Noodle soup is one of the most common soups in many cuisines of the world. But even noodle soup was cooked by Russian women in a different way.
Why “Russian Noodle Soup?”
Noodles have been known to mankind for a long time. The birthplace of this dish is considered to be Asia. In Russia, it was introduced in the early 12thcentury. In the book for housewives “Domostroi”, a Tatar term for noodles was mentioned – tukmachi. But noodle soup is a Russian dish, because only in Russia it was cooked using milk.
There are three most common variations of the Russian-noodle soup. The birthplace of the first, using chicken broth,is Asia. But two others were invented by Russian women. They are mushroom noodles and milk noodles. In any case, preparing the noodles is very simple. First, noodles are prepared, and then they are boiled in the appropriate broth.
William Pohlebkin, a historian of the Russian cuisine, gives a recipe for traditional Russian noodles made from wheat flour. Sometimes it was prepared using buckwheat flour, but the method of preparation was the same. First you should knead the dough. For one egg you take a little over one cup of flour, a couple of eggshells of water and half a teaspoon of salt. The finished dough is left to rest for 10 minutes, and then rolled into a very thin sheet. The sheet is then sprinkled with flour, rolled into a tube and cut across very finely. Then the noodles are left to air dry and then they are cooked.
Making a Noodle Soup with Milk
Initially milk noodles were cooked as Pohlebkin describes, with spices and salt. Later, in some regions, a version with sugar appeared. First, in a lot of water you boil noodles. To add flavor, during boiling, a gauze bag with anise and corianderseeds was placed in a pot. Half-done noodles were thrown in a colander, and then added into boiling milk and cooked until tender. In the end, cream was added to the soup.
Noodles with milk are often mentioned in books as a mandatory course of a festive table. Plus, it was available to all, without exception, because of the easy preparation and a short list of ingredients. Bon appetit!
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