5 Russian dishes that are named after other countries

Korean-style carrot

This spicy salad of thinly sliced carrots with garlic, vinegar and spices is insanely popular in Russia. It is sold in pretty much any grocery store and can be easily made at home. But, people in Korea have never even heard of it! 

This dish was invented by Soviet Koreans – immigrants from the Far East in the mid-20th century. Korean cuisine has different kinds of appetizers, but they use specific plants (e.g., bellflower root). So, in search of something similar, the Soviet Koreans found an alternative – ordinary carrots. 

Czech roll

Until recently, a luxurious restaurant called ‘Praga’ (‘Prague’) operated on Moscow's Arbat Street. It was famous, first of all, for its cakes. Chief pastry chef Vladimir Guralnik developed recipes for the most popular Soviet desserts back in the 1950s and 1960s: ‘Ptichye Moloko’ (‘Bird’s milk’) cake, ‘Václav’ cake, ‘Praga’ cake. These names are known to anyone born in the USSR. One of his creations is ‘Czech’ roll, a chocolate biscuit rolled into a tube with chocolate cream and icing.

Today, you can find such a roll in many stores. 

French-style meat

This is pork or beef baked under a layer of potatoes, onions, mayonnaise and cheese. In Europe, the dish is known as ‘Veal Orloff’. It was named after the Russian Count Alexei Orloff, who was Russia's ambassador to France in the 19th century. It was his French chef who created this dish, which then became part of both Russian and European cuisines.

In Soviet times, the recipe was simplified: pork was used instead of veal and mayonnaise was used instead of the ‘Morne’ sauce (based on béchamel sauce). 

Polish-style fish

Baked or boiled fish (usually river fish) served with egg and butter sauce. Large potatoes are usually boiled as a side dish. This recipe first appeared in Russian cuisine in the middle of the 19th century under the influence of the neighboring Polish cuisine. It was called ‘Polish-style pikeperch’. There were also recipes with cod. But, it is this egg and butter sauce that is actually Polish in origin. In Russia, dill and parsley are added to it.

Hungarian ‘vatrushka’

A ‘vatrushka’ is an Eastern European pastry, characterized by a ring-shape of dough with traditional white cheese Tvorog in the middle, sometimes with the addition of raisins or bits of fruit. This ‘vatrushka’ is completely different from traditional Russian pastries. If the usual vatrushka is round and made of unleavened dough, the Hungarian one is square and made of puff pastry. It appeared in the Soviet years as a version of the Hungarian ‘Túrós batyu’ (‘knot with cottage cheese’) pastry and became very popular. Except that, in Hungary, they use a completely different ‘tvorog’ (‘curd’) – soft, like cottage cheese. And the dough is made with yeast. The common feature of these ‘vatrushkas’ is the use of lemon zest, which makes the flavor more refined.