sliced freshly caught fish right during the fishing. This dish was included in the everyday menu of families of northern peoples, and then migrated to the table of the townspeople. Especially those who live in the neighborhood with the tundra natives.
It has become a tradition for the indigenous inhabitants to meet guests from the mainland not with bread and salt, but with stroganina. With real one, made according to all the rules and from the heart. Salmon fish – chir, nelma, omul, muksun – are best suited for this treat.
The warm hospitality of the Taimyr people is a topic for a separate section. Ruslan Asanov, the chef of the Malina cafe, told and showed the This Is Taimyr how to make real stroganina with your own hands and to convey all the flavor of this unusual dish.
“During winter fishing at low temperatures, a freshly caught fish turns into a frozen product in ten minutes”, says Ruslan. “Stroganina is prepared only from frozen fish (which is in a solid state). First of all, you need to make a fillet. To do this, we make a circular incision under the head of the fish, cut off the back and tummy. Pry the skin off with a knife and remove it completely.
Then we take the sharpest knife, put the fish upside down and begin to cut the fillet into very thin feathers. We serve the fish slices immediately to the table until they melt.
Stroganina is always eaten with makalo – a mixture of salt and ground black pepper, – which is placed next to the fish dish. A glass of cold vodka would also do.
The taste of fresh northern fish is slightly sweet. And an indispensable feature is the light aroma of cucumbers.
I have prepared a special serving form for this dish. Made a mold out of ice with the addition of food coloring. This stand helps keep the slices frozen for longer. As a decoration and to give a European touch, I have decorated the fish with lemon slices. Enjoy your meal!”
For more recipes with Taimyr products, see the Taste of the North section.
Text: Yulia Gubeladze, Photo: Nikolay Shchipko
