Are you wondering what to eat in Ukraine? In this post, I share a basic list of Ukrainian food and beverages you have to try whether you’re traveling to Ukraine or at a Ukrainian restaurant in your city. At least the borsch and vareniki you must taste, so as did Anthony Bourdain and other famous travelers. The main Ukrainian dishes fit well for lunch, dinner, so as for a brunch.
A local restaurant chain I recommend to go is Puzata Khata (Пузата Хата), spread all over the main Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, where you find the most popular Ukrainian dishes at affordable prices. In Kyiv, another restaurant for budget travelers is Dva Gucya (Два Гуся). The two following images will help you to recognize both restaurants.
Ukrainian Typical Dishes
Borsch
Borsch is a traditional Ukrainian vegetable soup made with beetroot as a core ingredient, known as the red beet soup, also popular in Russia and in Poland. There are about 30 varieties of Ukrainian borsch and the most popular is the red-cooked with beetroot. It’s usually cooked with potatoes, cabbage, carrot, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and dill. It may include meat or fish, too.
Vareniki
Vareniki is similar to the Polish pierogi and the Russian pelmeni. It’s a mix of water, flour, and salt; filled with ingredients that can be meat, mashed potatoes, and whatever who cooks it decide. Vareniki can be stuffed with cheese, cabbage, strawberries, cherries, etc.
Syrniki
Syrniki is a cottage cheese pancake, slightly creamy and browned after being fried, also popular in Russian and Belarusian cuisines as far as I could see. It’s usually made mixing cottage cheese with eggs, flour, sugar, and maybe other ingredients to add a flavor.
Halushky
Halushky is made of dumplings but, unlike vareniki, not stuffed. Shaped as balls or squares, boiled in water or milk. Halushky can be served separately or with a bowl of soup.
Pampushka
Pampushka is a small round bun of wheat, rye, or buckwheat flour. Traditionally, pampushka was made on Sundays, on holidays, and memorial dinners since ancient times. It’s usually served with borsch and other soups.
Okroshka
Okroshka is a cold soup popular in Russia and in Ukraine, especially in summer. It’s a mix of vegetables such as spring onions, cucumber, radishes plus boiled potatoes, cooked meat, sausages, or ham.
Salo
Salo is a traditional snack in Ukraine, the “bacon” of the pork including the white parts. Salo is usually eaten with bread, onion, garlic, and pickled vegetables. It can be consumed baked, fresh, smoked, or roasted. As salo is caloric, it’s useful to eat it while drinking vodka!
Popular Beverages in Ukraine
If you think the beverage in Ukraine is vodka, your assumption is wrong. Here there are three beverages to try in Ukraine, found at local restaurants such as Puzata Khata (Пузата Хата) and Dva Gucya (Два Гуся), and kiosks.
Kompot
Kompot is a drink made of fruits (dried or fresh), such as apple, apricot, and pear added to honey and other ingredients are chosen by the preference of who makes it.
Kvas
Kvas is a sweet-sour beverage made from fermented bread. It kinda remembers a beer or the guarana beverage from Brazil. Normally non-alcoholic, but a homemade kvas may contain a small amount of alcohol. It’s also sold at supermarkets in plastic bottles.
Uzvar
Uzvar is a sweet broth made from dried apple, prune, pear. Since ancient times, uzvar symbolizes wealth, fertility, and sweet life. Fruits are not brewed to produce the uzvar, only heated to boiling point.
What is your favorite Ukrainian dish? For more tips on Ukrainian cuisine, there is another post indicating some of the most popular Ukrainian desserts and sweets made of cherry, honey, caramelized milk, nuts, chocolate, among other ingredients like cottage cheese.
Originally posted 2017-12-08 14:23:22.
