Tashkent Beef Salad: A Classic Recipe

Country kitchen

The Tashkent salad is very simple in its composition; its classic recipe consists of just four ingredients: boiled beef, radish, onion, and hard-boiled eggs. Variations may occur in the cutting, dressing, and serving method. Radishes are usually cut into thin strips, but if you want to make a juicier salad, it is better to grate them.

You can substitute daikon for the green radish—it doesn't have the sharp, bitter flavor. You can also make the salad with black radish, but grate it coarsely and squeeze out the juice first, otherwise the salad will be bitter.

In some recipes, the eggs aren't mixed with the other ingredients, but rather placed on a plate, sliced. As for the dressing, either mayonnaise or sour cream, or a sauce made from mayonnaise and sour cream, mixed in any proportions, are acceptable.

Ingredients:

boiled beef (veal) – 200 g;
daikon – 200 g;
onions – 1 large onion;
boiled eggs – 1 piece per serving;
vegetable oil – 1.5 tbsp;
black pepper – to taste;
salt – to taste;
mayonnaise – 2 tbsp. l.

How to make Tashkent salad with beef

Peel the daikon and grate it on a fine or coarse grater (a Korean grater is fine).

Transfer the radish to a salad bowl or salad bowl, add salt. Mix and let sit for 10-15 minutes to release the juice. There's no need to drain it. Unlike black radish, daikon doesn't have a strong bitter taste or unpleasant odor.

The onion is fried in this salad, but not as much as in a stir-fry. It's important not to overcook it or it will develop an unpleasant flavor. Slice the onion into thin strips or half rings.

Place the onion in the heated oil. Quickly sauté until translucent or lightly browned, but the onion should remain soft.

Add the fried onion and oil to the radish. Season with freshly ground black pepper.

Boil the beef or veal in advance (or bake it), let it cool, and cut into strips, not too thin.

After mixing the radish with the onion and oil, add the sliced meat. Gently, being careful not to mash the meat, toss the salad.

Dress the salad with mayonnaise. Use homemade mayonnaise whenever possible, but if you're using store-bought mayonnaise, choose a thick, high-fat variety.

Mix the salad and arrange portions on plates or in salad bowls. Cut the hard-boiled eggs into quarters or wedges. Garnish with eggs and fresh herbs and serve. Enjoy!