Ukha ( rus, уха) is a clear Russian soup, made from various types of

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

such as bream, wels catfish,

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus '' Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a ...

, or even ruffe. It usually contains

root vegetable Root vegetables are underground plant parts eaten by humans as food. Although botany distinguishes true roots (such as taproots and tuberous roots) from non-roots (such as bulbs, corms, rhizomes, and tubers, although some contain both hypocotyl a ...

parsley root Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to the central and eastern Mediterranean region (Sardinia, Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, southern Italy, Greece, P ...

leek The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''Alli ...

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

bay leaf The bay leaf is an aromatic leaf commonly used in cooking. It can be used whole, either dried or fresh, in which case it is removed from the dish before consumption, or less commonly used in ground form. It may come from several species of tr ...

, dill,

tarragon Tarragon (''Artemisia dracunculus''), also known as estragon, is a species of perennial herb in the family Asteraceae. It is widespread in the wild across much of Eurasia and North America and is cultivated for culinary and medicinal purposes. ...

, and green

parsley Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to the central and eastern Mediterranean region (Sardinia, Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, southern Italy, Greece, Por ...

, and is spiced with black pepper,

saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent i ...

nutmeg Nutmeg is the seed or ground spice of several species of the genus ''Myristica''. ''Myristica fragrans'' (fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg) is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fruit: nutmeg, from its seed, an ...

, and

fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...

seed. Fish such as

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...

tench The tench or doctor fish (''Tinca tinca'') is a fresh- and brackish-water fish of the order Cypriniformes found throughout Eurasia from Western Europe including the British Isles east into Asia as far as the Ob and Yenisei Rivers. It is also ...

, sheatfish, and

burbot The burbot (''Lota lota'') is the only gadiform (cod-like) freshwater fish Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments di ...

are sometimes used to add flavour to the soup. The roots of the soup originated in the culture of the Russian

Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

steppe riders and the soup is mostly associated in Russia with the

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

region. While ukha is a fish dish that is made with broth, calling it a fish soup may not be absolutely correct. "Ukha" started to be used as a term for fish broth in Russian cuisine in the late 17th to early 18th centuries. In earlier times, this term referred to thick meat broths, and then later chicken. Beginning in the 15th century, fish was more and more often used to prepare ukha, thus creating a dish that had a distinctive taste among soups. In the 19th century, many travellers visiting Russia claimed ukha to be one of the best dishes in Russian cuisine. Vegetables were kept to a minimum when preparing ukha, and in fact, in classic

Belarusian cuisine Belarusian cuisine shares many similarities with cuisines of other Eastern, Central and Northeastern European countries, based predominantly on meat and various vegetables typical for the region. History Belarus cuisine has predominantly Sl ...

, ukha was simply a rich fish broth that accompanied fish pies ( pirozhki,

rasstegai Rasstegai ( rus, расстегай) is a type of Russian pirog with a hole in the top. History and etymology The dish was very popular in Tsarist Russia. In rasstegai the filling is not hidden in dough, and in Russian means "unfastened" pies. ...

coulibiac A coulibiac (from russian: кулебя́ка, kulebyáka) is a type of pirog usually filled with salmon or sturgeon, rice or buckwheat, hard-boiled eggs, mushrooms, onions, and dill. The pie is baked in a pastry shell, usually of brioche or puff ...

, and other pirogi). These days it is more often a

fish soup Fish soup is a food made by combining fish or seafood with vegetables and stock, juice, water, or another liquid. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a ...

, cooked with potatoes and other vegetables. A wide variety of freshwater fish can be used, and some aficionados opine that one cannot make a good ukha from saltwater fish species. Fresh fish lends the dish the best flavor, and so if frozen fish is used, it is better not to defrost it. Preference is given to smaller, younger fish, with the tail parts of bigger fish discarded. Commonly fishermen add a shot of vodka to ukha at the end to create a specific flavour. Another custom is to dip the smoldering firebrand from the fire directly into ukha at the very end.River fish soup recipe. Ukha with river fish
/ref>

References

{{Russian soups Russian soups Fish and seafood soups

See also

References