For most people Hungarian cuisine is synonymous with “goulash”. Now, before I decry them all for being wrong, let me first express my appreciation for their knowledge and taste for Hungarian cooking. After all, when it comes to food, what's most important is the taste, followed closely by smell and appearance. The name of the dish is much lower on the priority list, and in the end who cares what we call it, as long as we can recognize what it stands for.
So What is Goulash Anyway?
Admittedly, I have tasted many delicious dishes called 'goulash' though they could be of a variety of things, from fusilli pasta in a mushroom-tomato sauce, to a bean soup. And granted, they all had something in common: onions and paprika. Now incidentally, these two ingredients are the stars of most Hungarian dishes. In fact, according to my Mexican wife, what distinguishes Hungarian cooking is not so much the paprika (which I always assumed was THE hallmark feature) but the amount of onions we cook with. Given the fact that my grandmother's town of Makó is also the onion capital of Hungary, I probably never would have noticed on my own.
But you can't just make any dish, add onions and paprika, and call it goulash, can you?
Sure you can! And it's not going to make a bit of a difference, because in Hungarian the word is used for something different anyway. Here's a bit of etymological background: Gulya [pronounced goo-yah] means cattle. Gulyás [goo-yah-sh] means 'of the cattle' and could mean anything from beef stew to cowboy (for real!). Ironically, though, that beef stew is not what's commonly referred to as goulash. Even in Hungarian they like to extend it by calling it gulyás leves, meaning beef soup, or babgulyás, that is beans (with) beef, depending on the ingredients in the stew. The dish I want to talk about here, is called Pörkölt [perkled] in Hungarian, or Paprikás [paprikash].
Pörkölt and Paprikás, the Actual Hungarian Goulash
The meaning of pörkölt is something like roasted or toasted, while paprikás simply means it's made with paprika. The only difference between the two is that the former is a thick sauce, while the latter is more runny, with more water in it. Other than that, both dishes are virtually the same. Also, they can be made with chicken, lamb, fish, mushrooms, tofu, eggs, pretty much anything, not necessarily just with beef. For my recipe I decided to make it with portobello mushrooms. Here's how it's made:
You'll need:
- 500 g (1 pound) of portobello mushrooms
- one large onion
- 3 TS of paprika powder
- salt and pepper according to taste
- 1 TS of butter, lard, or oil for cooking
- some boiling water
Just a quick warning with the paprika: We're talking about the sweet kind that Hungary is so famous for. If you were to use 3 TS of chili powder, Cayenne pepper, or anything spicy like that, you would have a hard time enjoying the result. With the Hungarian paprika you can add generous amounts for a rich taste that won't burn your mouth off.
- Dice the onion and cut the mushrooms into manageable sizes.
- Put the butter and the onions in a pot to fry them till glassy, then add the paprika, give it a good stir till everything is red, then add the mushrooms.
- Pour boiling water on it until the mushrooms are covered. Give it one last stir, turn the heat down to simmer, cover with a lid, and give it some time. Check on it periodically, give it a stir, but let it all simmer down slowly. If most of the water has evaporated, but you think it needs to cook more (unlikely for the mushrooms, but it could happen if you're using beef), add some more boiling water. Not too much, you can always add more, but removing it is another story. It also depends on the amount of water you use whether the dish ends up closer to a pörkölt, or more on the paprikás side.
- Don't forget to refine the taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve while hot! Usually Hungarians eat it as a sauce on top of rice, pasta, or potatoes. Here I had it with mashed potatoes with lots of parsley. The only thing missing is a pickle on the side.
Now that you know all about goulash, you can do as many others have done, and create your own favorite paprika-onion dish and call it goulash. Or, you could surprise your friends and family with some authentic pörkölt or paprikás.
If you liked this, you will probably enjoy my recipe for another great Hungarian dish, Lecsó. (Actually, it's quite similar.)