The word ‘stroganoff’ has been teasing my mind for the longest time now, arousing great curiosity in me as to where it originated from and what the word means. It only came to my attention recently that ‘stroganoff’ has its origins from Russia and that the dish was typically named after the household that the cook was cooking for – this being a common practice in the olden days of the communistic country.
The most common type of stroganoff is beef stroganoff, this being a classic Russian dish that is popular worldwide. After so many years of evolution and adaptations, many different types of ‘stroganoff’ dishes are gradually evolving and appearing on recipe and food blogs, which isn’t surprising given that the word ‘stroganoff’ can be used to describe everything so long as the main ingredient (usually meat) is being cooked in a sauce with sour cream in it.
Which gives me the perfect excuse not to cook the classic beef stroganoff since I am not one with a palette for the strong beefy taste. Mushroom stroganoff it is then, not forgetting some piping hot rice to go with it.
Ingredients:
- Butter: 2 tbsp
- Onion: 1, sliced thinly
- Garlic: 3 cloves, finely chopped
- Mushroom: 450g, sliced thinly
- Water: 500ml
- Chicken stock cube: 2
- Ketchup: 3 tbsp
- Paprika: 3 tsp
- Sour cream: 1 cup
- Ground blackpepper: 1 tsp
- Parsley: 1 stalk, chopped
Method:
- Melt butter in wok.
- Add in onion, garlic and mushroom. Stir to mix evenly.
- Leave to simmer on low heat in wok for 5min.
- Transfer mushrooms to slow cooker.
- Add water, chicken stock cube, ketchup and paprika.
- Leave to cook on high for 4 hrs.
- Stir in sour cream and blackpepper.
- Garnish with parsley. Serve hot with rice, pasta or pork chop.
Trick:
- For those of you who prefer a thicker sauce to go with your pasta or rice, scoop the amount you need into a saucepan and add in cornstarch and water mixture Simmer on low heat till the sauce thickens. This should just take an extra 5 to 10 minutes or so.
Disclaimers:
- I actually added in more sour cream than was recommended in the original recipe (which stated 4 tbsp), but it made the flavour of this stroganoff really, really delicious and fragrant.
- I am actually reminded of the Campbell soup when I eat this dish. They really taste alike, all thanks to the super-marvelicious sour cream!
Serving:
3 – 4 persons
